- Background
- What we're looking for
- What we can offer you
- Who we are
- Q&A
The proliferation of electric vehicles (EVs) is imperative for a promising future for sustainable transportation. However, the industry faces a critical challenge in ensuring the safety of EV battery systems, particularly concerning thermal management and fire prevention. Thermal runaway occurs when battery temperatures escalate uncontrollably, poses a significant hazard to both vehicle occupants and surrounding infrastructure.
Current thermal management solutions often rely on thick, dense, and brittle fire barriers, adding weight, cost, and complexity to EV designs. To address this challenge effectively, industry and academia must collaborate to pioneer innovative solutions that enhance safety without compromising performance.
We invite innovators from industry and academia to develop a seamless fire barrier specifically engineered for application directly onto aluminum coils that will become part of an electric vehicle battery systems. This heat-activated barrier should demonstrate the ability to mitigate thermal runaway events by swiftly containing and suppressing fires within the battery compartment.
- Fire barrier must be applied and seamlessly adhere to aluminum coils without compromising their structural integrity or electrical conductivity, surviving manufacturing processes without degradation.
- The barrier should activate rapidly in response to elevated temperatures, effectively containing thermal runaway events and preventing the spread of fire to neighboring cells or components.
- To minimize the impact on vehicle weight and packaging constraints, the fire barrier should be lightweight and have a minimal profile.
- The developed solution must withstand the rigors of automotive environments, including exposure to vibrations, mechanical stresses, and temperature variations over the vehicle's operational lifespan.
- The proposed barrier should meet or exceed regulatory safety standards and undergo rigorous testing to validate its effectiveness in real-world scenarios.
- Solutions should be economically viable for mass production, ensuring affordability and scalability across the electric vehicle market.
- Materials requiring applications after component manufacturing.
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.
Learn moreThe Q&A is now closed.
Other recommended requests
delivered to your inbox.