Automotive Engineering - May 2024 - 20

SPONSORED CONTENT
The Inside Story on Henkel's
EV Battery Innovations
H
enkel holds a leading market position as an innovation and development partner to OEMs and battery manufacturers
in the E-Mobility segment. The company's broad and diversified portfolio of advanced materials are critical
to the assembly, sealing and protection of EV components, including battery systems, power conversion and
electric motors. Key solutions include thermal interface materials, adhesives, sealants and functional coatings.
Pankaj Arora, Vice President Electronics & E-Mobility at Henkel Corporation, North America, discusses the latest advancements
in material solutions for EV design and manufacturing.
What is the top challenge facing the electric
vehicle market today and how is
Henkel addressing that challenge?
There are so many challenges that it's
tough to focus on just one. But right now, I
think the industry is really grappling with
enabling a circular economy for EVs and
batteries. Europe has made more headway
in this area, but there is increased focus
here in the United States as well. At Henkel,
we're working on de-bondable adhesives
so metals can be recovered and recycled,
or in other cases so components can be
repaired or repurposed. The key is to do
this without causing any damage to the
battery. We're looking at different triggers
to enable debonding, including mechanical,
electrical, temperature, magnetic and chemical.
cell production of greater than 10 percent.
This also helps make the manufacturing process
more environmentally friendly by reducing
the use of organic solvents.
Pankaj Arora, Vice President
Electronics & E-Mobility at Henkel
Corporation, North America
How are battery design changes influencing
material solutions?
There's a significant impact. For example,
simplified battery designs such as Cell-toPack
and Cell-to-Vehicle architectures are
helping reduce weight, cost and improve energy
density. But at the same time, these new
architectures require new material innovations.
For example, in a Cell-to-Pack configuration,
modules are eliminated, and the battery
is packed with cells placed directly on
the cooling plate/metal case. This configuraHow
do you feel the EV market has impacted the pace of
innovation in the industry?
There's been a huge impact in terms of the pace of innovation.
Agility and speed are key and highly sought after. We're
focusing a lot of time and attention in the area of modeling
and simulation to speed innovation by leapfrogging traditional
testing cycles. Through simulation and testing, we can
analyze material behavior under various conditions and then
test that material on digital twins of our customers batteries.
This helps us find material formulations with the best combination
of safety, performance, affordability and more in a
much faster time and then those results through validation.
What is a recent innovation by Henkel that is particularly
important to the future of battery design and engineering?
At the battery cell level, we've introduced Conductive
Electrode Coatings, which enable higher energy density due
to improved adhesion on the battery cell level. As a result,
this helps increase range without increasing the size of the
battery pack. The coatings also protect the current collector,
prolonging service life of the battery. In addition to performance
gains, there's a great sustainability story here as
Henkel's process for the technology involves dry mixing, instead
of wet mixing. This helps reduce energy demand by
removing the need for ovens and in turn, reduces equipment
footprint by 70 percent - providing cost savings potential in
20 May 2024
tion simplifies the assembly, but it also brings a new set of
requirements in terms of providing both structural integrity
and thermal management. Henkel's Thermally Conductive
Adhesives (TCA) help manage heat flow, while supporting
the structural integrity of the cells through strong adhesion.
When evaluating a TCA for structural performance, we
take into account bond strength specifications and the
type of surface on which the TCA is to be applied. In the
case of thermal performance, selection criteria include
thermal conductivity specifications, temperature stability
rating and UL flammability rating.
Any key, future plans for Henkel's continued growth in
the EV market in North America?
We're always growing and changing and that makes it very
exciting for our team. Because that growth and change is
always focused on how we can better serve the market
and our customers, we're currently investing in the launch
of a Battery Application Center in our facility in Madison
Heights, Michigan. The Center will offer equipment for automated
material dispensing on up to full-scale battery
systems - replicating a production environment on a small
scale. The goal is to use the Center to further our customer
collaboration and drive innovation related to material application
for battery components.
Learn more about Henkel's role in electric vehicle development
at www.henkel-adhesives.com/emobility.
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Automotive Engineering - May 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive Engineering - May 2024