Major player consortium announces new lighter EV battery

One of the primary keys to unlocking the world of mass electric-powered transportation is the issue of battery weight and its subsequent reduction and a collaboration between five major companies have developed a brand-independent, cost-effective battery concept for electric vehicles with a significant reduction in weight.

Evonik, Forward Engineering, LION Smart, Lorenz Kunststofftechnik, and Vestaro have joined forces to produce a battery that’s weight has been reduced by around ten percent compared with other commonly used material combinations, vitally retaining its standard mechanical characteristics.

The main aim is to develop a lightweight battery concept for battery electric vehicles that is suitable for series production, based on standardised assemblies and a cross-market component standard.

The construction of the battery cells is designed for fully automated, cost-efficient production. In addition, the battery design is particularly safe, as the individual cells are enclosed in a non-flammable dielectric coolant. This also ensures a constantly low average temperature within the battery, which benefits cell ageing. The modular series design of the battery also allows flexible adjustment of the number of modules with an extremely low overall height.

LION Smart was responsible for assembling the batteries, using the supercell concept developed in-house, whilst the battery housing was put together by Lorenz who constructed a new glass-fiber-reinforced epoxy sheet moulding compound (SMC) using Evonik's VESTALITE®S epoxy hardener, with excellent properties in terms of bending, impact, and fire resistance. The structure of the housing was realised by Vestaro with a bottom plate made of aluminium. Transversal beams are used to attach the battery modules, and the carrier plate for the battery management system is also fixed to the aluminium base.

Following extensive testing by Forward Engineering under real conditions within the framework of structural and safety-related simulations three energy configurations are currently available with 65, 85 or 120 kWh options produced.

65 kWh at a total weight of 412.1 kg
85 kWh at 527.3 kg
120kWh with 800V at 789.2 kg

In terms of energy density, safety and cost, the three energy configurations are at least on a par with current battery models on the market and even surpass them in specific metrics.