She Stellantis group inaugurated a new battery technology center in La Plata Mirafiori in Turin, an event where Ned Curic, head of engineering and technology, identified the large weight of current batteries as a problem. “The battery is now too heavy. The car is too heavy. We must not go back,” Curic said in words reported by Autocar.
The goal of Stellar is a reduction of 50% of weight of the battery pack of its vehicles by introducing new technologies and more efficient packaging, as well as using fewer exotic materials. Several paths are considered for this, such as the development of lighter lithium-sulfur batteries, cheaper to produce and less polluting throughout the process than lithium-ion batteries; or also sodium ion batteries as made by the Chinese factory CATL.
the reduced battery weight without making key points such as the autonomy they offer is one of the main challenges facing manufacturers today. For example, between a combustion Peugeot 208 and an electric one there is a difference of about 300 kilograms, an exaggerated figure given this element.
she Mirafiori Battery Technology Center It has a total of 8,000 square meters distributed over three levels. The most important part of the center consists of 32 climatic test chambers, 24 of which are for testing battery packs and eight for testing cells. Within 24 climate rooms, humidity and temperature can be controlled on a scale of -40 to 60ºC and with a maximum change of 20 degrees per minute. The facilities allow up to 47 batteries to be tested simultaneously.
she electrical system The center, whose design is designed to expand its capacity over time, can handle up to 1.2 kilovolts and 2.2 megawatts per test cell. The eight cell chambers can test 96 cells simultaneously. The purpose to be pursued in this part of the technology center is to study innovations in battery chemistry and to identify the behavior of cells for future developments.
“We have a unique opportunity to transform and deliver smart, sustainable solutions to our customers. Our new Mirafiori Battery Technology Center brings together the tools and talented people we need to design, test, evaluate and manufacture leading products that meet the needs of our customers and facilitate the arrival of leading electric vehicles in markets around the world,” said Ned Curic.
