E-Car battery case made of glass fiber reinforced plastic

The new battery box of E-Works HEERO to replace the previous aluminium construction. The insulating effect of the material not only increases the efficiency of the batteries, but also reduces overall energy consumption.

The Munich-based company E-Works Mobility, which specializes in the development and production of electrically powered vans that, it is pushing ahead with the evolution of the E-Works HEERO, the high-performance e-transporter in its class: the engineers recently focused on the complete redevelopment of a new battery box to replace the previous aluminium construction. The E-Works team found what they were looking for in the fiber-reinforced plastics expert SGL Carbon (Germany).

SGL Carbon announced that it is now supplying the first battery boxes made of glass fiber-reinforced plastic to E-car manufacturer following extensive prototype tests. And these highly stable protective battery casings offer several advantages – above all in terms of energy and raw material efficiency and in the safety-relevant area.

We are more pleased that we have found a new partner in SGL Carbon for our battery boxes, which are no longer made of aluminum, but of particularly light and at the same time very stable glass fiber-reinforced plastic,” says Dominik Ashkar, Managing Director of E-Works Mobility GmbH.

The newly developed battery housings not only offer considerable weight savings, but also better battery insulation and fire protection thanks to the significantly lower heat conduction compared to aluminum or even steel. The material is fire-retardant and only transfers heat to neighbouring components to a very limited extent after an accident, for example. What is more, GRP is highly resistant to corrosion and has high electromagnetic compatibility.

“The use of plastic-based composite materials is extremely sensible, especially for electric vehicles, and leads to increased product and system efficiency. In series production, they offer significantly reduced costs compared to metal processing. Due to the lighter weight with comparable or even better stability, the material even contributes to better dynamic driving performance and ultimately a longer range. For us, the collaboration with E-Works is an excellent opportunity to prove many of these advantages in tough everyday use,” says Jürgen Joos, Head of Program Management Materials in SGL Carbon’s Business Unit Composite Solutions.

To ensure that this succeeds, the current project between the two innovation leaders will be regularly evaluated and further developed, states the announcement.