White Paper: QI for Electromobility – Charging infrastructure, battery safety and disposal

For both Germany and Mexico, the automotive industry is one of the most important economic sectors. Influenced and propelled by technological developments and the sustainable development agenda, mobility is undergoing a transformation towards new trends such as electromobility. As sales of electric vehicles continue to grow and technologies advance, ensuring product quality and safety through a robust and internationally harmonised QI system is essential for a successful transition to electromobility.

The white paper “Quality Infrastructure for Electromobility – Charging Infrastructure, battery safety and disposal” presents applicable standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment schemes in Mexico, Germany, the European Union (EU), the United States (US) and at the international level. It also identifies opportunities and offers joint recommendations for the development of internationally harmonised standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment schemes in Mexico.

Charging infrastructure is fundamental to further accelerate the development of electromobility in different vehicle segments, such as passenger cars, heavy-duty and light-duty vehicles. For its part, the electric battery – the core component that powers the electric motor – must be safe to ensure user protection. Due to its limited lifespan, the disposal process is key to avoid environmental impact. Therefore, this first volume in the series of white papers on electromobility addresses these three priority elements.

This publication was developed within the framework of the German-Mexican Dialogue on Quality Infrastructure (QI), led by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz - BMWK) and the Mexican Ministry of Economy (Secretaría de Economía). It is an outcome of the collaborative effort between the members of the bilateral expert group within the project line ‘Strategic cooperation on electromobility: standardisation, certification and technical regulation’. The group continues to work with the aim of supporting the development of a robust and internationally harmonised QI system in Mexico.