Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - June 2024 - 6

TECHNICAL
INNOVATIONS
ELECTRIFICATION
Volvo Trucks' battery chemistry of choice: NCA
SAE INTERNATIONAL
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Carla Bailo
President
Robert Ireland
2025 President
Todd Zarfos
2023 President
Christopher Payne
Vice President - Aerospace
Daniel Nicholson
Vice President - Automotive
Audley Brown
Vice President -
Commercial Vehicle
David Andrea
Treasurer
A Volvo energy storage system with three battery packs, each unit having a capacity of 90 kWh. Customers can
package up to six battery packs (540 kWh) in a truck, depending on specific range and load capacity demands.
While Daimler Truck, Paccar and Accelera by
Cummins are pursuing lithium iron phosphate
(LFP) battery cells with technology partner
EVE Energy (www.sae.org/news/2023/09/lfpbattery-cell-production-for-electric-commercial-vehicles),
Volvo Trucks employs lithium-ion
batteries in which lithium nickel cobalt aluminum
oxide (NCA) is used as the cathode - for
now anyway. The Swedish truck maker is continuously
exploring other battery technologies.
" If you look back at least three years, maybe
five years, LFP was not really on the map.
There has come some new evolvement on LFP
which would make it better in many ways, [improved]
things that were problematic with it
before. It might very well be a solution in the
future, " Peter Granqvist, senior vice president
of Volvo Group Electromobility Technology,
said at a media event at the company's headquarters
in Gothenburg, Sweden, in late 2023.
" Right now, we are not on that path, but I'm
not excluding anything. " Granqvist said it's
possible multiple chemistries will prevail, based
on the benefits being prioritized and the needs
of the specific vehicle application.
Samsung SDI is the main supplier for Volvo's
batteries. NCA delivers high energy density -
a priority for Volvo Trucks - as well as extremely
good fast-charging capability.
Aluminum increases the power of a battery,
Samsung SDI states, and the high nickel con6
June 2024
tent (more than 80%) of its cathode reportedly
makes the batteries more cost-competitive by
reducing the amount of cobalt.
Volvo's trucks have also employed NMC
(nickel manganese cobalt) Li-ion batteries for
energy storage. The truck maker states that
lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries show potential
due to their high specific energy. Li-S offers
specific energies upward of 500 Wh/kg, about
double that of lithium-ion batteries. Solid-state
batteries also are on the table.
Volvo Trucks' target is to be completely fossil-free
by 2040. In the near term, the truck
maker is targeting 50% of its global sales -
approximately 75,000 units - to be zero-emission
by 2030. Battery-electric trucks will be the
OEM's main technology path to achieve this
aggressive target.
" That is the product we foresee will have the
largest volume over time. It is because it's simply
the most efficient solution, " Jessica Sandström,
senior vice president, Product Management and
Sustainability at Volvo Trucks, said in Gothenburg.
In 2024, Volvo Trucks will begin building its
first battery manufacturing plant, located in
Mariestad, Sweden, where green energy currently
is more plentiful. Battery production is
an energy-intense process, Sandström said. " If
we are going to have a net-zero truck, it also
means that all components going into the truck
should be net-zero. "
Gregory L. Bradley, Esq.
Secretary
Judy Curran
Mary Lee Gambone
Joan Wills
Susan Ying, Ph.D
SAE International Sections
SAE International Sections are local
units comprised of 100 or more SAE
International Members in a defined
technical or geographic area. The purpose
of local Sections is to meet the technical,
developmental, and personal needs of the
SAE Members in a given area. For more
information, please visit sae.org/sections
or contact SAE Member Relations Specialist
Abby Hartman at abby.hartman@sae.org.
SAE International
Collegiate Chapters
Collegiate Chapters are a way for SAE
International Student Members to get
together on their campus and develop
skills in a student-run and -elected
environment. Student Members are vital
to the continued success and future of
SAE. While your course work teaches
you the engineering knowledge you
need, participation in your SAE Collegiate
Chapter can develop or enhance other
important skills, including leadership,
time management, project management,
communications, organization, planning,
delegation, budgeting, and finance. For
more information, please visit students.
sae.org/chapters/collegiate/ or contact
SAE Member Relations Specialist Abby
Hartman at abby.hartman@sae.org.
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
SAE/RYAN GEHM

http://www.sae.org/news/2023/09/lfp-battery-cell-production-for-electric-commer-cial-vehicles http://www.sae.org/sections http://www.sae.org/chapters/collegiate/

Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - June 2024

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