Safety and performance assessment for promotional introduction of electric scooters and power-assisted bikes in Italy

摘要

In Italy the strong will of governmental and local authorities to promote an extensive use of electric vehicles (with 2- or more wheels) and electric bikes found a significant obstacle in the lack of clear rules to determine safety aspects (partially covered by homologation procedures, such as, e.g., charging hazards, connectors design, mechanical robustness and so on), to define some vehicle categories and to clearly state technical performances. Different public authorities (Ministry officers, regional and municipal decision makers) have been facing the controversial problems to introduce innovative technologies for solving environmental problems related to the use of carbon-based fuels in the transport sector, while these technologies were not all completely mature and verified in terms of performance, reliability and safety. Many attempts have been jointly performed by public authorities and associations, such as CEI-CIVES (the Italian Commission for Road Electric, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Vehicles) and ANCMA (the national association of 2-w vehicle manufacturers), to accelerate the market introduction and improve public acceptance of cleaner transport means. A dedicated working group, established in 1999 by the Italian Ministry of Environment, identified clear specifications for admitting electric scooters and power-assisted bikes to public subsidy. In subsequent financial incentive schemes, these rules have been further developed and applied with a few differences between various funding bodies. One of the qualifying points is to make available objective performance data to potential purchasers, by means of independent testing institute characterization: ENEA is supporting potential producers/importers with qualified testing services. This paper illustrates the applied procedures to guarantee and improve quality of small electric vehicles, admitted to public funding. Moreover, the verified technical performances of some vehicles at ENEA testing laboratory and the market effects of such measures will be illustrated.