Lotus Engineering to launch new battery testing facility

Lotus Engineering is launching a containerized battery testing pilot facility to evaluate energy storage solutions for the booming EV sector.

It will enable Lotus Engineering to carry out a wide range of cell, module and pack characterisation tests, performance assessments, and component and lifetime testing under controlled conditions. It will also provide early feasibility study support and validation of mature designs for use in new vehicles.

The project has been named BattCon, short for Battery Container Test Facility. These 'containers' are individual walk-in laboratories that will be operational at Lotus HQ in Hethel, Norfolk, and at the new Lotus Advanced Technology Centre in Wellesbourne, West Midlands. Each is the size of a standard 40ft shipping container so can be easily packed up and transported as a mobile test unit for Lotus Engineering customers to use wherever they are. Lotus has three operations as part of the pilot scheme.

For customers, Lotus Engineering will provide access to an EV safety compliant workshop facility staffed by experienced battery testing experts. New companies in the electric vehicle sector, as well as those that need to invest in additional testing facilities, will have access to a fast, efficient and cost-effective solution to develop new technologies and get products to market faster. For Lotus itself, this new technology will support ambitious plans to launch a range of new performance tools.

Lotus Engineering has experience in the design and engineering of EVs and other alternative propulsion powertrains going back 20 years . While many of the programmes remain shrouded in secrecy, the consultancy’s work on the Tesla Roadster (2008-12) is the most notable example.

Matt Windle, Executive Director of Engineering at Lotus, said: “As the race to develop new battery technologies intensifies across the automotive and other industries, the demand for suitable test equipment will increase. The BattCon project sets out to address this by assessing how Lotus Engineering can meet battery testing opportunities for the UK supply chain and OEMs.”

Available services include capacity determination, resistance mapping, current and power mapping, open circuit voltage determination, and thermal capacity. Life tests include low voltage cycling, high voltage cycling, self-discharge determination, storage aging, cycle aging, drive cycle aging, and orientation. One of the three Lotus vessels features an environmental chamber that can raise or lower its temperature to replicate extreme climates around the world.

The pilot project, which will end in spring 2021, is co-funded by the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF), part of the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC); Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation; and the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Department for International Trade (DIT). Upon completion, the project will be evaluated and a decision made on its future.

Lotus Engineering, the consultancy arm of Lotus and provider of comprehensive technical services to many of the world’s most prestigious automotive manufacturers and suppliers, celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2020.