After decades building a reputation for performance and reliability among global OEMs and component suppliers, Henkel has expanded its broad portfolio of adhesives, sealants, and functional coatings to serve EV manufacturers with innovative solutions across the EV segment. When it comes to ensuring the safety and durability of EV batteries, proper sealing is one of the most critical performance factors. More…

GKN Automotive has unveiled a plug-and-play e-drive concept designed for niche EV players and conversion companies.
GKN says the eCrate concept is the basis for a cost-effective modular e-drive system using market-proven technology in an off-the-shelf format. More…

Large EV battery packs can contain thousands of cells that have to be connected to form modules and packs, then connected via busbars to other driveline components such as inverters and DC-DC converters to make robust and reliable connections quickly and efficiently in confined spaces while keeping costs down.
That has made the design and construction of busbars and interconnect systems an important subject of r&d as voltages get higher and the thermal conductivity of their components becomes increasingly important to cooling. Engineers therefore face a set of challenges in designing and manufacturing these systems, particularly in mass-production environments. More…

Researchers in the US have developed a high-power solid-state battery using aluminium that avoids previous reliability issues (writes Nick Flaherty).
The team, from the Georgia Institute of Technology (GATech), worked with Novelis, which manufactures aluminium and is the world’s largest aluminium More…

Scania has updated its urban battery electric truck range and added a new electric machine (combined electric motor and gearbox) to its line-up.
The battery electric urban truck range, originally launched in 2021, has been given a major update in line with Scania’s regional battery electric line-up. More…

iDEAL Semiconductor has developed a technology that can improve the efficiency and cut the cost of power MOSFETs for e-mobility applications (writes Nick Flaherty).
The SuperQ process technology can also be applied to SiC MOSFETs and GaN transistors in the future, said Mark Granahan, CEO and founder of iDeal Semiconductor. More…

Associated Environmental Systems (AES) showed its All Test Platform (ATP), a fixture designed to support a number of cells within an environmental test chamber of its own manufacture, at the US Battery Show North America in Novi, Michigan (writes Peter Donaldson). More…

Nick Flaherty explains how techniques for analysing the surface of battery materials are leading to better cell designs Materials analysis is essential in developing new battery components and ensuring they meet high standards of quality. Thermal analysis plays an important part in raw material characterisation, especially for thermal runway issues. More…

BMW and Airbus are using a quantum computer to improve the design of hydrogen fuel cells (writes Nick Flaherty).
The two are working with quantum computing company Quantinuum on a design flow that combines quantum and classical techniques to speed up research. More…

Porsche and Frauscher Shipyard have presented the first production model of their electric 850 Fantom Air.
Equipped with powertrain technology from the forthcoming all-electric Porsche Macan, it uses components of the Premium Platform Electric on which the Macan is based. This includes a permanently excited synchronous electric motor, whose peak power for the eFantom has been limited to 400 kW, and the associated power electronics. More…

Comau has implemented a turnkey solution to automate the manufacturing of NIO’s next-generation e-drive systems. The company says it ensures fast and reliable co-line production for the EV manufacturer’s third-gen induction and permanent magnet motors.
The solution includes primary lines such as e-motor assembly lines, gearbox manufacturing and inverter assembly lines, as well as end-of-line testing processes. More…

Peter Donaldson reports on how this zero-emissions version of a diesel piling rig has been designed and developed Drilling piles into the ground has been a crucial task in building for thousands of years. Whether they’re made from timber, reinforced concrete, steel or aluminium – and whether in column or sheet form – they help to stabilise the ground and make it more able to support heavy structures. More…

ZF’s Commercial Vehicle Solutions division showcased its AxTrax 2 LF electric portal axle for low-floor city buses at the recent Busworld 2023 show. More…

Elinta Motors has launched its third-generation 400 and 800 V systems. The 400 V version is aimed at light to medium-duty vehicles, and features a 160 kW motor and up to 168 kWh with four battery packs. More…

Researchers in the US and UK have used additive manufacturing (AM) to develop a 3D-printed motor with materials previously considered too brittle to use (writes Nick Flaherty).
The researchers, at the University of Sheffield in the UK and the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US, have developed a 10 kW prototype motor that they are scaling up to 40 kW for e-mobility applications. More…

Battery power systems producer EaglePicher has announced an award by Saab to design and develop a 24 V, 36 Ah lithium-ion batteries for its Gripen E-series fighter aircraft. They are the first of their kind to be used on Saab’s aircraft. More…

Welding experts give Peter Donaldson their views on how the technology is keeping abreast of developments in the EV batteries industry Welding is a vitally important family of joining techniques for EV battery systems. A large battery might need thousands of individual connections, joining the positive and negative terminals of cells together in combinations of parallel and series blocks to form modules and packs of the required voltage and capacity. More…

About:Energy has characterised the P45B high-power battery cell from Molicel being used in several eVTOL designs (writes Nick Flaherty).
The P45B has a 10C pulse discharge capability and a 3C charge capability but can still provide a 242 Wh/kg nominal specific energy. Its low DC internal resistance is measured by About:Energy at 13.8 mΩ (7.86 mΩ for 0.2 seconds) bodes well for high C-rate use cases, particularly where the thermal management system is constrained. More…

Bo, maker and developer of the world’s most sophisticated urban micro-mobility vehicle, announces the move to production and confirms full launch specifications of the revolutionary Bo M, a new electric vehicle for city riders, which will offer the smoothest and most stable ride of any vehicle in its class. More…

Adhesives & Bonding Expo Europe, co-located with Foam Expo Europe and Thermal Management Expo Europe, is a free-to-attend trade fair and conference scheduled to take place from 5-7 December 2023, in Stuttgart, Germany – a renowned manufacturing hub and an established location for the automotive industry. More…