Battery Packs and Cell Contacting Systems

E-mobility is the future of transportation. Hybrid and electric vehicles require efficient state-of-the-art energy storage systems. A key technology here are high-performance cell contacting systems (CCS), which connect the individual lithium-ion battery cells mounted on the plastic carrier boards that are then assembled into a complete battery system.

As batteries for electric cars have to work up into the high-voltage range, they must be assembled from hundreds of individual lithium-ion batteries while still fulfilling stringent performance, durability and safety criteria. Panacol adhesives ensure on one hand loss-free energy transmission, and on the hand they are flexible enough to compensate for the different thermal expansion rates of the materials used within the connecting elements. 

Welded copper tracks on battery packs and strands to flexible conductors create surfaces that are prone to corrosion. Panacol has developed special UV adhesives with a low ion content that protect these welds from corrosion as well as providing mechanical support and compensating thermal expansion of the different materials. Specially developed UV glob tops and UV coatings offer flexible solutions for a wide range of CCS layouts and geometries. 

For connecting and sealing welded joints on cell contacting systems and battery packs that contain shaded areas that the UV light cannot reach, Panacol has developed special moisture-postcuring UV acrylates. Here, most of the adhesive is cured with UV light and its structure is polymerized, while residual monomers in the shaded area that remain uncured subsequently cross-link through air humidity. Full curing is therefore also achieved without additional crosslinking in the oven, thereby protecting the carrier board from unwanted heat exposure. 

In many battery packs the control electronics are already integrated, so that the charge level and heat development in the battery pack can be continually monitored. For sensors Panacol provides specially formulated adhesives.

Welding points of cell contacting systems are covered with ionically pure adhesive to prevent corrosion (click to enlarge)