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Fabrication and testing of aluminum cylindrical batteries
  • Background
  • What we're looking for
  • What we can offer you
  • Who we are
  • Q&A
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Get them answered by the team at Novelis.
Background

The battery industry has long relied on nickel-plated steel for cylindrical battery cases due to its proven durability and ability to meet demanding performance standards. However, as the need for lightweight and environmentally friendly materials grow, aluminum alloys have emerged as a potential alternative. Its significantly lighter weight could reduce the overall mass of battery packs, improving the energy efficiency and performance of electric vehicles while lowering the transportation sector’s carbon footprint. 

 

Advancing aluminum alloy battery cases from concept to market-ready solutions requires addressing several key challenges. Selecting the right aluminum alloy is crucial, as it must possess the appropriate mechanical properties to ensure sufficient sidewall strength, meeting burst pressure requirements and operational demands. Optimizing the tempering process is also important to enhance properties like tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation, ensuring the alloy performs effectively under stress. 

 

Comprehensive evaluations, including corrosion resistance must also be conducted to ensure the material’s long-term reliability. Real-world testing will help identify potential failure points and refine the design to meet safety and performance standards. These steps are essential to unlocking the potential of aluminum battery cases as an innovative and sustainable solution for electric vehicles.

What we're looking for

We are looking for a partner to fabricate a fully functional cylindrical battery incorporating Novelis’ aluminum alloy battery case and perform comprehensive performance testing. Novelis will either provide raw materials for the case, which the partner will fabricate, or deliver a pre-fabricated case ready for battery assembly. The partner must build the battery using the provided case and conduct testing, including cell charge/discharge performance, cell skin temperature measurements, and other critical evaluations to assess performance and durability.

Our must-have requirements are:
  • Ability to produce cylindrical battery cells incorporating the provided cases, ideally in 4680 or a similar large format (21700 cells may also be considered)
  • Expertise in conducting comprehensive cell performance testing
Our nice-to-have's are:
  • Capability to fabricate cylindrical battery cases using aluminum alloy sheets
  • Access to facilities for environmental and corrosion resistance testing
  • Expertise in recommending design adjustments to improve case durability under real-world conditions
Acceptable technology readiness levels (TRL):
Levels 3-6
What we can offer you
Eligible partnership models:
Sponsored researchSupply/purchaseCo-development
Benefits:
Sponsored Research
Up to $70,000 based on evaluation of proposal, with additional potential funding for further development.
Expertise
Partners will have access to industry experts in specific aluminum processes, surface engineering, and material properties. A company champion will be provided to ensure collaborative success.
Tools and Technologies
Partners can be supplied with aluminum substrate for the purpose of testing proposed technology and formed aluminum parts for prototype testing. There is potential for industry-wide commercialization.
Data
Partners will be supplied with information regarding structural modeling of battery enclosures.
Facilities and Services
Partners will have access to our internal testing capabilities and other evaluation equipment located in our research facilities.
Who we are

The Novelis R&D mission is to be the leading provider of sustainable and innovative aluminum solutions. Our team delivers industry-leading technical expertise and innovative solutions via our applied technology labs around the world. Our engineers, scientists, metallurgists, chemists and computer scientists have set the standard for aluminum alloys. Owning more than 134 automotive-specific patents, we are committed to continuing to lead the industry in innovation. We win by shaping partnerships inside the company and around the globe. Because lasting innovation doesn't happen alone. The ability to think big and act bold is at our core. It's how our breakthroughs happen. It's how we brought one of the first all-aluminum vehicle bodies to the automotive industry.

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Reviewers
Q&A with Novelis

The Q&A is now closed.

Sort by:
Q.
Is a design of experiments available for the performance testing?
1
A.
No - We do not have a specific design of experiments defined for the performance testing. We are open to discussing your proposal on how the performance test is conducted on the materials we've selected. We plan to provide the materials.
TK
Tina Kosmicki, Sr. Manager R&D Ecosystems, Novelis
March 27, 2025
Is this response helpful?
0
0
Q.
Hello, if this RFP is awarded, would it be considered as a grant or is the institution considered a service provider? If so, will a research agreement be put in place ? What is the expectation for newly developed intellectual property?
RC
Rina Cohen, Research Development, McGill University
March 18, 2025
1
A.
Depending upon the proposal, we could go either way. It could be a research agreement or service provider dependent upon how the proposal is structured.
TK
Tina Kosmicki, Sr. Manager R&D Ecosystems, Novelis
March 27, 2025
Is this response helpful?
0
0
Q.
Can you provide 100 cans and headers for 21700 cells if the project is approved?
1
Q.
Dear Team, Will you provide the raw material and the battery case should be fabricated at our end? or you will provide the case itself, only ingration of complete battery using case to be done at our end?
1
A.
Our intent is to provide the casing; however, it would be ideal if a partner could fabricate the casing. We are open to discussing this on a case-by-case basis upon reviewing your proposal!
TK
Tina Kosmicki, Sr. Manager R&D Ecosystems, Novelis
March 27, 2025
Is this response helpful?
0
0
Q.
Our specialty is thermal characterization of lithium-ion cells that fits well on the topics. However, we do not have the capability of fabricating cells and a fabrication of cells (21700) by an outside vendor costs $40-50K. The budget of $70K is very tight. Can the budget be more than $70K?
1
A.
Although it is ideal for a partner to be capable of everything in our Wishlist we do recognize that this may not always be possible. Please go ahead and submit your proposal for the parts of the work package which you feel you could contribute to, with the assumption that we provide the casings required for testing and we can discuss internally before getting back to you. Thank you for your interest.
TF
Theresa Mac Farlane, Global Roadmap Leader, Principal scientist, Novelis
April 16, 2025
Is this response helpful?
0
0
Q.
Are you only looking for Al ion batteries? will you consider an Al-air battery? will a primary battery be considered? For a 4680/2170, will you look for a specific energy density?
1
A.
For this application, we aim to concentrate on aluminum, sodium, or lithium-ion rechargeable battery chemistries. While charge density is a crucial factor, our primary objective is to demonstrate how utilizing aluminum instead of nickel-plated steel, for the cell casing material, can enhance this value.
TF
Theresa Mac Farlane, Global Roadmap Leader, Principal scientist, Novelis
April 17, 2025
Is this response helpful?
0
0
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