Sri Lanka is considering mandatory standards for electric vehicles, batteries, controllers and charging stations entering the country, after officials told a parliamentary committee there are currently no compulsory testing or certification requirements.
The matter came before the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Science, Technology and Digital Transformation, chaired by MP Dr. Janaka Senarathna, the Daily Mirror reported.
The gap identified
Officials said the National Engineering Research and Development Centre (NERDC) already has facilities to test electric vehicle batteries — including capacity, durability and lifespan.
The problem is not capability but obligation: no mandatory standard governs electric vehicles and related equipment imported into Sri Lanka, so that testing is not required of anyone. The committee pressed for standards to be introduced and testing and certification made compulsory.
Petrol-to-electric conversions
Discussion also covered the technology used to convert fuel-powered vehicles into electric vehicles, an unregulated aftermarket activity. The committee raised the need for specialised training programmes, safety standards and a regulatory mechanism covering conversions specifically.
Research institutions losing staff
At the same meeting, officials reported that state research and development institutions face shortages of qualified personnel, and that improved salary and allowance schemes are needed to attract and retain engineers and researchers, the Daily Mirror reported separately.
The committee also weighed consolidating institutions carrying out similar functions to improve efficiency and avoid duplication, and discussed managing research outcomes more effectively.
The two threads connect: the body named as technically capable of testing EV batteries belongs to the same sector described as unable to retain the engineers who would do that work.
Reports reviewed
The committee considered the NERDC Annual Report for 2022, the National Science and Technology Commission for 2023, the Sri Lanka Inventors Commission for 2024, and the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Annual Performance Report for 2025 — a backlog spanning four years.
Not reported
Neither filing states when any standard would take effect, which agency would set or enforce it, whether it would apply to vehicles already imported, or what the vacancy rate at state research institutions actually is.
