Material selection for battery enclosures

Mass reduction is the main reason BEV makers choose aluminum for battery enclosures, but cost and thermal requirements favor steel and polymer composites.

Aluminum is the dominant material for electric vehicle (EV) battery enclosures for one simple but significant factor: light-weighting capability. All currently available long-range BEVs - those that can travel beyond 250 miles (400 km) - use aluminum as the main material for the battery enclosure for that very reason, Dr. Andreas Afseth, technical director for Constellium North America operations, said during a recent Center for Automotive Research (CAR) webinar.

“Aluminum continues to be the fastest-growing material in automotive application,” Afseth said. Growth is driven in part by the increasing market share of BEVs, including electric trucks and vans, which already employ a greater amount of aluminum than do conventional-powertrain models - more than 640 lb (290 kg) in BEV platforms compared to about 450 lb (205 kg) in non-BEVs.