Skip to main content

Continental enhances EV safety

Continental, the international automotive supplier, has developed a system for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles which will immediately shut off the high-voltage battery in the event of a collision, enabling emergency service personnel to come to the aid of accident victims without the risk of suffering an electric shock.
March 1, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSS260 Continental, the international automotive supplier, has developed a system for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles which will immediately shut off the high-voltage battery in the event of a collision, enabling emergency service personnel to come to the aid of accident victims without the risk of suffering an electric shock.

Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are powered by high-voltage batteries of up to 400 volts. evSAT will go into series production with a major German vehicle manufacturer in 2012.

"The evSAT acceleration sensor is active in charge mode. It detects an accident and passes this information on to the battery management system which then shuts off the high-voltage battery," said Dr. Axel Gesell, senior manager, Platform Development Sensors & Satellites, in the Passive Safety and ADAS business unit of Continental's Chassis & Safety Division. "The major benefit of our product is that it prevents fire and rescue service personnel sustaining high-voltage injuries when coming into contact with vehicle metal parts or if they have to cut through the vehicle to recover accident victims," Gesell added.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Land of ITS opportunities
    February 6, 2012
    Geographically, Russia, the largest country in the world, is vast. So too are the opportunities for the global ITS community, which is why ITS Russia has been actively promoting the country and the opportunities that abound there
  • Elimination of electric vehicle systems
    June 24, 2016
    According to IDTechEx Research reports, Power Electronics for Electric Vehicles 2016-2026, Mild Hybrid 48V Vehicles 2016-2031 and Structural Electronics 2015-2025: Applications, Technologies, Forecasts”, el4ctric vehicles (EVs)have a cost challenge: hybrids have complexity problems meaning reliability and space issues. Extra power electronic units arrive for tasks such as a vehicle-to-grid, vehicle-to-house and inductive charging. Many more will be added in future such as regeneration modules - thermoelect
  • Intelligent powertrains could make cost cuts
    April 30, 2020
    Intelligent vehicle powertrains could be a way of making substantial cuts in operating costs and emissions. David Crawford looks at some far-reaching initiatives in Europe and North America
  • Sacramento to trial EV charging
    December 18, 2012
    The city of Sacramento in California is to trial electric vehicle (EV) charging on its own EVs. Evatran, developer of Plugless Power wireless electric vehicle charging technology, has announced that the city is to take part in its Apollo Trial Program, joining industry participant such as Bosch Automotive Service Solutions, Duke Energy, Google, DTE Energy, and the Hertz Corporation. Plugless Power technology, based on the 100 year old principle of magnetic induction, was developed to allow electric vehicle