Electric cars having no internal combustion engines does not make it safer, as it is broadly accepted that if a battery catches fire, the outcome is much more catastrophic than a gasoline explosion.
Volvo Cars' EV brand Polestar has done this by incorporating the battery within the structure of its upcoming Polestar 2.
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There are additional benefits to it. Apart from providing safety to the battery, it provides a stiffer body structure, minimising damage in case of a collision. The battery setup is also claimed to make the structure stable, acting as a damper to reduce so-called Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH).
For added protection to the battery, it has been enclosed in an aluminium case and is also meant to disconnect from the entire car in the case of collision.
These, of course, are only the safety features specifically designed to protect the battery. Also, the Polestar 2 features ‘SPOC Block’ (Severe Partial Offset Crash), a deflective solid aluminium block housed on the bottom edge of the front firewall on either side of the car. It has been designed to minimize the intrusion of the components outside the cabin from coming in, protecting both the battery pack and the passengers.
Thomas Ingenlath, Chief Executive Officer of Polestar understands this better than anyone else - “We are directly linked to Volvo Cars and with that comes their famous reputation for outstanding safety technology.”
First of three shields is a “rounded, hollow aluminium bar” designed to deflect or absorb the impact of anything and turn it upwards away from the battery pack. A third shield is a shallow angle, solid “aluminium extrusion” to absorb the residual impact energy.
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