Automotive Safety-Lifecycle

In the aerospace domain, safety considerations, methods, guidelines and certifications are applied for a long time [2] [3], establishing a safety lifecycle. State of the art processes, concerning safety in the automotive domain, base on hazard analysis, failure mode and effect analysis (EMEA) [4], fault tree analysis (ETA) [5], Markov chains and reviews. A standardized safety lifecycle is not yet applied in the automotive domain. 

ISO 26262 [6] standardizes a safety lifecycle process, concurrent to the already applied development processes, which, in the automotive industry, are based on the V-Model 97 [7]. ISO 26262 is the interpretation of the DIN EN 61508 [8] [9] for road vehicles with a maximum weight of 3,5t. The draft standard has been published in July 2009, its publication as international standard is expected for 2011. 

The ISO 26262 standard has been developed to address the exponential growth in complexity of the software integrated into automotive systems, and the inherent potential for catastrophic failure. The standard aims to address these failures, by defining a safety lifecycle-process to ensure that safety is taken into account in the design of electronic systems in automotive applications. 

Lithium-ion batteries ( LIBs ) are the key cost drivers in hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. Significant improvements in the last few years with respect to performance, safety and lifecycle now make it possible to produce these technologies at a reasonable cost. As a result, the automotive industry has become a major potential customer for the LIB industry. At the same time, the door has been opened for new players to enter the market. 

---