SIRIM Certification Will Soon Be Mandatory For EV Ecosystem

For safety reasons, the government wants to make it mandatory for the ecosystem supporting electric vehicles (EVs) to receive certification from Sirim Bhd before going on sale. This move will involve EV batteries and charging stations.

Interest groups see the government's proposal to require SIRIM certification for every element of the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem as a positive move. They believe that this could lessen the likelihood of hazardous occurrences like electric vehicle charging systems (EVCS) catching fire.

Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) are increasing exponentially in Malaysia, and this trend is probably going to continue until the end of the year.

Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry, stated that there are currently over 100,000 electric vehicles registered in Malaysia. Within a year or two, Sirim certification for all EV-related facilities may become required, according to Datuk Dr. Ahmad Sabirin Arshad, president and group chief executive officer of SIRIM Bhd.

"It is not mandatory now. The government is giving companies time to keep the industry growing.

"There are some companies that already have their certifications as they have sent their products to be tested by Sirim, but many have yet to do so," he said.

According to Sabirin, the certification body was crucial in the testing, approval, and certification of the EV ecosystem's technology, particularly the batteries.

He said that the National Metrology Institute Malaysia, an organization under Sirim, would have to approve the patent design in order for the approval and certification to proceed. The products would then be tested and certified by the body, he continued. Although it is preferable for the EV ecosystem components to be certified by Sirim, it's also crucial to investigate the contents of the certification, according to Professor Dr. Wong Shaw Voon, chairman of the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros).

Certifications are crucial to preventing any kind of electric vehicle combustion, like the one that occurred at the EVCS bay in Johor on December 31, he added. For the record, there are 2,020 EV charging stations in the country as of right now. The government remained committed to its goal of having 10,000 EV charging stations nationwide by the following year.