IEC 62660-3:2022

Overview

IEC 62660-3:2022 - "Secondary lithium‑ion cells for the propulsion of electric road vehicles - Part 3: Safety requirements" - defines test procedures and acceptance criteria for the safety performance of secondary lithium‑ion cells and cell blocks used in electric vehicles (EV), including battery electric vehicles (BEV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). The standard establishes baseline safety performance for cells operating within the manufacturer‑specified limits for voltage, current and temperature (the cell operating region) and covers intended use as well as reasonably foreseeable misuse or incidents during normal vehicle operation.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Scope and premise: Safety evaluation assumes cells are used in a battery pack/system within the manufacturer’s operating region (voltage, current, temperature).
• Test conditions and instrumentation: Defines environmental/test conditions, measuring instrument ranges, voltage/current/temperature measurement methods and tolerances.
• Electrical measurements: Procedures for charge conditions, capacity measurement and state-of‑charge (SOC) adjustment prior to safety testing.
• Safety tests:
  • Mechanical tests: mechanical shock and crush tests (note: the 2022 edition removed the vibration test).
  • Thermal tests: high temperature endurance and temperature cycling.
  • Electrical abuse tests: external short‑circuit, overcharge (revised conditions in 2022), forced discharge and internal short‑circuit testing.
  • Internal short‑circuit: a new alternative internal short‑circuit test method is added (Annex C) while Annex B explains internal short‑circuit causes.
• Acceptance criteria: The standard sets pass/fail criteria for each test to determine basic cell safety performance.
• Informative guidance: Annex A explains the concept of the operating region for safe use of cells.

Practical applications

• Provides a harmonized, internationally referenced safety test regimen for cell manufacturers, EV battery designers and validation teams.
• Used by cell manufacturers to prove cell-level safety performance and by OEMs and integrators for selecting cells suitable for specific pack/system designs.
• Used by test laboratories and certification bodies to perform repeatable safety evaluations and to support regulatory compliance and customer agreements.
• Helps R&D and safety engineers design mitigations (cell chemistry, mechanical protection, BMS limits) informed by standardized abuse tests.

Who should use this standard

• Lithium‑ion cell manufacturers and cell block producers
• EV OEMs, battery pack/system integrators and component suppliers
• Independent test laboratories and conformity assessment bodies
• Regulatory authorities and safety engineers working on EV battery systems

Related standards

• IEC 62660-1, IEC 62660-2 (performance and reliability for traction cells)
• ISO 12405 series (battery testing for EVs) and ISO 12405-3 (pack/system safety)
• Regulatory references such as UN ECE R100 are relevant for system‑level approvals

Keywords: IEC 62660-3:2022, lithium-ion cells safety, EV battery safety standard, cell safety tests, internal short-circuit test, overcharge test, external short-circuit.