Freudenberg Sealing Technologies opens EV battery testing unit

Plymouth, Michigan – Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST) has added a battery-testing laboratory to its R&D facility in Plymouth, at the company’s North American headquarters.

The “multi-million-dollar investment” will facilitate in-house battery and battery component testing, including simulated thermal runaway, said FST in a statement 24 Oct.

The unit, FST expects, will increase functional knowledge and product development capabilities in the field of electric vehicles (EVs) within the seals manufacturer.

Furthermore, the company pointed out that the enhanced capabilities encompass simulation testing to replicate battery-cycling scenarios.

The new unit will support the fast-growing EV industry, which currently faces challenges such as range, power, safety and charging times, continued FST.

The lab will investigate the use of lithium-ion batteries with higher energy and power densities, which could cause “thermal events” due to generation of higher heat and pressure.

Engineers at the facility will be able to track reactions, such thermal-runaway, as they take place and leverage data from these tests in their R&D programmes.

FST, said SVP technology & innovation Chad Bauer, will tap insights collected at the lab to bolster its materiald-development support for the EV industry.

The new lab includes two 80x80 foot, steel test chambers located in a reinforced test room.

The test chambers, which house the cells, modules, or batteries during test,have been designed by explosives experts, noted FST.

They are rated to withstand thermal events in single cells, modules and battery packs up to 25 kWh – the energy equivalent of “several pounds of TNT.”

The company has installed 9v 100amp low voltage charging, as well as 800v, 600amp high voltage charging capabilities in the test room.

The test chambers are additionally equipped with video cameras and a data acquisition system with over 100 input channels, able to monitor over 60 data-points per second.

FST has also installed an “advanced multi-stage exhaust system” that removes the gases and particulates that escape from the batteries during thermal events.

The system also incorporates a quencher to cool gases and remove particulates as well as a two-phase scrubber stack and rooftop charcoal filtration system.

To maintain safety, FST has installed steel-reinforced concrete walls at the back of the lab and explosion pressure vents within the exhaust system.

“We are working with heat, pressure, gasses and fire in this laboratory,” said Heather Shuman, mechanical laboratory manager for FST Americas.

“We have placed high emphasis on establishing and continuously reviewing safety protocols and emergency protection plans,” Shuman added.