As EU nations pledged to ban the sale of vehicles with combustion engines by 2035 (2030 in the UK), there was a need to significantly progress the manufacture of electric vehicles (EVs). This created challenges for the wider supply chain to deliver design requirements, joining and manufacturing technologies, recycling, inspection, testing and validation for EV batteries. One key concern was that poorly-formed joints can result in the loss of individual cells, which could potentially lead to module loss or even local thermal events.
To help prevent this, TWI has been undertaking specific research to benchmark and quantify the different joining technologies and, in the process, develop comparable data sets. The aim of researching battery pack joining and joint performance using techniques suitable to connect cells and other features to bus bars was just part of this research, with other work focusing on the recyclability/reusability of battery packs so that the separate components and waste streams can be separated. Additionally, TWI has been identifying industrial requirements for standards that do not yet exist.
You can find out more about this work, here: https://www.twi-global.com/media-and-events/press-releases/2022/design-of-experiment-study-of-ev-battery-joints
