Given  pervading uncertainty in the electric-vehicle market, the ability of OEMs to swiftly develop competitive products cost-effectively has never been more critical. Typically, manufacturers’ success in achieving this largely comes down to one single component: the battery pack, which typically represents 30% to 50% of the total cost of an electric vehicle.

As all OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers in the space are aware, EV batteries are complicated to design, and affect almost every major electric vehicle characteristic. Cell chemistry, format, size, weight, adhesives, sealants: each needs to be carefully considered to ensure the vehicle’s range, efficiency, performance and safety are up to standards.

The final battery pack design, consisting of hundreds or thousands of cells working together, needs to be validated – and truly integrated into the vehicle design. But that is, in fact, where many manufacturers go wrong.

Instead of fitting an off-the-shelf solution into a vehicle’s design, the battery pack must be developed in sync with the vehicle from the start of the program for both to be optimized.  The battery pack not only defines the effectiveness of every bit of the vehicle, but also the price; this complexity is precisely why developing an EV battery pack is typically the most expensive single part of the vehicle development.

 This is why EV batteries are decades away from being commoditized. The level of customization needed for a competitive product is significant. This is in stark contrast with the batteries you’ll find in consumer technology such as smartphones; using normally only one or two distinct cells, instead of the hundreds found in EVs, means the customization is done in the chemistry and not in the mechanical design.

The same can be said for electric grid-scale stationary storage systems. Here, there is almost no requirement to optimize the shape, size or performance, and a one-size-fits-all philosophy works fine– normally in the form of a 20-ft. (6.1-m) shipping container. They are engineered for low cost and long life, with no need for the intricate, bespoke, considered engineering optimization required to create a compelling EV battery pack.

Unlike both consumer electronics and energy-storage technology, the batteries powering EVs are uniquely constrained. From power output to range, charging time, efficiency, weight and driving dynamics, an EV’s battery pack defines every aspect of its design in a way that internal-combustion engines never did. No matter how skilled, no vehicle dynamics engineer, structures designer nor aerodynamicist can “engineer around” a heavy, bulky or low-performance battery. Therefore, in every conceivable way, the battery pack is ultimately responsible for an EV driver’s satisfaction on the road.

And that is where OEMs have an enormous opportunity: to give EVs the character that many believe they’re missing. By conceiving, customizing and ultimately co-creating their battery-pack designs alongside the vehicles in which they’re incorporated, manufacturers can land on a solution that works in perfect harmony with the concept of that specific model. Having that ability to seamlessly balance weight and size with energy density, according to chassis and dynamic requirements, gives OEMs hugely exciting opportunities to unleash creativity – unlocking new levels of performance, but importantly, in ways that give each EV a unique identity.

The opportunity to create competitive products, redefine perceptions and build a compelling character for sustainable vehicles is invaluable, and means battery-pack customization needs to be readily available for OEMs.

When developing EVs, smaller and niche OEMs face a difficult choice in battery packs: between highly bespoke solutions and off-the-shelf products. The former is incredibly time-consuming to develop and typically costs north of $30 million, while the latter delivers low performance and usually doesn’t meet requirements or targets. Neither offer a compelling route for low-volume OEMs to launch new and exciting EVs. Given over 90% of OEMs globally fall into this category, that situation needs to change.

There have always been those who doubted vehicles’ ability to have a soul – but as we have seen with so many vehicles across the decades, that is simply not the case. If we have the opportunity to give EVs a unique character, it’s certainly one we should take.

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