160. The representative from the United States of America updated AC.3 on the latest progress made by the IWG on Electric Vehicle Safety with respect to the on-going development of Phase 2 of UN GTR No. 20. The IWG on UN GTR No. 20 had been meeting regularly, with the last meeting of the IWG taking place on 19-22 October 2021. He explained that despite the progress made in Phase 2 in updating the UN GTR, more time would be needed to fully address some of its aspects, including the constantly evolving technology as well as challenges faced in form of real-life field data coming in. He reiterated the request for an eighteen-month extension of the IWG mandate put forward at the GRSP May 2021 session, and informally accepted at the June 2021 Session of WP.29. He added that the meetings, which were well represented by contracting parties from Asia, Europe, and North America, received regularly progress reports by contracting parties and the industry on their progress in adopting the UN GTR, or on their national regulations, and on the international standards development and updates. He gave an idea of the challenges of the Phase 2 that the IWG was facing by mentioning:
He also mentioned that the IWG was considering tests for overcurrent and further studying overcharge and undercharge of batteries. He moreover explained that the IWG was also evaluating the appropriateness to regulate some aspects of EVS in the UN GTR, such as Rechargeable Electric Energy Storage System (REESS) vibration and water immersion scenarios and concern were these issues related to product reliability or vehicle safety. He finally informed that the next meeting of the IWG would take place virtually on 19-20 January 2022, and would focus only on thermal propagation and triggering or initiation methods.