Sponsored by DuPont.
The automotive industry is evolving rapidly, and electric vehicles are at the forefront of this change. Continued EV adoption depends on several key factors: reducing costs, building a robust charging infrastructure, and designing efficient, long-lasting battery packs with long-range and fast-charging capabilities. As automakers strive to match the cost and efficiency of internal combustion engine vehicles, the race to develop efficient EV battery packs is on—and adhesives are emerging as an important part of their design and assembly.
Design Trends Shaping EV Battery Assembly
EV battery pack design is evolving rapidly as automakers and researchers work to increase performance, reduce costs, and improve sustainability. The focus is on increasing energy density and reducing cost per kWh, leading to simpler designs that eliminate parts, weight, and bulk. However, these changes can affect structural support and make battery replacement, disassembly, and recycling difficult. Advanced adhesive technology can help develop solutions to these challenges and drive future EV battery pack designs.
Here's a closer look at the evolution of EV battery technology:
- Cell-Module-Pack (CMP) designs include individual cells within modules, a method that dominates the market due to its durability, ease of assembly, and performance. Since CMP requires more components that increase cost and weight, automakers are now looking for designs with fewer components to improve energy efficiency and simplify manufacturing.
- Cell-to-Pack (CTP) designs that integrate battery cells directly into the battery pack, eliminating modules to improve energy density and simplify manufacturing. This emerging option is gaining momentum because of its ability to lower costs. However, it requires improved heat management and durability, and the complex assembly process leaves little room for error.
- Cell-to-Body (CTB) designs that integrate battery cells directly into the vehicle's body, increase space, reduce weight, and improve structural integrity. Early adopters evaluate CTB for cost effectiveness and reduced component count. Despite its advantages, concerns about durability, reusability, and safety remain.
Advantages of Adhesives in Continuous Battery Assembly
As EV adoption grows, the need for stable, efficient battery integration is pressing. Adhesives offer a range of advantages that make them important in EV battery production.
- Improved Performance-Adhesives improve battery performance by improving thermal contact between battery cells and cooling systems, resulting in extended range and faster charging.
- Flexible Battery Design-Adhesives enable greater design flexibility by joining a variety of materials, including composites, reactive films, and metals. This non-destructive assembly method preserves the integrity of the substrates, enabling new battery designs not previously available.
- Energy Management for Enhanced Safety-Safety is very important in EV battery design, and adhesives contribute to crash energy management. They provide continuous bond lines that improve the structural integrity of the battery pack and enable wheel-to-wheel battery designs that operate under crash conditions.
- Added structural strength – with the growing adoption of cell-to-body designs, adhesives can provide the bonding strength needed to replace conventional walls and support structures.
- Improved thermal management – Thermal management is critical to battery safety. Thermal adhesives and interface materials support heat dissipation and prevent overheating during battery charging and operation. In the long run, this helps ensure consistent performance and extends battery life.
- Support for Zero-Emission EVs-Attachments contribute to sustainability by enabling lightweight vehicle designs and reducing panel thickness in body structures. This can lead to significant CO2 savings—about 133 grams per kilometer driven.
- Improved Manufacturing Processes-The adhesives simplify the production processes, providing quick, cost-effective joining and curing. They eliminate the need for pre-treatment and can improve the speed of the process, leading to significant cost savings.
Emerging trends in battery assembly also favor adhesives. Injectable adhesives are easily removed from standard battery frames. Debonding-on-demand solutions facilitate easy repair and reuse. Additionally, certain adhesives are curable on demand—ideal for flexible, lean manufacturing processes.
DuPont Solutions for Advanced EV Battery Assembly
DuPont, with its deep expertise in EV battery assembly, is well positioned to support the industry's transition to more advanced battery designs. Our wide range of adhesive solutions are designed to meet specific challenges, offering improved performance, safety, and sustainability.
- BETAFORCE™ Elastic Structural Adhesive: Winner of the 2024 R&D 100 award, BETAFORCE™ is designed for a wide range of EV battery assembly applications, excelling in pocket cell assembly. Bonds laminated aluminum film substrates without primers or pretreatment—delivering durability, shatterproof, and sustainability benefits. With up to 30% renewable and bio-based materials and room temperature treatment, it eliminates the need for high-temperature ovens, improving its environmental credentials.
- BETAMATE™ Structural Adhesive: BETAMATE™ ensures the integrity of the battery pack through durability, strength, and crash performance. Bonds and seals battery pack enclosures and cooling plates, providing strong adhesion to aluminum alloys and composites. It can also be used in the growing area of CTB projects. BETAMATE™ also improves safety, corrosion resistance, and manufacturing efficiency.
- BETATECH™ TIM (Thermal Interface Material): This innovative solution is disocyanate- and silicone-free and regulates and efficiently controls the heat from high-density batteries during charging and operation, maintaining thermal flexibility over a wide temperature range. BETATECH™ is easy to assemble and disassemble, making it ideal for high volume assembly.
Sustainability
Sustainability is at the core of DuPont's mission. Our adhesion solutions are designed to address pressing challenges while improving EV performance and safety.
- BETAMATE™ Broad Bake Adhesives: These attachments allow a reduction in the temperature of the e-coat oven by 25°C, resulting in significant energy savings. They also enable shorter oven cycle times, improving production efficiency.
- BETAFORCE™ 2800 TC: This adhesive not only keeps EV batteries cool during fast charging to extend battery life, but also reduces the raw materials needed by simplifying the number of parts.
- BETATECH™ TIM: These attachments provide low tensile strength to allow easy removal of battery modules to enable repair, reuse, and recycling.
These product families are also available in room temperature curing formulations. Oven-free binding means less energy consumption and one less step in the assembly process.
Collaboration and Innovation: DuPont Centers of Excellence
At DuPont, we believe in the power of collaboration. Our Centers of Excellence and global advanced engineering capabilities are dedicated to working closely with customers to drive innovation in EV battery integration.
- Quick Upgrade: We have the innovation and testing expertise to validate new concepts and refine existing ones.
- Comprehensive assessment: To verify the performance, longevity, and safety of the proposed configuration, we extend the small sample tests to module-scale tests at the battery system level.
- Global Collaboration: Our teams collaborate across regions, functions, and businesses to deliver high-quality solutions that meet the unique needs of our customers.
Ready to Participate?
DuPont is more than just a supplier: we are a partner in innovation. If you're looking to advance your EV battery assembly process, we invite you to deVelop with DuPont to explore how our adhesive solutions can help you achieve your goals.