NFPA and SAE International Announce Second Summit on Safe Implementation of Electric Vehicles Scheduled for September 27-28

WARRENDALE, Pa., July 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and SAE International will co-sponsor the 2nd Annual Electric Vehicle Safety Standards Summit September 27-28, 2011, at the Marriott Detroit Renaissance Center Hotel in Detroit, Michigan.

The 2nd Annual Electric Vehicle Safety Standards Summit is a continuation of the dialogue begun at last year's groundbreaking Summit initiated in order to support the rapid implementation of electric and hybrid electric vehicles in North America.  The Summit provides a forum in which all relevant individuals, organizations and agencies can contribute to the development of action plans regarding the codes and standards necessary to effectively address safety as it relates to electrified vehicles and their infrastructure.  

Safety representatives of vehicle and equipment manufacturers, fire protection specialists, electrical safety organizations and emergency responders, as well as governmental entities at the federal, state and local level involved in enhancing consumer safety and interagency communications, are encouraged to participate in the Summit.

Day one of the Summit will feature presentations and panel discussions from vehicle, infrastructure, emergency responder and support/end user representatives.  Perspectives from these presentations and panel discussions will be used to initiate a series of work groups and cross-industry dialogue on day two in which all Summit attendees participate.

• Speakers providing an overall perspective on the EV/PHEV market drivers and current status will include:   Keynote Speaker Robert C. Lange, Exponent Inc., a noted expert on vehicle safety integration;
• Phil Gorney, USDOT, who will address the regulatory perspective;
• and Oliver Hazimeh, PRTM Management Consultants, who will address the current status of the EV/PHEV market.

Speakers representing vehicle/battery design and development will include:  

• Rajesh Nagappala, General Motors, on vehicle safety standards;
• Robert Galyen, Magna E-Car, on battery safety standards;
• Ted Bohn, Argonne National Lab, on vehicle research;
• and Alvaro Masias, Ford Motor Company, on battery research.

Built Infrastructure representatives will include:  

• Lonny Simonian, California Polytechnic, on EV Charging Codes and Standards;
• Mark Early, NFPA, on National Electric Code Updates;
• Seth Gerber, Consumers Energy, on the utility perspective;
• and Ken Boyce, Underwriter's Lab, on EVSE standardization.

Emergency Responder representation will include:  

• Andrew Klock, Emergency Responder EV Training Project;
• and Bob Duval, NFPA, on electric vehicle fire issues; as well as representatives of code enforcement agencies and organizations.

Support and end user representatives will include:  

• Bill Giorges, Michigan Towing, on the tow and salvage perspective;
• Rich Gallagher, Zurich Services, on infrastructure insurance;
• Carl Rivken, NREL, on electric highway case studies;
• along with representatives of vehicle fleet interests.

A sponsored reception, featuring a Chevy Volt Safety Walk-Through as well as tours of the GM On-Star Command Center, will be held on Tuesday evening, September 27.  

For more information, including registration, visit http://www.sae.org/events/nevss.

About NFPA

NFPA is a worldwide leader in fire, electrical, building, and life safety. The mission of the international nonprofit organization founded in 1896 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 website at www.nfpa.org for more information.

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.  Visit SAE International's website at http://www.sae.org/ for additional information.

- www.sae.org -

Contact: Shawn Andreassi of SAE International, 1-724-772-8522 or [email protected]

SOURCE SAE International