Over the last ten years, estimates indicate that the average electric vehicle battery range has increased more than fourfold. It is clear from this year’s Battery Show Europe that this is still an upwards trajectory. 

Our team had a thought-provoking and action-packed three days at The Battery Show Europe 2023 in Messe, Stuttgart. The car battery is now becoming the main feature of vehicles. There were talks about optimising the vehicle’s battery, how to put the energy saved from batteries back onto the grid and power homes, and how to achieve this safely and efficiently. 

A significant topic we gladly took part in was battery management systems, specifically replacing the thick and heavy battery cables with wire harnesses using conductive adhesive and lightweight printed plastics. 

All The Experts Under One Roof

We were pleasantly surprised by how many companies attended this year from every stage of the battery development lifecycle and supply chain and that we had the opportunity to discuss our solutions with them. Companies such as OEMs, tier 1s, battery technicians, component suppliers, various battery component suppliers, and organisations specialising in transporting batteries attended this year’s show. There was also a more extensive range of big and small companies. 

Battery efficiency and sustainability were big topics, decreasing the size of battery cells whilst increasing power output. We spoke about changing the materials, making fewer battery fluids leading to more power per volume, and making batteries compact but with the same performance. We intend to support with solutions that overcome these issues, such as with our battery management system.

The Key Talking Point Was Battery Management Systems (BMS)

The conference and workshops were critically concerned with thermal and battery management systems. 

• Ensuring battery longevity.
• Prevent overheating and thermal runaway.
• Increasing energy output while decreasing cell size.
• Overall reduction of vehicle energy and new lightweight solutions.

As a leading occupant safety supply company, automotive protection runs deep in our ethos. Our six-person team was busy over the three days discussing arising issues with the following solutions:

• Electronics Protection & Shielding: EMC/EMI shielding, insulators, and thermal interface materials such as pads, tapes and grease.
• Battery management solutions based on ALT’s printed electronics wire harness.
• Extreme temperature RFIDs.
• Traceability barcode labels that are OEM-compliant and high-temperature resistant.

ALT Technologies has a wide range of solutions within EV battery protection, from EMC/EMI shielding, insulators, and thermal interface materials such as pads, tapes and grease. In addition, we offer a large scope of laminates designed to meet the specific needs of different applications, including high-temperature resistance, low dielectric loss, and adhesion to substrates. We also provide a thin, flexible material that enables additional protection and insulation to FFC tapes and bus bars.

EV batteries comprise multiple small singular cells connected with cables, creating high costs and adding weight to the final product. Replacing these cables with printed electronics or flat cabling cell-connecting solutions ensures no faults can be made. In addition, we offer innovative repair solutions providing no defects and reflecting a ‘poka-yoke system.

Adopting a flexible, future-focused mindset allows companies to get ahead of the curve.

ALT would like to thank everyone for coming to our booth to chat about the emerging trends in battery development and how we can create solutions that stick for many years to come! We are already excited for next year’s event after the success of this year and for the EVolution of battery technology! 

Please contact us today if you want more information on the above solutions.