Dr. Rico Schmerler (links) und Dr. Thomas Hipke auf der Battery Show North America. Foto: Franhofer IWU
The housings of high-voltage batteries in battery-electric vehicles must meet a wide range of requirements. From a safety perspective, they must offer high impact resistance and be able to absorb energy during crashes or provide protection against short circuits. The material must also be heat-resistant and flame-retardant. Efficient heat dissipation is essential, yet the sensitive cells must also be protected from excessive cooling at sub-zero temperatures. The casing must withstand stones and road salt. In addition, it should fit precisely into the vehicle’s underbody structure, contribute to the body’s stiffness, and—with low weight—help increase the vehicle’s range. Aluminum foam has the properties needed to meet all these requirements simultaneously.
In October in Detroit, the Fraunhofer IWU and automotive supplier Amsted Automotive presented an integrally designed battery housing featuring aluminum foam sandwiches. This special material structure consists of two solid aluminum sheets enclosing an inner core of aluminum foam. If required, these sandwich panels can incorporate a cooling structure or a thermal storage medium (PCM – phase change material).
The Fraunhofer IWU succeeded in integrating PCM into closed-cell aluminum foam. PCMs can absorb or release large amounts of thermal energy while changing their physical state (solid or liquid) – without significantly altering their own temperature. This makes them particularly suitable for efficient thermal management in lithium-ion batteries.
The demonstrator presented in Detroit illustrates a wide range of possible production solutions. Depending on the desired properties, various configurations are feasible: pure AAS (Aluminum–Aluminum Foam Sandwiches), AAS with infiltrated PCM, AAS with integrated cooling structures, or AAS with both cooling structures and PCM.
To ensure that aluminum foam battery housings can also be used in mass-produced vehicles in the future, the research team led by Dr. Thomas Hipke and Dr. Rico Schmerler is increasingly focusing on economic feasibility. One key factor for future production costs is the raw material itself. Hipke explains:
“For the production of aluminum foam, we are increasingly using recycled material. This is not only significantly more cost-effective but also substantially reduces the CO₂ footprint.”
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