Sponsored by LORD Corporation The focus of LORD Corporation’s study is to investigate how the superior thermal transfer provided by gap fillers versus gap pads affects cooling of actual battery modules. Battery modules were assembled using LORD gap fillers with thermal conductivity of 2 and 4 W/m·K, and also with commercially available gap pads of… Read more »
Software specialist Altair has added a new battery simulation software, Sendyne’s CellMod Virtual Battery, to the Altair Partner Alliance (APA), its suite of 3rd-party software products available to customers of its Hyperworks product simulation platform. CellMod is a virtual lithium-ion battery that can predict cell and pack behavior, including thermal behavior It accepts inputs including… Read more »
Aptera Motors, a start-up building an ultra-efficient EV, has teamed up with Elaphe Propulsion Technologies, a manufacturer of in-wheel motors. Aptera says in-wheel motors offer it advantages that would be impossible to achieve with other propulsion systems, including enhanced aerodynamics, lighter overall vehicle weight and improved handling, all of which result in better mileage and… Read more »
Millbrook Revolutionary Engineering has opened a new EV driveline test facility in the San Francisco Bay area. The 25,000-square-foot facility will offer testing of inverters and vehicle-in-loop capabilities, battery simulators and e-machine testing at speeds of 20,000 rpm. The company has installed four electric drive unit test stands with a combined capacity of 2,880 testing… Read more »
Calex Manufacturing has launched the 24S53.19FXW DC-DC converter, the final product in the company’s FXW series of DC-DC converters. The new converter features a power density of 181 W/in³ over a 9-36 VDC input range. The 1,000-watt converter measures 2.5 x 4.7 x 0.52 inches. In a bid to optimize performance, Calex has equipped the… Read more »
Silicon carbide manufacturer Cree plans to build a new manufacturing facility in Marcy, New York. The fabrication facility for 200 mm power and radio frequency wafers, which will have a footprint of 480,000 square feet upon completion, will help increase capacity for the company’s Wolfspeed SiC and GaN business. The facility is the result of… Read more »
Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, and Japanese chemical manufacturer Piotrek have partnered to produce the next generation of solid poly electrolytes (SPEs) for lithium batteries, using Piotrek’s ion conducting polymers (ICP) and CSIRO’s reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymer technology. Piotrek General Manager Ihei Sada said, “This partnership will help Piotrek make our batteries safer… Read more »
Volkswagen and Swedish battery maker Northvolt have created a 50/50 joint venture to build a factory for lithium-ion batteries. Construction of the production facility is scheduled to start in Salzgitter, Germany in 2020. The companies plan to start production by the end of 2023 and initially produce 16 GWh per year. VW has invested €900… Read more »
Freudenberg Sealing Technologies is launching a new line of conductive seals that are designed to allow for durable connections between housings and shafts, while preventing bearing damage from electricity and electromagnetic radiation. The first functional models should be available within the next few months. Tim Leichner, Head of Strategic Product Advance Development at Freudenberg, said,… Read more »
EIT Raw Materials, a European Union consortium, has granted €4.7 million (about $5.2 million) to the Recycling Li-ion batteries for electric Vehicle (ReLieVe) project to develop a closed-loop process for recycling Li-ion batteries and support the production of new Li-ion batteries in Europe. ReLieVe will carry out its development for two years beginning in January… Read more »