43 The Battery Show North America | Show report substrates and components. This characteristic, combined with the inherent processability, chemical resistance and superior dielectric strength of polypropylene (demonstrated by a comparative tracking index (CTI) of greater than 600 V), established K2100 as a versatile and high-performance base polymer. Initial customer demand identified a specific need to replace traditional mica sheets used as thermal barriers. Highland Plastics responded with a series of engineered prototype composites that demonstrate tangible solutions to key failure modes. The K2500 blast shield composite, for example, is a laminate of K2100 and woven glass fibre that creates a lightweight, mouldable sheet. Its most significant technical credential is passing the demanding UL 2596 Battery Enclosure Thermal Runaway (BETR) test at a thickness of just 2.7 mm. “This standard simulates a direct, sustained internal battery fire, and passing it validates K2500 as a viable, mica-free solution for battery enclosures, potentially reducing weight and simplifying manufacturing,” he says. Beyond enclosures, Kelvinite addresses the critical risk of cell-to-cell propagation. For this, the portfolio offers specialised barriers. The K2540 cylindrical cell separator is a 2 mm thick K2100-based composite designed to be woven between cylindrical cells, creating a continuous flame-retardant wall. For prismatic cells, which undergo volumetric expansion during charge cycles, the K2520 composite separator introduces a compressible element. It features a K2400 foam core, allowing the pack to accommodate mechanical swelling while maintaining a critical FR barrier, as tested in Highland’s internal prismatic cell thermal runaway simulation. Complementing these structural solutions, Kelvinite 2105 is an ultra-thin derivative engineered for application in tape form. Capable of being extruded as thin as 0.005 in (0.125 mm) while achieving a UL 94 VTM-0 rating, this halogenfree tape is available with a pressuresensitive adhesive backing. It provides a solution for automated application in wire harnessing, component insulation, and other areas where flexibility and thinness are paramount. PVA, a specialist in automated dispensing and precision fluid application systems, introduced its new Servo Rod Pump (SRP) developed to address a gap in high-performance metering of a wide range of materials used in battery assembly, including those with abrasive components. The genesis of the new SRP came from the recognition that existing high-pressure, high-volume metering solutions were often over-engineered and too costly for many applications. “We had designed and have other versions of that were capable of much higher volume, much higher pressures, which were actually too big for a lot of applications such as in a battery. So, we designed the Servo Rod Pump as a smaller, lower-cost version,” explains David Filbert of PVA. This strategic downsize costs around $40,000 – half the price of its predecessor – making advanced metering technology accessible for a wider range of projects. The SRP is engineered to handle a vast viscosity range, from 10 to 1 million centipoise, with a programmable flow rate of 0.5 to 9 cc/s per component. Its maximum shot size is 100 cc for a single component and 200 cc for a 1:1 ratio mix, operating at pressures up to 1500 psi. This makes it ideal for dispensing abrasive pastes, two-part epoxies, thermal interface materials and potting compounds, which are ubiquitous in EV battery assembly, Filbert emphasises. The core of the SRP’s robust design is its tungsten carbide metering rod and lip seal system. Unlike piston pumps, the rod never contacts the walls of the metering cylinder. This design is inherently more resistant to wear from abrasive fillers. “A lip seal on a rod is going to wipe away that abrasive material, whereas a piston that has to seal against the inside of the cylinder is going to take more wear.” This results in significantly reduced maintenance requirements and longer service life compared with traditional precision gear or piston pumps, which can be ruined by abrasive materials in minutes. In operation, a refill valve in the SRP opens and the servo-driven rod retracts while material is pumped into the metering chamber from a source such as a pressure pot, pail pump or drum pump. The valve closes, and the rod then advances, displacing a precise volume of material out to the dispense valve. Closed-loop servo control of the pump allows operators to program not only the flow rate and mix ratio (from 1:1 to 10:1) but also to apply a pre-shot E-Mobility Engineering | January/February 2026 PVA’s new downsized Servo Rod Pump accurately dispenses sealants, adhesives and fillers etc, including abrasive ones, in smaller volumes at lower cost (Image: PVA)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mzk4