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Background
The battery industry has long relied on nickel-plated steel for cylindrical battery cases due to its proven durability and ability to meet demanding performance standards. However, as the need for lightweight and environmentally friendly materials grow, aluminum alloys have emerged as a potential alternative. Its significantly lighter weight could reduce the overall mass of battery packs, improving the energy efficiency and performance of electric vehicles while lowering the transportation sector’s carbon footprint.
Advancing aluminum alloy battery cases from concept to market-ready solutions requires addressing several key challenges. Selecting the right aluminum alloy is crucial, as it must possess the appropriate mechanical properties to ensure sufficient sidewall strength, meeting burst pressure requirements and operational demands. Optimizing the tempering process is also important to enhance properties like tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation, ensuring the alloy performs effectively under stress.
Comprehensive evaluations, including corrosion resistance must also be conducted to ensure the material’s long-term reliability. Real-world testing will help identify potential failure points and refine the design to meet safety and performance standards. These steps are essential to unlocking the potential of aluminum battery cases as an innovative and sustainable solution for electric vehicles.
What we are looking for:
We are looking for a partner to fabricate a fully functional cylindrical battery incorporating Novelis’ aluminum alloy battery case and perform comprehensive performance testing. Novelis will either provide raw materials for the case, which the partner will fabricate, or deliver a pre-fabricated case ready for battery assembly. The partner must build the battery using the provided case and conduct testing, including cell charge/discharge performance, cell skin temperature measurements, and other critical evaluations to assess performance and durability.
Must-have requirements:
- Ability to produce cylindrical battery cells incorporating the provided cases, ideally in 4680 or a similar large format (21700 cells may also be considered)
- Expertise in conducting comprehensive cell performance testing
Email Swapneeta Date, CTTC Assistant Director of Life Sciences Collaborations, at Swapneeta.Date@Vanderbilt.edu for more information.