Safe post-crash management of road Light Duty Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) (2ZERO Partnership)

Projects are expected to achieve all of the following: 1. Significantly improved BEV vehicle designs (battery pack and integration) with reduced fire hazard, enhanced fire suppression capability, better crashworthiness and safer post-crash handling versus baseline vehicles, guided by specific design guidelines. 2. Advanced BEV condition assessment methods and tools focused on battery health, delivering safety-relevant data in standardised formats for rescue, towing and after-treatment services; complementing the digital battery passport; minimising environmental hazards; and easily deployable by practitioners. 3. Tailored interventions, health-condition diagnostics and standardised handover protocols enabling repurposing, reuse or recycling of batteries from crashed BEVs and supporting second-life battery applications. 4. Europe-wide best practices in fire handling, suppression and rescue procedures for crashed Light Duty BEVs, underpinned by training materials and first-responder instructions. 5. Science-based communication and comparative fire-safety statistics that dispel safety concerns among potential BEV users and inform policy and decision makers.

Proposals must address all of the following: 1. Vehicle health assessment post-crash, focusing on HV battery and high-voltage system safety and stability (early thermal runaway detection), maximising in-vehicle repair and reuse in compliance with forthcoming circularity, eco-design and end-of-life regulations. 2. Accessibility of health and safety data from onboard monitoring (via connectivity) and/or off-board tools; development of state-of-health and state-of-safety algorithms providing remaining useful life and residual risk information, complementary to the digital battery passport. 3. Gender-sensitive extrication procedures protecting victims and responders, co-developed with emergency services. 4. Fire suppression and rescue procedures tailored to BEVs, including design of battery pack and auxiliaries, innovative extinguishing media, and management of toxic by-products. 5. Procedures and tools for safe handover, transport and storage of crashed BEVs, with standardised protocols and broad stakeholder dissemination. 6. Comparative statistical analysis of BEV fire occurrence and severity, supporting science-based communication to users and policymakers. 7. Real-life demonstration against the state-of-the-art of condition assessment tools, data analytics, firefighting, rescue and handling on series-production Light Duty BEVs. 8. Active interaction with IEA HEV Technology Collaboration Programme workshops and Sustainable Transport Forum Task Force 6. 9. Adherence to Open Science practices and FAIR data principles. 10. Reporting of results to the ‘Towards zero emission road transport’ (2 ZERO) European Partnership for KPI monitoring.