Front Loading Approach in Battery Development for Generation Update

Automotive OEMs are facing many challenges today. One of them is to rapidly increase within the next couple of years, the portfolio of their electric vehicles, and to do this, in the shortest possible development time and with the minimum occurred costs. Considering the battery as one of the critical components within the electric powertrain, the solution is to approach battery development for new electric vehicles based on an already existing battery pack project. The battery development process at AVL (AVL GBDP – Global Battery Development Process) is implemented within a project organization structure, having defined quality-gates and time triggered milestones, with defined activities and deliverables that will be synchronized, checked and reported at each quality gate and milestone review. Having the GBDP, as the basis of a lead battery development, this paper will provide an analysis of how front-loading can support the development of derivate battery packs during an generation update.