With the global drive towards a zero-emission transport sector well underway, the UK is taking steps to ensure it holds a position of strength at the forefront of battery technology development and manufacturing.
When the UK Government’s Business and Trade Committee published the findings of its ‘Batteries for Electric Vehicle Manufacturing’ inquiry in November 2023, it specifically recommended that the government funds new research that will put the UK’s ability to develop cutting-edge battery technology on a solid long-term footing.
Key to the government’s fresh battery ambition is developing new material coating technology that will unlock the use of lightweight materials – including aluminium and plastic composites – across EV battery enclosures and cooling plates.
In almost all cases, these battery assembly components are manufactured using heavy-duty steel – increasing the weight of today’s EVs and therefore hampering range. Alternative, lightweight materials are needed to enable transformational change.
The materials challenge
One of the primary considerations for EV manufacturers is battery safety. And this is where the importance of material choice comes to the fore.
Mass-produced steel battery enclosures provide flameproofing and protection for vehicle occupants up to around 1300°C during a battery runaway event – but the core material is supremely heavy.
In contrast, aluminium melts at about 660°C – yet would secure a 30-40% weight saving against steel. And plastic composite materials will degrade at about 200°C at best – but they bring about a weight saving of around 80% compared to steel.
Clearly, neither of these lightweight materials have the ability to cope with the temperatures associated with a battery runaway event or to meet the required containment standards on their own. That’s where the development of next-generation ceramic coating technology – well known for its fundamental insulating characteristics – comes into play.
Developing a single ceramic coating
Part of the government’s response to the findings of the ‘Batteries for Electric Vehicle Manufacturing’ inquiry is the launch of its CeraBEV (Ceramics for BEVs) Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator project which aims to advance the technology found in EV battery pack assemblies.
It is being funded through the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) and is worth more than £1 million.
The objective of the project is clear: to develop a proprietary ceramic coating that has both dielectric and flameproof capabilities, and is compatible with a new breed of lightweight materials suitable for use across EV battery enclosures and cooling plates.
Within the surface coating sector, plasma-sprayed coatings already exist that can be applied to a wide variety of lightweight materials and that are either high-voltage proof or flame and heat retardant. But there isn’t currently a single coating that delivers all of these attributes and can positively impact EV safety and efficiency.
The CeraBEV project, which officially got underway on 1 September and will last 12 months, is conducting the crucial research that’s needed to develop the single coating the UK has targeted – and needs to deliver as part of its strategic battery technology plan.
Zircotec has partnered with Cranfield University’s Surface Engineering and Precision Centre who are heavily involved in optimisation, advanced testing and evaluation of the CeraBEV coating. Dr Francesco Fanicchia and his team are also investigating completely novel approaches to complement CeraBEV’s core offering. Cranfield’s long association within aerospace is also expected to enable the transfer of this technology as the sector actively pursues decarbonisation.
Timing is everything
The government’s CeraBEV funding heralds the dawn of an exciting new era for battery technology development in the UK, that has the potential to redefine the efficiency and performance of EVs for years to come.
And as well as supporting the work of existing battery pack assemblers – Tata Agratas in Bridgewater, Wales and Envision AESC in Sunderland – that have already committed to production on these shores, CeraBEV also affords the UK the fantastic opportunity to export its new, single-layer ceramic coating technology to overseas Tier 1 automotive suppliers.
And, looking at the even bigger picture, the government’s commitment to securing a position of strength at the forefront of battery technology development and manufacturing will support the vitally-important ambition to increase EV battery demand from the UK, a market that is forecast by the APC to have a CGR of 39% through to 2030, reaching a capacity of 82GW/h per annum – approximately 10% of european demand and 2.5% of world demand.
Dominic Graham is Engineering Director at Zircotec, a thermal management specialist in high-performance ceramic coatings
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