SGL Carbon and Nio have developed a carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) battery enclosure for electric vehicles. The enclosure is 40 percent lighter than comparable aluminium solutions.
The bottom and cover plate of the enclosure are made up of a sandwich core combined with multiple layers of carbon fabrics.
SGL Carbon
In addition to its low weight, the advantages of the prototype developed by SGL Carbon and the Chinese carmaker Nio are its high rigidity, and approximately 200 times lower thermal conductivity compared to aluminium, which better shields the battery from heat and cold. The enclosure also offers excellent water and gas leakage tightness and corrosion resistance thanks to the composite. The entire battery enclosure, including the batteries, can be changed at Nio swapping stations within only three minutes.
Scalable battery enclosures
SGL Carbon's bottom and cover plate are made up of a sandwich core that is combined with multiple layers of carbon fabrics. The company is already working with various partners to continue developing different battery enclosures made of composites with the aim of scaling them for electric vehicle batteries of all sizes and designs.