<p>The newest generation of structural batteries for electric vehicles comes in a variety of shapes and sizes.</p>.<p>Structural battery packs are so called because they are designed to reinforce the vehicle’s body and chassis, while boosting driving range at a lower cost. There are many ways to accomplish those tasks through different battery chemistries and components.</p>.<p>Engineers speak of the traditional “Russian nesting doll” method of building battery packs: Start with the battery cells, which then are assembled into modules and finally loaded into a large pack.</p>.<p>If that pack is mounted directly to the vehicle frame or body and helps to stiffen and strengthen it, it is a “structural” battery.</p>.<p>General Motors Co uses the Russian doll approach for its Ultium battery packs, mounting thin metal pouch-type cells into hard metal modules or “cans,” which in turn are inserted into a large pack that is nestled between the frame rails of its new Hummer EV.</p>.<p>For the newest version of its Model Y, which is scheduled to start production soon in Germany, Tesla Inc has designed a structural pack that does away with modules, bonding the large-format cylindrical battery cells together with structural adhesive and sandwiching them between two metal plates, which in turn are connected to the front and rear cast-metal structures of the vehicle.</p>.<p>Other companies have come up with their own versions of Tesla’s cell-to-pack concept, using thick metal cells called prismatics rather than cylindrical cells.</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos:</strong></p>
<p>The newest generation of structural batteries for electric vehicles comes in a variety of shapes and sizes.</p>.<p>Structural battery packs are so called because they are designed to reinforce the vehicle’s body and chassis, while boosting driving range at a lower cost. There are many ways to accomplish those tasks through different battery chemistries and components.</p>.<p>Engineers speak of the traditional “Russian nesting doll” method of building battery packs: Start with the battery cells, which then are assembled into modules and finally loaded into a large pack.</p>.<p>If that pack is mounted directly to the vehicle frame or body and helps to stiffen and strengthen it, it is a “structural” battery.</p>.<p>General Motors Co uses the Russian doll approach for its Ultium battery packs, mounting thin metal pouch-type cells into hard metal modules or “cans,” which in turn are inserted into a large pack that is nestled between the frame rails of its new Hummer EV.</p>.<p>For the newest version of its Model Y, which is scheduled to start production soon in Germany, Tesla Inc has designed a structural pack that does away with modules, bonding the large-format cylindrical battery cells together with structural adhesive and sandwiching them between two metal plates, which in turn are connected to the front and rear cast-metal structures of the vehicle.</p>.<p>Other companies have come up with their own versions of Tesla’s cell-to-pack concept, using thick metal cells called prismatics rather than cylindrical cells.</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos:</strong></p>