Battery Integrated Composite Structures

Recent advancement in battery technology has led to significant growth in vehicle electrification for ground, aerial, and underwater vehicles. However, the high combustibility of Li-ion’s organic electrolyte requires EV designers to thoroughly protect their Li-ion battery packs from impact and other external forces, as well as monitor the battery health to prevent overcharging, overdischarging, thermal runaway, and disproportional voltages of cells in series. While each of these subsystems is important and necessary, they are currently independent and single purpose.

By integrating these three subsystems – battery materials, structure, health monitoring and control – together into one multifunctional system, the overall efficiency of the battery system is increased while simultaneously decreasing system level weight. Meanwhile, the convergence of these functions into one package allows for a game-changing manufacturing process that combines the battery pack and structural chassis assembly into one step: saving time and cost of production.