NFPA and SAE International Announce National Safety Summit on the Safe Implementation of Electric Vehicles

Summit scheduled for October 19-20

DETROIT, April 23, 2010; The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the SAE International will be co-sponsoring the U.S. National Electric Vehicles Safety Standards Summit on October 19-20, 2010, at the Cobo Convention Center in Detroit, Mich.

The purpose of the U.S. National Electric Vehicles Safety Standards Summit is to support the rapid implementation of electrical and hybrid-electric vehicles in the United States, and to ensure that fire and electrical safety standards impacting electrical vehicles are aligned for the rapid deployment. Key stakeholder groups will develop an action plan for the safe implementation of electrical vehicles.

"Preparing for the growing number of hybrid-electric and electric vehicles arriving on U.S. roads in the next few years requires an understanding of how fire and electrical safety standards apply to them and how they may need to be adapted to support specific needs of the auto industry, while ensuring that safety is addressed," Christian Dubay, P.E., NFPA vice president codes and standards and chief engineer. "The knowledge shared at this summit will guide the future of codes and standards for electric vehicles and their supporting infrastructure."

"Introducing Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) within an established infrastructure requires a prudent deployment of standards and strategies by all stakeholders," said Dave Baxter, SAE Motor Vehicle Council Chair. "SAE International is pleased to collaborate with NFPA in hosting a summit that brings together key stakeholders to identify the necessary standards development activities and associated deployment strategies."

On day one of the summit, presentations on topics addressing Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), Electric Infrastructure, First Responders and how they relate to safety standards impacting electrical vehicles will be given and attendees will be invited to participate in a facilitated discussion and gap analysis.

Representatives from key stakeholder groups will be invited back for a second day to participate in breakout sessions on each specific topic area and perform analysis that will be used to develop action plans to address gaps between each topic area.

Registration information will be released at a later date. To learn more about electric vehicles, please visit www.nfpa.org\electricvehicles.

About NFPA

NFPA has been a worldwide leader in providing fire, electrical, building, and life safety to the public since 1896. The mission of the international nonprofit organization is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education. Visit NFPA's Web site at www.nfpa.org.

About SAE International

SAE International is a global association of more than 128,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International's core competencies are life-long learning and voluntary consensus standards development. SAE International's charitable arm is the SAE Foundation, which supports many programs, including A World In Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series.