Focus on…

Focus on...

Battery cooling

Cool chargings Peter Donaldson examines the complexities of fluid-based thermal management in high-energy battery systems As batteries pack more energy into a given mass and volume while charging speeds increase, engineers face growing challenges in managing heat dissipation efficiently and safely. In wrestling with this problem, they are reshaping thermal management strategies while navigating the […]

Focus on...

Battery pack materials

Lightweighting the battery pack New materials are fighting to reduce the weight of the battery enclosure in an EV, as Nick Flaherty explains Around 80% of battery pack enclosures today are constructed from aluminium, with the rest built from steel. A new generation of materials is being explored for reduction of the weight of the […]

Focus on...

Fasteners for EV assembly

Peter Donaldson assesses the relative strengths of the fastening techniques used in EV fabrication. Nuts, bolts and screws with standardised sizes and thread pitches were one of the most important technological developments in the history of manufacturing. Without them – and the wider field of fasteners that they represent – it is more

Focus on...

HV measurement

Higher voltages mean more power but also more test challenges, and Nick Flaherty has been looking into the latest trends in powertrain testing. High-voltage (HV) testing is an important part of the development process for an e-mobility powertrain.

Focus on...

Motor materials

Materials are as fundamental to e-motors as they are to every other engineered artifact, and selecting the right material for each application is crucial in any motor development project. Powering a broad range of vehicles with diverse duty cycles and operating environments, presents multifaceted challenges and material trade-offs.

Focus on...

Cell-to-chassis

Moving to cell-to-chassis architecture means significant changes to EV structures and materials, finds Nick Flaherty Manufacturers of electric vehicles (EVs) are placing increased emphasis on pack design optimisation. Moving from modules to packs and even to direct integration with the chassis can promote lighter weight, less space, higher energy density, and lower material and assembly costs. However, this drive toward cell-to-chassis (C2C) architecture comes with a range of engineering challenges with respect to cooling, materials and assembly processes.

Focus on...

Battery leak testing

Peter Donaldson delves into the world of battery leak testing. With the exception of old, British motorbike engines – it was said that if they’re not leaking, there’s no oil in them – leaks from anything are usually a sign of a problem. The escape of liquids such as coolant and electrolyte are undesirable, and the emission of gases can be the first warning sign of a thermal runaway.

Focus on...

Motor testing

Peter Donaldson examines various means of testing electric motors. Although mechanically simple, compared with internal combustion engines, the electric motors forming the heart of the propulsion system of EVs of all kinds must go through intensive testing. This involves the use of many technologies and procedures to probe performance, efficiency, reliability and safety at every stage of manufacture and integration.

Focus on...

Cybersecurity

Nick Flaherty uncovers new ways to make e-mobility software safer. A competition in Japan has discovered 49 vulnerabilities in automotive software, of which the developers were unaware. In the Pwn2Own Automotive 2025, researchers targeted EV-charging electronic control units (ECUs), where a flaw allowed the manipulation of charging parameters in the powertrain ECU, risking battery thermal runaway.

Focus on...

Battery cell manufacturing

There are three major phases of activity for manufacturing battery cells, as Nick Flaherty reports Moving from small coin cells that prove the performance of a battery chemistry in the laboratory to production is a big step. There are many different ways to construct a cell, and many techniques for both building and characterising the resulting battery.