Adaptable high-performance battery pack module for the niche market

Authors

A. Farman, G. Cummings, J. Miller, R. Corbishley, S. Reader - MAHLE Powertrain Limited

Summary

The rapid switch to battery electric vehicles presents challenges for many low-volume, niche-vehicle manufacturers. These manufacturers, especially those in the high-performance segment, need to develop a very high-specification, high-performance product to satisfy customers’ expectations. The development of bespoke, high-performance, battery packs for low-volume applications is economically challenging. To reduce this financial burden, MAHLE Powertrain has developed a reconfigurable battery module, which can form the basis of bespoke high-performance battery packs. A novel, advanced cooling concept has been developed, enabling sustained high-performance levels to be achieved.

To give maximum module specification flexibility, it is based around 21700 format cylindrical cells. Cell selection is tailored to the application requirements to give the optimal energy capacity and power capability trade-off. The module is based on a common validated architecture, the configuration of which can be tailored, in terms of the number of parallel cells and series cells, to suit the required voltage and current levels for the application.

A key feature of the flexible battery module is a novel cell cooling concept developed by MAHLE Powertrain which enables the battery pack to deliver sustained high-performance operation using relatively conventional water-glycol cooling plates. This enhanced cooling arrangement makes this flexible architecture particularly well suited to very high-performance applications.