Audi uses stacking technology to develop car batteries to achieve higher energy density batteries

According to foreign media reports, experts at Audi are rearranging the structure of its electric vehicle batteries to make better use of space.

According to a report in Popular Science, this move will improve the efficiency of electric vehicles, achieve longer cruising range, and allow electric vehicles to attract a wider audience.

The battery research is part of the German automaker's commitment to electric vehicles. Audi has said it plans to completely phase out internal combustion engine vehicles by 2033.

Improving battery performance and cost-effectiveness is the key to achieving this goal. The electrodes used in Audi's new electric cars, such as the Q8 e-tron, are thin foils shaped like rolls.

In most electric car batteries, lithium ions move back and forth between the positive and negative electrodes as the battery charges and discharges, and this all happens in the electrolyte. The electrolyte can be solid or liquid, and PopSci said Audi is focusing on developing solid-state batteries.

Audi's latest innovation is that its battery cells no longer use a "jelly roll"-like layout, but instead use "stacking technology." In the new design, cells are neatly stacked together like a layer cake to increase overall capacity.

An illustration showing better use of space using stacking techniques. Using roll technology, the four corners of the rectangular battery cell will leave small unused areas, while stacking technology can utilize almost all the space.