BS EN IEC 61980-1:2021

What is BS EN IEC 61980‑1 about?  

BS EN IEC 61980‑1 covers general requirements for electric road vehicle (EV) wireless power transfer (WPT) systems including general background and definitions (e.g., efficiency, electrical safety, EMC, EMF).  

BS EN IEC 61980‑1, a part of IEC 61980 applies to the supply device for charging electric road vehicles using wireless methods at standard supply voltages per IEC 60038 up to 1 000 V AC and up to 1 500 V DC. Electric road vehicles (EV) cover road vehicles, including plug-in hybrid road vehicles (PHEV) that derive all or part of their energy from on-board rechargeable energy storage systems (RESS). 

BS EN IEC 61980‑1 also applies to wireless power transfer (WPT) equipment supplied from on-site storage systems (e.g., buffer batteries). 

The aspects covered in BS EN IEC 61980‑1 include: 

• The characteristics and operating conditions of a supply device 
• The specification for the required level of electrical safety of a supply device 
• Communication between EV device and vehicle to enable and control WPT 
• Efficiency, alignment, and other activities to enable WPT 
• Specific EMC requirements for a supply device 

NOTE 1: This document does not apply to: 

•  Safety aspects related to maintenance 
• WPT system for trolleybuses, rail vehicles, and vehicles designed primarily for use off‑road 
• Any safety or EMC requirements for the vehicle side 

Who is BS EN IEC 61980‑1? 

BS EN IEC 61980‑1 on general requirements of electric vehicle wireless power transfer (WPT) systems is applicable to: 

• Electric vehicle manufacturers  
• Electric vehicle wireless power transfer (WPT) systems manufacturers 
• Electric vehicle charger manufacturers  
• Electric vehicle charging stations 
• Vehicle regulatory authorities  

Why should you use BS EN IEC 61980‑1?  

BS EN IEC 61980‑1 gives guidelines for the design and construction of wireless power transfer system so that, in normal use, it connects to the EV device in a manner that assures that wireless power transfer functions safely, and its performance is reliable and minimizes the risk of danger to the user or surroundings. BS EN IEC 61980‑1 will help you improve the safety of the wireless power transfer system. 

BS EN IEC 61980‑1 provides the communication required between the supply device and the EV device exchanges information necessary to start, control, and terminate the process of WPT. 

The charging process of an EV involves a massive amount of power transfer so any contact with a live part will be hazardous. BS EN IEC 61980‑1 specifies methods for protection against electric shocks and degrees of protection against access to hazardous-live parts.  

What’s changed since the last update?  

BS EN IEC 61980‑1:2021 edition cancels and replaces the first edition published in 2015. This edition constitutes a technical revision. 

BS EN IEC 61980‑1:2021 edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition: 

• The contents of IEC 61980-1:2015 have been re-organized so that this document is generally applicable to any WPT technologies; 
• Technology specific requirements, mostly for MF-WPT in the main text of IEC 61980-1:2015, have been transferred to IEC 61980-2 and IEC 61980-3; 
• Annex A, Annex B and Annex C have been removed and contents of these annexes have been transferred to the relevant technology specific parts of the IEC 61980 series; 
• Duplications and overlaps of the requirements within IEC 61980-1:2015 have been resolved; 
• Terms and definitions which are specified in IEC 61851-1:2017 and are applicable for WPT system have been directly described in this document, with modification for some terms. 
• The reference to IEC 61851-1 is withdrawn.