43. An expert from CLEPA informed GRSP that the “Recommendation for Qualification of Pyrotechnics and Inflators” had been published by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) and gave an overview of its contents (informal document GRSP-79-23). This recommendation is based on work carried out by a group of original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and suppliers since 2020, as a consequence of the worldwide recall of airbags. The approach is based on a combination of two test procedures: one at the component level (the pyrotechnic material) and one at the system level (the inflator). The expert from CLEPA explained the rationale behind the test procedures. Replying to a question by an expert, he clarified that even if UN Regulation No. 114 would have been applied to new airbag modules, the referenced standard (ISO 12097-2) would not, in any case, have been sufficient to identify the issues that led to the large-scale recalls. He emphasized that the recommendation being presented now was developed to detect those issues.

44. The expert from the Kingdom of the Netherlands invited GRSP to consider possible next steps, including whether the development of a new UN Regulation might be appropriate. The expert from the United Kingdom encouraged VDA to make the report publicly available so that GRSP experts could review it and provide informed feedback.