High-Integrity busbars for electric vehicle battery systems

可靠的电动汽车和低排放汽车是英国实现净零运输目标的关键，鉴于政府最近宣布将新汽油和柴油汽车禁令提前到2030年，它们的快速发展尤其相关。通过对创新电池技术的投资，法拉第电池挑战赛将直接实现这一转变。我们的项目专注于母线，这是电池组或模块功率分配器，对于通过额外的充电站和储能应用推动电动汽车的推进至关重要。领先的母线供应商HV Wooding Ltd将与谢菲尔德大学的材料、自动化、制造和测试专家合作，改进绝缘母线的制造并使其标准化。这将产生高完整性的产品，能够满足电池模块组装和操作的更高电压要求。环氧粉是首选的母线绝缘方法，具有优异的耐化学性、耐腐蚀性和耐热性，以及出色的电气绝缘性能。它还使母线不太容易受到汽车、轨道和航空航天应用中使用中的机械挑战的影响，包括弯曲、冲击或振动。由于具有优异的介电性能，高完整性的环氧粉末涂层母线将促进紧凑型电池设计的发展，并且易于重复使用和回收，以减少对环境的影响。该项目将改进和升级粉末涂层工艺，采用先进的流态化和喷涂方法，并遵循标准化的测试程序以确保质量。这是整个行业严重缺乏的，由于缺陷导致制造商和客户之间的紧张关系，产品降落率很高。这种标准化对于英国在这个快速增长的市场中保持和增长其竞争力至关重要。该项目还将研究自动化选项，以增加批量生产，以满足未来的需求。

Reliable electric and low emission vehicles are key to the UK meeting its Net Zero transport goals, and their rapid development is particularly pertinent given the Government's recent announcement to bring forward the ban of new petrol and diesel cars to 2030\. By investing in innovative battery technologies, the Faraday Battery Challenge will directly enable this transition.Our project focusses on busbars, which are battery pack or module power distributors, essential for driving propulsion in electric vehicles with additional charging station and energy storage applications. Leading busbar supplier HV Wooding Ltd will partner with experts in materials, automation, manufacturing and testing from The University of Sheffield to improve and standardise the manufacture of insulated busbars. This will result in a high-integrity product capable of meeting higher voltage requirements for battery module assembly and operation.Epoxy powder is the preferred busbar insulation method, having superior chemical, corrosion and heat resistance, along with excellent electrical insulating properties. It also makes the busbar less susceptible to in-service mechanical challenges in automotive, rail, and aerospace applications including flexing, shock, or vibration. High-integrity epoxy powder coated busbars will facilitate a move towards compact battery designs due to superior dielectric performance, and are easily re-used and recycled to reduce environmental impact.The project will improve and upgrade the powder coating process with advanced fluidised and spraying methods followed by a standardised test procedure for quality assurance. This is something severely lacking across the industry, with high product fallout rates through defects causing tension between manufacturers and customers. This standardisation is critical for the UK to maintain and grow its competitiveness within this fast growing market. The project will also investigate automation options to increase volume production in line with future demand.