High voltage electrical safety training designed specifically for Formula Student EV category entrants
Formula Student High Voltage Essentials is a 1 day course designed to equip your Electrical System Officer (ESO) with the skills and knowledge to understand the safety implications of working with high voltage batteries and learn high voltage working practices.
In this 1 day course participants can expect to learn about the following topics:
- The competent and safe measurement of electrical circuits
- High voltage working practice – including how to disassemble and reassemble a high voltage battery, competently and safely
- Fire and lithium-ion batteries
- Thermal runaway
- Causes of lithium-ion battery fires
- Methods of extinguishing a lithium-ion battery fire
- Post fire battery monitoring
- When high voltage batteries and water mix
- Fire and the potential for harmful fumes
- Hydrogen fluoride and hydrofluoric acid
- Lithium-ion electrolyte and handling a leak
- First aid essentials
- Minimising risks – dynamic risk assessments
- Personal Protective Equipment – PPE
- High voltage tooling and equipment and their associated ratings
- Charging and discharging lithium-ion high voltage batteries
Testimonial – Formula Student ESO from Imperial College London
“We reached out to OVA as we were looking to get trained up for our work with HV systems and Li-ion batteries. Ben and his team were extremely quick to respond to our every concern, even crafting a bespoke training programme based on our team’s needs which was very helpful. The conduct of the training was professional, and Ben was well equipped to answer all our questions with regards to both HV systems and batteries. He remained fully dedicated throughout the entire training session, staying on-site with us late into the evening to ensure that any doubts we had were cleared before he considered his job done. I am grateful to Ben and his team, and would highly recommend them for their competence and professionalism!”
What is an Electrical System Officer (ESO)?
Formula Student teams participating in the EV category are required to appoint at least one Electrical System Officer (ESO). The ESO(s) is the only person in the team who may declare the vehicle electrically safe, in order for work to be performed on any system of the vehicle by the team.
The ESO must be certified or must have received appropriate practical training, whether formal or informal, for working with high voltage systems in automotive vehicles. Details of the training must be provided to the organizers on the ESO/ESA form for approval.
Formula Student is Europe’s most established educational engineering competition which uses motorsport to inspire students
Backed by industry and high-profile engineers such as Patron, Ross Brawn OBE, the competition aims to develop enterprising and innovative young engineers and encourage more young people to take up a career in engineering. The format provides an ideal opportunity for students to demonstrate their engineering knowledge and test and improve their capabilities to deliver a complex and integrated product in the demanding environment of a motorsport competition.
