Evonik and partners develop next-generation electric vehicle battery packs

● The new battery pack uses lightweight sheet molding compound to make the high-voltage battery case

● Semi-integrated integrated design can meet the energy-saving and safety requirements of various future models

● Evonik's technical expertise in composite matrices enables the development of cost-effective, high-performance fast charging technology

VESTARO, a joint venture between Evonik and its partners, has successfully developed a lighter and more cost-effective battery for electric vehicles (BEV) solutions and has developed a new generation of battery packs, the "Pure Performance Battery" (PBB)
.
The casing of the battery pack is made of sheet molding compound (SMC) based on Evonik's high-performance curing agent system
.
This new integrated battery system offers the automotive industry a safe, lightweight and cost-effective alternative to metal materials
.

VESTARO was established at the end of 2019 to develop a new generation of power battery solutions
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The company first developed a cost-effective glass fiber (GF)-SMC battery housing in which Evonik's VESTALITE® S high-performance epoxy curing agent was used
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This innovative SMC material can reduce the weight of battery casings by nearly 10% compared to casings made of higher-cost materials
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In addition, the performance level of the SMC battery case is comparable to that of the traditional metal battery case, and a semi-integrated design can be realized
.

In early 2021, VESTARO successfully launched the GF-SMC battery case
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Subsequently, the auto parts manufacturer Minth GmbH joined the cooperation project
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Leveraging Minth's extensive experience in aluminum alloy solutions, VESTARO addresses two of today's biggest challenges in battery pack development: bottom impact performance and integrated technology
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In order to meet the stringent requirements of car manufacturers in terms of side bars and bottom impact resistance, and ensure that there is no leakage or failure, VESTARO has proposed a novel solution that takes full advantage of the design freedom of SMC materials
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The bottom structure of the battery system is replaced by an aluminum sandwich plate developed by Minth, which improves the impact resistance of the bottom, and this design also plays a key role in the semi-integrated battery integration scheme: by removing the additional side profiled elements, the Make room for more battery cells
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In addition, the bottom impact resistance of the mezzanine floor has been improved, reducing the space required for module installation
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These extra spaces created for the battery cells keep the external dimensions of the battery pack essentially unchanged from the previous generation design, but the battery capacity can be increased from 65kWh to 75kWh
.

Sebastian de Nardo, Marketing Director, Adhesives and Composites, Evonik’s Crosslinkers business line, said: “We are committed to developing high-performance power battery packs
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The new epoxy resin SMC battery case based on VESTALITE® curing agent Meet the needs of fire protection and anti-collision
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Thanks to Evonik's strong product portfolio and expertise, this glass fiber reinforced composite material also has good anti-electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance
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In addition, we can also customize according to customer requirements Exactly requires tuning the performance of the battery pack
.
”

The Pure Performance Battery was designed and validated using Forward Engineering's unique BEV baseplate structure development tool, measuring approximately 2.
1 meters in length, approximately 1.
58 meters in width, and a maximum height of 0.
15 to 0.
22 meters
.
This battery pack is suitable for various vehicle types
.
PPB battery packs made of new GF-SMC material battery housings are comparable in weight to current high-end solutions, but with significantly improved performance
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Due to the semi-integrated modular design, the battery pack can flexibly adjust the number of modules, and complex geometric designs can be realized through a single process, thereby adjusting the performance level of the battery according to different requirements
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This super rechargeable battery concept is based on LION Smart's LIGHT Battery technology, which can be fully charged within 13 minutes when the charging power is stable above 200kW (10%-80% battery state of charge)
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At present, the development goal of this battery system is to shorten the battery charging time to less than 10 minutes
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Improving the sustainability of components is also an important topic in the automotive industry
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The case design of the PBB battery pack is easy to remove, allowing manufacturers to quickly remove and install battery modules and other peripheral components
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In addition, the shell itself can be recycled through the recycling process of LORENZ Kunststofftechnik and used again in new composite parts
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Forward Engineering, the joint venture partner of Evonik and VESTARO, is working with Lorenz Kunststofftechnik, LION Smart and Minth to give full play to their respective expertise in automotive engineering and materials to develop new power battery systems for the automotive industry that can meet the complex needs of the market
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In addition, this partnership model will provide more integration services to meet other potential customer requirements
.