Driving the future of EV battery assembly with adhesives

Sponsored by DuPont.

The automotive industry is rapidly evolving, and electric vehicles are at the forefront of this transformation. Continued EV adoption hinges on several key factors: reducing costs, building a robust charging infrastructure, and designing efficient, durable battery packs with longer-range and fast-charging capabilities. As automakers strive to match the cost and efficiency of internal combustion engine vehicles, the race to develop high-performing EV battery packs is on—and adhesives are emerging as a critical component in their design and assembly. 

Design Trends Shaping EV Battery Assembly

EV battery pack design is rapidly evolving as automakers and researchers work to boost performance, cut costs, and enhance sustainability. The focus is on increasing energy density and lowering cost per kWh, leading to simpler designs that remove parts, weight, and bulk. However, these changes can affect structural support and complicate battery replacement, disassembly, and recycling. Advanced adhesive technology can help develop solutions for these challenges and usher EV battery pack designs into the future. 

Here’s a closer look at the evolution of EV battery technology: 

• Cell-Module-Pack (CMP) designs package individual cells together inside modules, a method that has dominated the market due to its durability, ease of assembly, and serviceability. Since CMP requires more parts that increase cost and weight, automakers now seek designs with fewer parts to improve energy efficiency and simplify production.
• Cell-to-Pack (CTP) designs integrate battery cells directly into the battery pack, eliminating modules to enhance energy density and simplify manufacturing. This emerging option is gaining traction for its cost-lowering potential. However, it demands advanced thermal management and durability, and a complex assembly process leaves little room for error.
• Cell-to-Body (CTB) designs incorporate the battery cells directly into the vehicle’s body, optimizing space, reducing weight, and improving structural integrity. Early adopters are exploring CTB for its cost efficiency and reduced part count. Despite its advantages, concerns about durability, recyclability, and safety persist. 

The Benefits of Adhesives in Sustainable Battery Assembly

As EV adoption grows, the need for sustainable, efficient battery assembly becomes more pressing. Adhesives offer a range of benefits that make them vital to EV battery production.

• Enhanced Performance—Adhesives enhance battery performance by optimizing the thermal interface between battery cells and cooling systems, leading to extended range and faster charging.

• Flexible Battery Design—Adhesives enable greater design flexibility by bonding a variety of materials, including composites, functional films, and metals. This non-destructive joining technique preserves the integrity of substrates, allowing for innovative battery designs that were previously unattainable.

• Increased Energy Management for Safety—Safety is paramount in EV battery design, and adhesives contribute to crash energy management. They provide continuous bond lines that enhance structural integrity of the battery pack and enable wheel-to-wheel battery designs that perform under crash conditions. 

• Added structural capability – with the growing adoption of cell-to-body designs, adhesives can provide the bonding strength necessary to replace modular walls and support structures

• Optimized thermal management – Thermal management is crucial for battery safety. Thermally conductive adhesives and interface materials support heat dissipation and prevent overheating during battery charging and operation. Long-term, this helps ensure consistent performance and extend the battery lifespan.

• Support for Zero-Emission EVs—Adhesives contribute to sustainability by enabling lightweight vehicle designs and reducing panel thickness in body structures. This can result in significant CO₂ savings—approximately 133 grams per driven kilometer.

• Improved Manufacturing Processes—Adhesives streamline manufacturing processes, offering fast, low-cost joining and curing. They eliminate the need for surface pretreatment and can improve process speed, resulting in significant cost savings.

Emerging methods in battery assembly also favor adhesives. Injectable adhesives are easily dispensed for modular battery frames. Debonding-on-demand solutions facilitate easy repair and recycling. Additionally, certain adhesives cure on demand—ideal for flexible, lean manufacturing processes.

DuPont’s Solutions for Advanced EV Battery Assembly

DuPont, with its deep expertise in EV battery assembly, is well-positioned to support the industry shift toward more advanced battery designs. Our wide range of adhesive solutions are designed to meet specific challenges, offering enhanced performance, safety, and sustainability.

• BETAFORCE Elastic Structural Adhesive: A 2024 R&D 100 award winner, BETAFORCE is designed for broad EV battery assembly applications, excelling in pouch cell bonding. It bonds aluminum laminated film substrates without primers or pretreatment—delivering durability, crashworthiness, and sustainability benefits. With up to 30% renewable and bio-based materials and room-temperature curing, it eliminates the need for high-temperature ovens, enhancing its environmental credentials.
• BETAMATE Structural Adhesive: BETAMATE ensures battery pack integrity with stiffness, durability, and crash performance. It bonds and seals battery pack enclosures and cooling plates, offering strong adhesion to aluminum alloys and composites. It also can be used in the growing area of CTB designs. BETAMATE also improves safety, corrosion resistance, and manufacturing efficiency.
• BETATECH TIM (Thermal Interface Material): This innovative solution is diisocyanate- and silicone-free and efficiently manages and controls heat from high-density batteries during charging and operation, maintaining thermal conductivity across a wide temperature range. BETATECH is easy to dispense and join, making it ideal for high-volume assembly.

Sustainability

Sustainability is at the core of DuPont’s mission. Our adhesive solutions are designed to address pressing challenges while enhancing EV performance and safety.

• BETAMATE Broad Bake Adhesives: These adhesives allow for a reduction in e-coat oven temperature by 25°C, leading to significant energy savings. They also enable shorter oven cycle times, further improving manufacturing efficiency.
• BETAFORCE 2800 TC: This adhesive not only keeps EV batteries cool during fast charging to extend battery life, but also reduces raw materials needed by streamlining the number of components. 
• BETATECH TIM: These adhesives offer a low pullout force to allow for easy removal of battery modules to enable repair, reuse, and recycling.

These product families are also available in room temperature cure formulations. Oven-free bonding means less energy use and one less step in the assembly process.

Collaboration and Innovation: DuPont’s Centers of Excellence

At DuPont, we believe in the power of collaboration. Our Centers of Excellence and advanced engineering capabilities around the globe are dedicated to working closely with customers to drive innovation in EV battery assembly.

• Fast-Paced Development: We have the formulation and testing expertise to validate new concepts and refine existing ones.
• Comprehensive testing: To verify performance, longevity, and safety of the planned configuration, we expand small sample tests to module-scale testing at the battery system level.
• Global Collaboration: Our teams collaborate across regions, functions, and businesses to deliver cutting-edge solutions tailored to the unique needs of our customers.

Ready to Collaborate?

DuPont is more than just a supplier: we’re a partner in innovation. If you’re looking to advance your EV battery assembly process, we invite you to dEVelop with DuPont to explore how our adhesive solutions can help you achieve your goals.

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Leclanché supplies battery system for Madrid Metro’s hybrid track repair locomotive

Swiss battery manufacturer Leclanché has supplied two of its INT-53 ENERGY battery packs for the Madrid Metro system’s new hybrid track repair locomotive, which was custom-built by Uromac, a Spanish road-rail machines and vehicles manufacturer.

It marks the first time that lithium-ion battery technology has been integrated into the Metro’s infrastructure. Collaborating on the project with Leclanché and Uromac was Spanish engineering firm SGi.

The project is part of Leclanché’s strategic development of its presence outside the EV automotive markets and on the marine and rail sectors.

“We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with Uromac through this new contract, further diversifying our supply of products and clients in the heavy-duty application markets,” said Phil Broad, CEO of E-Mobility, Leclanché.

Source: Leclanché

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Prestone launches new thermal management fluids for EVs

US-based coolants and corrosion protection fluids supplier Prestone Products has introduced three low-conductivity, corrosion-protectant thermal management fluids to meet upcoming industry specifications for EV coolants.

The products include a new silicate organic inhibitor technology EV thermal management fluid that meets specifications such as the EV coolant-specific GB29743.2 standard, which is aimed at enhancing safety. The fluid provides enhanced reserve alkalinity to extend EV lifespans.

Prestone has also launched a low-conductivity phosphate organic acid technology EV thermal management fluid. Also developed to meet the GB29743.2 standard, it is based on technology that provides corrosion protection and compatibility with flux-brazed aluminum. The fluid is free of silicate, borate and amine.

The third product is an ultra-low conductivity fuel cell coolant designed for compatibility with PEM fuel cell stacks, as hydrogen fuel cells have distinct requirements that require ultra-low electrical conductivity for cooling fluid. Prestone developed the formulation from the ground up using high-purity and non-ionic corrosion inhibitors.

Vehicle OEMs that operate or sell vehicles in China will need to comply with the GB29743.2 standard, which mandates a significant reduction in the electrical conductivity of coolants to enhance battery safety, by mid-2026. The standard will likely apply to the global industry in time.

“Corrosion poses a significant threat to the longevity and reliability of automotive components, especially in the highly sensitive, intricate systems found in electrified vehicles,” said Matt Kern, Senior Director of Global Sales, Prestone. “Prestone’s thermal management fluids serve as an ally in combating corrosion and forming a protective barrier that shields these systems from the harmful effects of corrosion.”

Source: Prestone Products

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Kempower and KONČAR to install EV chargers in Central and Southeastern Europe

Finnish EV charger manufacturer Kempower has signed a sales and service partnership agreement with Croatian electrical, transport and energy company KONČAR to advance the availability of EV charging across Central and Southeastern Europe.

Under the agreement, KONČAR will procure, distribute and install Kempower’s DC charging equipment for customers that include CPOs, public transport operators, port authorities and municipalities.

An initial partnership project is a hub that will be part of a new service station under construction in Croatia’s Kvarner region at the east end of the Učka Tunnel. It is expected to be completed this year. Kempower will supply two 600 kW Kempower Power Units, and KONČAR will provide the required infrastructure. It will be equipped with eight Kempower Charging Satellites, suitable for EVs, and two Kempower Liquid Cooled Charging Satellites, intended to handle commercial trucks.

The partnership aims to accelerate the availability of charging infrastructure in Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, a region whose EV market share in 2023 was between 1% and 4%, as compared to the 2022 EU average of 13.9%.

Nina Dusper, KONČAR’s Executive Director for Urban Mobility & Infrastructure, said: “By combining Kempower’s  leading technology with KONČAR’s engineering excellence as part of our core offering, we can provide our clients with a full turnkey solution, from planning and procurement to installation and maintenance.”

Source: Kempower

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MacLean to deliver 30 GR8 electric graders to Fortescue

Canada-based underground mining equipment manufacturer MacLean will supply 30 of its GR8 EV graders to Australian metal mining company Fortescue for its surface mining operations in Western Australia. 

The units will be powered by Fortescue Zero battery power systems. Delivery is slated to begin in 2026, and the full fleet is expected to be operational in 2029.

“Our track record to date is 25 vehicle models battery electrified, 100 EV units sold from bolters to boom trucks to shotcrete sprayers to graders, and half a million operating hours logged.  Now we’re turning our sights to surface mining operations,” said MacLean’s CEO, Kevin MacLean. “We’re taking all the learnings from our GR5 Underground Grader commercialization and our years of experience in underground BEV design, manufacturing, and site support and putting it to good use in the context of surface mining electrification.”

Source: Fortescue

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Alltrucks and SANY eTrucks partner to provide truck repair services in Europe

Germany-headquartered Alltrucks, a provider of commercial vehicle maintenance and repair services, and truck manufacturer SANY eTrucks, a division of China-headquartered heavy equipment manufacturer SANY, are joining forces to provide truck repair services.

SANY’s eTrucks customers in Europe will be able to receive services from Alltrucks’ network of more than 700 workshops in 13 European countries.

“Together with SANY and Bosch, we will drive forward electromobility in the construction and heavy-duty sector and optimally prepare our workshop network for the specific requirements of electrified commercial vehicles,” said Alltrucks Managing Director Homer Smyrliadis.

Source: Putzmeister

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Durakool unveils EV-optimized relays and contactor

UK-based Durakool, a manufacturer of power-switching components, has introduced three new products for the EV market.

The DG82M is a micro-ISO automotive plug-in relay featuring magnetic arc blowout technology. It is optimized for DC switching, capable of handling up to 3 A 110 VDC for 100,000 cycles and 7 A 110 VDC for 20,000 cycles. The DG82M has an additional magnet but still fits standard micro-ISO sockets, making it well-suited for industrial vehicles transitioning to electric power and higher voltage systems.

The DE40 is a miniature PCB power relay engineered for EV charging and photovoltaic (PV) systems. It offers a robust design, reinforced plastic housing and a maximum switching current of 2x 40 A at 277 VAC. Its DPST-NO-DM configuration, with optional SPST-NC auxiliary contacts, enhances reliability through contact redundancy and real-time operational status monitoring, according to the company.

The DHVC300 is an automotive contactor designed for high-voltage DC applications. It features a 500 A 1,000 VDC rating with a maximum breaking current of 2,000 A. Its oxygen-free copper contacts are sealed in inert gas. The non-polarized contacts allow for bidirectional under-load switching, making it a suitable solution for advanced automotive electrical systems. The contactor offers flexible mounting options and a choice of power terminals for versatility.

“The DG82M, DE40 and DHVC300 address the complex challenges faced by our clients in the EV and industrial sectors. By combining advanced technologies like magnetic arc blowout and high-performance materials, we are enabling our customers to push the boundaries of what is possible in electric and hybrid vehicle design,” said Carlos Mendes, Product Manager at Durakool.

Source: Durakool

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