High Temperature Composites for Next-Generation Fire-Resistant Battery Boxes

为了实现英国2050年的净零排放目标，从2030年起将禁止销售新的汽油和柴油乘用车，因此制造商正在迅速开发用于电动和混合动力系统的电池。然而，金属电池外壳很重，降低了车辆的性能和续航里程，而目前的复合材料难以满足严格的防火、结构和成本要求。电池盒通常由铝制成，也有一些是钢或复合材料。耐火环氧树脂、PFA和一些热塑性复合材料可以满足当前对结构性能和防火性能的要求，但这些材料在高机械性能和低成本的同时，还不能满足新兴的防火性能标准。因此，该项目的目标是开发一种新的复合电池外壳系列，以满足这些苛刻的要求。为了证明这一概念，关键的项目产出将是一个原型外壳和一个10kWh的电池组的代表性部分，经过相关标准的测试。

To meet the UK's 2050 net-zero emissions target, the sale of new petrol and diesel passenger vehicles are to be banned from 2030, so manufacturers are rapidly developing batteries for electric and hybrid powertrains. However, metallic battery enclosures are heavy which reduces vehicle performance and range, while current composite materials struggle to meet the stringent fire, structural and cost requirements.Battery boxes are normally manufactured from aluminium, with some being steel or composite materials. Fire-resistant epoxy, PFA and some thermoplastic composites can meet current demands of structural performance and fire protection, but none of these materials is expected to meet the emerging fire performance standards alongside high mechanical properties and low cost.The objective of this project is therefore to develop a new family of composite battery enclosures that meet these demanding requirements.To prove the concept, the key project output will be a prototype enclosure and 10kWh representative section of a battery pack, tested to relevant standards.