Following thefire that destroyed all MotoE Cup facilities in Jerez, Energica, the Italian company that produces electric motorcycles, has published on its site some responses from Giampiero Testoni, its Technical Director, to shed light and take stock of the situation.
This publication tending to completely exonerate the motorcycles of any causality in the incident, it therefore points the finger at Enel, which supplies the chargers…
What is the fire risk for an Energica vehicle?
The tests we carry out on our vehicles are inherited from the tests carried out on road vehicles over the years, respecting safety standards for appropriate use, in every driving situation. None of our customers have experienced a problem like this and, in ten years of operating in the electric vehicle industry, we have never had a single safety problem, not even in Jerez. We are therefore confident and do not worry about the level of safety of our vehicles, both on the road and on the track.
What is the real risk of fire of an electric vehicle compared to vehicles with a combustion engine?
As with any vehicle, whether electric or thermal, there is always a risk. It is important to know that fuel contains much more energy than batteries.
Is thermal runaway a real risk for an Energica motorcycle?
Thermal runaway is a risk present in all batteries, not only in vehicles but also in smartphones, for example. We have taken every safety measure to ensure that the battery does not reach this state, and we have not experienced a single case of thermal runaway in ten years.
What safety measures does Energica adopt to prevent such a situation from occurring on the motorcycle?
There are several safety devices inside the battery and the vehicle itself to prevent dangerous situations. The temperature and voltage of the battery are monitored, so that during the charging process, the vehicle's electronic management system does not allow the vehicle to reach high temperatures, which could damage the battery and/or cause a fire (or thermal runaway). While driving, if the battery reaches a certain temperature, the amount of energy available to the vehicle is reduced and therefore the energy absorption of the battery, ensuring that the risk of thermal runaway is kept at bay.
Have motorcycles ever shown signs of overheating?
The racing motorcycle always remained within the usage range we had tested for a whole year, with thousands of kilometers covered by our test riders on different tracks and under different weather conditions, also including the high temperature of the air in summer. After all, the racing motorcycle has inherited the safety standards established for our road vehicles, which are approved and certified in the EU and USA, and which have undergone hundreds of thousands of kilometers of testing before and during their use. Safety has always been our top priority. In addition to all this, other racing battery tests were carried out with IRTA to assess the resistance and resilience of the battery: these tests were so extreme that they are not even required for road vehicles . All tests were successfully passed and the results exceeded all expectations, including ours.
How does the charging process work?
The charging process, both on the track and on the road, follows the CCS standard, which is an international certified and approved standard for vehicles. In the world of two-wheelers, we are the only manufacturer to have adopted this standard on its vehicles, because it is a very complicated and expensive protocol, but also very safe. This protocol is adopted by all automobile manufacturers, as well as by major global institutions. The CCS standard manages the communication between the charging station and the vehicle, and initiates the charging process. In the event of a malfunction, the process is immediately stopped.
What happens when the charging process is finished?
Once charging is complete, the battery contactors open and there is no more voltage. Once again, during the entire charging process, the battery temperature elements are monitored and will not exceed a given threshold.
What types of tests have been carried out to ensure the integrity of the racing motorcycle battery in the event of an accident? What were the results ?
We have carried out several tests of the mechanical strength of the battery case and its resistance to impact when hit by a heavy and blunt object. The results were beyond our expectations and all tests carried out on racing vehicle fuel tanks.
What are the tasks of the Energica team within the E-paddock?
We assist team technicians with their needs, for example in the event of a crash. We provide answers and clarifications to questions, and dispel doubts about the electronic side of the motorcycle. We are always available for any questions, always and only regarding motorcycles.
What is Energica doing today to produce the number of motorcycles necessary for the competition to take place?
The day after the accident, we were already at work to ensure that the championship could take place. Obviously this is a very significant effort for Energica, but we are aware of our capabilities and we are working closely with our suppliers and with the sponsors, Dorna and Enel official debut as soon as possible. We firmly believe in this project and we are proud and happy to be an integral part of it. We have been committed to MotoE from day one and recent events have in no way undermined our faith in the strength and importance of the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup.
What safety measures are in place on the Energica Ego Corsa and planned by MotoE to minimize the likelihood of an accident?
We have a high-level BMS (battery management system) and, in the 10 years we have been working on electric vehicles, we have not had any problems so far, neither on racing motorcycles nor on road vehicles . There's also a tire monitoring system in the event of a puncture (for the first time in the race), the pit lane warning buzzer for returning motorcycles, and flashing lights on the dashboard that tell you if the motorcycle is running.
What are the safety measures to minimize the consequences of an accident?
There is a system in place that automatically turns off the bike if it tilts, and there is also a side light that alerts track marshals and riders whether the bike can be picked up or not. Dorna also replicated a battery fire to better evaluate how to extinguish a fire from a single motorcycle. Irta/Dorna are also designing a specific intervention vehicle which will be ready for the first race.
As an important part of the Championship, Energica is of course ready to sit down with the other parties involved to learn more about the Jerez incident and come back with a safer and stronger product.
