EVALUS JOURNAL
2026-08-13
“High voltage” has become an established term in electric mobility. It is used to classify electrical systems, define safety concepts and increasingly to describe training and qualifications.
But this creates a problem:
Today, HV may describe a voltage class, a vehicle system, a hazard and a qualification at the same time.
These are not the same thing.
Existing vehicle classifications have a clear purpose. ISO 6469-3, for example, specifies electrical-safety requirements for voltage-class-B circuits in electrically propelled road vehicles. ISO also explicitly states that the standard does not provide comprehensive safety information for manufacturing, maintenance and repair personnel.
That distinction matters.
Electric propulsion is no longer limited to passenger cars. It is used in commercial vehicles, machinery, racing vehicles, aircraft, watercraft and rail vehicles.
The electrical hazard to a human being, however, is not determined by whether the system is installed in a car, aircraft or machine.
We should therefore separate two questions:
How does the electrically propelled system work?
and:
How can a person work on it safely?
The first is about technical competence.
The second is about safety competence.
This leads to an important principle:
A voltage class is not a competence class.
A possible future model could therefore distinguish between:
EV = Electric Vehicle Competence
and:
HV = Hazardous Voltage Safety Competence
Two domains.
One objective.
Safe and competent work.