Electric Vehicle Battery Systems

New battery designs are required to fuel the electric vehicle revolution. Critical end-consumer perceptions of range anxiety, as well as price and safety concerns, must be addressed through batteries that offer reliable and safe operation of the car in tandem with fast charging. 

Battery designs vary, most notably in terms of the type of battery cells used — manufacturers typically use either cylindrical, pouch or prismatic cells. Given the variety of designs, OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers face a common set of engineering and commercial challenges: cost reduction, lifetime performance optimization, safety and reliability, and seamless integration into the car body. Henkel’s best-in-class thermal management materials, adhesives, sealants, and coating technologies can support vehicle manufacturers and suppliers in addressing these challenges. As battery technology and manufacturing is a major cost driver, optimizing the production processes with high performance materials can drive down overall electric vehicle prices.

Thermal Management

Thermal management in EVs, ensuring batteries do not overheat, is a critical focus for vehicle safety and lifetime battery performance. End-consumer range anxiety can be specifically addressed with technology solutions that ensure higher energy density and fast charging, without increased stress on the battery system. For these thermal management requirements, Henkel offers a broad range of thermal gap fillers and other thermal interface materials (e.g. thermal gap pads, thermally conductive adhesives) to improve battery pack performance and reliability.

Safety

Components of EV battery systems require mechanical security, as well as shock and vibration stability for optimal performance against any internal and external conditions. Higher energy density batteries with reduced weight are the ideal, without compromising their safe resistance to impact in the event of a crash. Regardless of the fuel cell vs battery debate, the safety of energy storage devices, is a core concern for manufacturers. This concern is further heightened by the UL94 and other flame retardancy compliance standards. Automotive OEMs need battery packs capable of being reopened for service and maintenance, and Henkel also has gasketing technologies designed to comply with this requirement.

System Costs

To ensure the widespread adoption of electric vehicle batteries, innovative battery design and material developments that reduce manufacturing costs must be implemented. Henkel’s materials are designed for automotive applications and can be applied at high dispense rates, allowing manufacturers to significantly reduce processing times. With formulations designed to reduce long-term wear and tear on dispensing equipment, Henkel materials can also resulting in additional cost savings.

Lightweighting

Total vehicle weight is tied inextricably to the range of electric vehicles. The battery pack is a major contributor, typically weighing between 600 and 700 kilograms for the average battery electric vehicle (BEV). Smart lightweight designs can counterbalance part of this, and Henkel’s engineering expertise and partnership with RLE International is fundamental for optimizing aluminum structures per crash standards and passenger safety.

Sustainability

With the remarkable growth in EV production, large volumes of EV batteries will reach their end-of-life (EOL) through the next years. Therefore, it is now increasingly important to address the topic of battery recyclability and to build a global circular economy for EV batteries, enabling the recovery and reuse of raw materials. At Henkel, we are collaborating with OEMs and battery manufacturers on developing next-generation materials to enable the seamless disassembly of batteries for repair, reuse, recycling and repurposing.

Discover Henkel Solutions for EV Batteries