SABIC Develops Thermoplastic Solutions for Critical EV Battery Technologies

As automakers accelerate their transition to an all-electric future, SABIC continues to leverage its expertise to develop thermoplastic-based solutions and help the industry optimize the performance of electric vehicles (EVs). The company's automotive business unit has developed a plastic-intensive EV battery pack concept using a systems engineering approach that underscores the value of lightweight plastics in meeting critical industry requirements for flexible design, advanced performance, greater safety and improved economics.   Compared with conventional battery pack designs using traditional materials such as aluminium and other metals, SABIC's concept using lightweight thermoplastics can potentially deliver 30 to 50 percent weight savings per component, improve energy density, simplify the assembly process, reduce costs, improve thermal control and safety, and increase crash resistance. Abdullah Al-Otaibi, General Manager of SABIC ETP and Market Solutions, said, "Our work on vehicle electrification technologies extends beyond matching materials to individual components in current designs. Our expert teams account for the complete EV battery system and vehicle structure, enabling us to appropriately assist and enable our automotive customers in reaching their most critical vehicle development goals."  

EV Battery Pack Concept

The battery pack concept developed by SABIC leverages the properties and strengths of thermoplastics to enhance performance, reduce costs and weight, and support mass production. Key features of the concept include:

• Integration of individual cells into pouch cells housed in a thin-walled enclosure molded with 30 percent glass-fiber-filled, flame-retardant (FR) SABIC® polypropylene (PP) compound.
• Geometric features such as double-wall structure, a new rib pattern and creative functional integration - all enabled by SABIC thermoplastics to reduce weight and meet structural requirements.
• Creative use of the anisotropic thermal conductivity of plastics to optimize thermal management performance.
• Integrated plastic-metal hybrid structures using STAMAX™ FR long glass-fiber PP material for the battery tray to optimize heat transfer, meet drop test requirements and absorb significant impact energy that side frame elements may experience.
• A battery box enclosure or cover molded with STAMAX FR resin. Use of this material meets UL94 V-0 flammability rating and allows the cover to be metallized for electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI) shielding.
• Part reduction and assembly efficiency providing cost savings through the design freedom inherent in thermoplastics.

   

Collaboration-Based Innovation

SABIC's focus is to continue enhancing its expertise and supporting innovation in EV batteries and additional EV applications. The company has built a technology team comprising chief engineers, research fellows and senior scientists. Their role is to deliver first-class collaborative interaction with customers, development partners and OEMs and across the value chain from tier suppliers to test agencies. Al-Otaibi said, "We are talking about a seismic shift in the automotive ecosystem. The industry can only build and advance today's EV technologies if the entire supply chain works together. This has long been SABIC's way of thinking and working. We will continue to pursue collaboration opportunities and partnerships that drive innovation to advance." Through ongoing work with the industry, SABIC expects several large battery enclosures molded with its thermoplastics to be used in production EVs as early as 2024. A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) model in China is already using SABIC PP compound instead of aluminium for the battery pack cover, delivering weight savings, expanded design freedom, dent control and other benefits. Other EVs in production worldwide today use various SABIC materials for components such as cell carriers and housings, battery modules and battery enclosures. In addition to developing new materials to meet EV requirements, SABIC is working to enable technologies for large-part manufacturing, joining and assembly, crash resistance, battery thermal management, flame retardancy, electrical properties and performance testing.   Compared with conventional battery pack designs using traditional materials such as aluminium and other metals, SABIC's EV battery pack concept using lightweight thermoplastics can potentially deliver 30 to 50 percent weight savings per component, improve energy density, simplify the assembly process, reduce costs, improve thermal control and safety, and increase crash resistance.