Increased demands on rare earth fossil fuels and the global warming have led to development of alternative technology vehicles. Electrical vehicle (EV) is chosen as one of the alternative technology to overcome these hindrances. In EVs the battery and the motor are the two most critical components used for generating the required power output. In this paper, work was done for selection battery technology and relevant packaging for a small car. The work done is described in four stages: i) battery selection based on literature, ii) car selection based on virtual reality (VR) study iii) battery package design, and iv) finally specification sheet was developed for an EV.
Key Objectives considered for the battery selection are: i) minimal maintenance, ii) modular and scalable, iii) high energy density, iv) optimized thermal management, and v) low cost implications. A detailed study was conducted on current literature and state of art of batteries and solution adopted in available commercial cars. To develop a novel battery package, primarily the car selection was done. The car selection also compared several existing car designs with objective of modular and scalable battery pack. The VR based simulation was used to ascertain modular and scalable battery package for different cars. Using the selected car, a conceptual model of battery package was developed. The paper outlines the battery module design with appropriate thermal management, maximized power density and comparatively low cost solution. Final specification sheet was developed indicating all the key parameters and system design of the developed EV.