• • • COVER STORY • • •
Driver or damper? The battery has become a crucial factor in the development of electric vehicles. Supposedly small innovations can give the entire drive system a substantial boost. Here are two examples from Mersen
Focus on battery safety T
en years ago probably no one would have been able to predict the huge present-day popularity of electric vehicles. Experts
assume that 30 percent of motor vehicles sold in the year 2030 will be electrified. This will also mean a sharp rise in the demand for batteries. Batteries are the crucial factor in electric
vehicles. They are the most expensive part of an electric vehicle and can become a driver or damper in the development of electric vehicles, depending on how successfully the rising demand can be met. “That creates huge pressure to improve the cost
structure of the battery architecture, to make it possible to achieve the necessary growth,” said Pierric Gueguen, global business development director at Mersen, which specialises in electric safety systems. Despite all the innovation pressure on the
battery, Mr Gueguen points out that safety must always be the top priority. Short circuits in electric cars can start a fire in the battery, which then spreads to the entire vehicle. “Burned-out cars on the roadside are not an
uncommon sight,” he said. That is why safety must always be the top priority in efforts to optimise battery architectures. Mersen has been specialising in safety systems
for electric vehicles for many years. The company offers tools for both safety and monitoring of all components and processes involving electricity in electric vehicles: from the battery to the inverters and the overall vehicle, as well as the DC quick- charge station. Mersen offers battery fuses for all levels of the
battery – the single cell, the module and the entire battery pack – as well as for secondary consumers such as heating and air conditioning. Now the company is introducing two technological developments that definitely have the potential to provide impetus for electric vehicles overall: InBat fuse and InfiniCell.
Module Level fuse
and bus bar The InBat fuse is a hybrid consisting of a fuse and a bus bar. Mersen has extensive expertise in two fields of technology: electric fuses and bus bars. Both competences were integrated in the development and allow to keep the best of each technology, thermal performance, ease integration of a bus bar and protection capability of a fuse. “InBat Fuse is integrated into the heart of the
battery modules, so to speak, as a protective device. This is quite unique and makes work easier for our customers,” Guillaume Lemmel, Mersen’s EV SBM project and design group leader, emphasised. Batteries in electric vehicles are generally
protected against short circuits by different devices: contactors, fuses or pyro switches that are integrated in the battery disconnection unit (BDU). In the event of a fault, these tools insulate the battery from the rest of the vehicle. The InBat fuse performs additional safety
functions to the BDU. For example, it is simply closer to the single battery cell and can respond more quickly if there is a problem with the cell. The InBat fuse also protects the life cycle of the battery up until the battery is installed in the vehicle and is connected to the BDU – i.e. from the connection of the single cells to the module and of the modules to the battery pack, as well as any test procedures (for example UN 38.3) and transport of the battery to the automobile manufacturer. InBat fuses are designed for voltages up to 250
V DC and short-circuit currents up to 13 kA, and are compatible with all types of battery cells – cylindrical, prismatic and pouch cells. “The InBat
fuse is the latest innovation from our R&D department, which developed the fuse in close cooperation with customers in the automotive sector,” Pierric Gueguen relates.
Four times faster assembly As new as the InBat fuse is, so time-proven is the other Mersen innovation, which the company however is now introducing to the market in a much more optimised second generation: the InfiniCell. Mersen developed the standardised battery cell connection platform in cooperation with the German manufacturer of laser welding systems F&K Delvotec. This very thin laminated bus bar consists of a
copper or aluminum layer that is surrounded by in insulating layer. It is suitable for connecting all types of battery cells and performs both connection and monitoring functions. It reduces safety problems, for example short circuits during module assembly and welding, and features good shock and vibration resistance as well as resistance to temperatures of +105 °C and higher. “Furthermore, two factors make the InfiniCell a
pioneering technology that could be decisive in shaping the future of battery architectures,” explained Mr Gueguen.
10 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • JUNE 2022
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk
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