Vestaro Alliance develops next-generation electric vehicle battery packs that are more cost-effective

According to foreign media reports, the Vestaro Alliance, which is committed to producing lighter and more cost-effective solutions for pure electric vehicles (BEVs), has developed a new generation of battery packs, the Pure Performance Battery. Based on sheet molding compound (SMC) technology made with Evonik curing agent, this new overall battery system concept provides the automotive industry with a safe, lightweight and cost-effective solution that can replace traditional heavier metal-based solutions.

(Image source: Evonik)

Vestaro was founded in late 2019 to develop alternative battery solutions, starting with a cost-effective glass fiber (GF) SMC cover based on Evonik's high-performance epoxy resin hardener Vestalite S. The advanced SMC material reduces the weight of the battery housing, reducing its weight by nearly 10% compared to housings made from more expensive materials. In addition, the material can provide the performance level of metal housings while enabling design freedom.

In early 2021, the successful announcement of Vestaro's new GF-SMC cover produced by Vestaro partner Lorenz Kunststofftechnik was followed by the joining of Tier 1 automotive parts manufacturer Minth GmbH. With Minth's extensive experience in aluminum solutions, the Vestaro Alliance addresses two major challenges of today's battery packs: underbody impact and vehicle integration.

In order to meet the stringent requirements of the OEM in terms of side bars and underbody impacts without any leakage or failure, the consortium came up with a novel approach that fully exploits the design freedom of the versatile SMC material. The old underbody structure was replaced by an aluminum sandwich panel developed by Minth, which improves underbody impact performance and also plays a key role in the semi-unibody vehicle concept. Thanks to this approach, the consortium was able to remove additional side deformation elements and use the freed-up space to carry more battery cells.

In addition, the sandwich floor’s bottom impact performance has been improved, which reduces the space required for module installation. This additional space created for the battery cells allows the total capacity to be increased from 65 kWh to 75 kWh while keeping the battery pack’s external dimensions unchanged.

The Pure Performance Battery was designed and validated using Forward Engineering's unique BEV floor structure development tool and is approximately 2.1 meters long, 1.58 meters wide, and has a maximum height of 0.15 to 0.22 meters. The battery pack is suitable for a variety of vehicle architectures. In terms of weight, the new GF-SMC cover battery is comparable to current high-end solutions, but with significantly improved performance.

In addition, the battery’s semi-integrated modular design allows for flexible adjustment of the number of modules and the one-step production of complex geometries, allowing battery performance levels to be customized to meet requirements in all regions.

The battery pack’s cover is designed to be easily removable for quick access to the battery modules and peripherals. In addition, the cover itself can be recycled through Lorenz Kunststofftechnik’s recycling process and used again for new composite parts.