Sometimes that’s just jumping across spaces between components,” says Jacob Collison, global strategic product manager at PPG. Coatings are applied throughout an EV battery pack, from fire protection materials on the lid, anti-corrosion protection inside and out, on cooling plates and pipes, on busbars and in cells.
This surge in EV adoption has created a demand for enhanced performance in battery-related coatings. Among the solutions gaining traction, UV-curable coatings have garnered significant attention from manufacturers due to their rapid curing rate, minimal energy consumption, and ease of application processes.
In response to the global shift toward electric vehicles (EVs) in the next decade, automotive manufacturers worldwide are intensifying their focus on EV production. This surge in EV adoption has created a demand for enhanced performance in battery-related coatings.
With dielectric coatings, Munro at PPG anticipates much greater use of UV-cured materials because they are solids, their application consumes relatively little energy and yields faster throughput when coating filled cells. “This is the next large movement in coatings for the battery pack, along with fire protection considerations.”
According to Henkel’s Dr Knecht, the principal problems in the realm of electrical protection of key battery components include ensuring the coating’s own ability to be stable at extraordinary high voltages, along with typically challenging lifetime requirements.
Inside the cells, coatings are applied to enhance mechanical and thermal stability; particle coatings to improve the cycle life of active materials and conductivity of the current collector foils, to reduce cell resistance and improve adhesion of the active material on these foils, explains Dr. Tobias Knecht, battery cells specialist at Henkel.