From the housing into the body: This is what cell-to-chassis is all about
Modern lithium-ion battery cells enable a high degree of innovation through specific cell design or novel cell chemistry. In addition, concepts such as cell-to-chassis could provide additional fuel. They are changing how battery cells are installed in vehicles — and the interaction of machines and cells.
Application-specific battery cells enable novel technological solutions. For example, manufacturers can optimize cells to fit the requirements of an air cab or an underwater drone. Such cells also enable innovative approaches in medicine or the energy industry.
Basically, it is not the cell that sets the limit in the design of an application but rather one’s own imagination. Therefore, it is only logical to start from the battery cell and think about how a manufacturer can place it in a vehicle, an air taxi, or an Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV).
That’s where new approaches such as cell-to-pack and cell-to-chassis come into play. Classically, several battery cells together form a module. These modules are contained in a battery housing. Like a lunchbox, the battery housing encloses the modules and many other components — from electronics to cooling.
Out of the battery housing — into the chassis
The cell-to-pack approach does not involve assembling the individual battery cells into such modules. Instead, the battery cells are interconnected and integrated directly into the battery shell. By using cell-to-pack, a manufacturer skips this step in the conventional construction of batteries. This way, the proportion of active material in the batteries can increase.
But if cell-to-pack already integrates the battery cells directly into the battery shell, why shouldn’t another step be possible: integrating the battery cell into the chassis of a vehicle, for example? This is precisely the question behind cell-to-chassis, cell-to-vehicle, or cell-to-body concepts.
To put it more simply, how can existing components of a vehicle be used to form the battery housing? In such a design, cells would be connected directly to the chassis. As a result, the chassis would also provide features for the battery like cooling or impact protection.
A question of sustainability with simultaneous cost benefits
Cell-to-pack and cell-to-chassis solutions may pay off, not least in terms of cell sustainability. The number of components is reduced and existing space can be used more efficiently. On top of this, such approaches help to reduce overall costs. Furthermore, by thinking of the battery cells much more as an integral part of the respective vehicles and applications, such concepts also result in greater flexibility in the design of the cars or machines.
More details: Benno Leuthner from CustomCells spoke in detail about cell-to-chassis and cell-to-pack in the podcast ‘GELADEN’. All information can be found here.
Master of Batteries is a publication by CustomCells, one of the leading companies in the development and series production of state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery cells.
