Battery Applications
Aluminium is essential to the auto industry’s transition to battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Lightweight BEVs are faster to charge, offer better efficiency, and can potentially have smaller battery packs, which means they can travel farther on a charge, or carry more passengers and cargo for the same range and performance. And, smaller battery packs mean lower costs for automakers and consumers.
Aluminium Battery Enclosures and Cooling Plates
Battery enclosures house and protect the batteries that power electric vehicles. Aluminium solutions provide a strong, crash- and intrusion-resistant exterior as well as thermal solutions to maintain batteries in their optimal temperature range for improved driving range and longer life. Constellium offers both rolled and extruded solutions for battery enclosures to provide unparalleled design freedom while delivering lighter weight, superior crash resistance in the event of an impact, and intrusion resistance from road debris.
HSA6 ®
Offering superior formability, corrosion resistance, energy absorption, and recyclability, Constellium’s HSA6® family of extrusion alloys is designed for structural EV battery enclosures, as well as body structure components, and Crash Management Systems. They allow designers to optimize extrusion shapes and reduce wall thicknesses to fit tighter package spaces and achieve a weight savings of 15-30 percent when compared to conventional aluminium alloys. In other scenarios, Constellium HSA6® is able to provide 15-30 percent additional strength to reduce intrusion in the event of a crash, protecting vehicle occupants while preserving the integrity of the vehicle and reducing potential repair costs. Learn more about Constellium HSA6®here.
3xxx, 5xxx, and 6xxx
Constellium provides 3xxx, 5xxx, and 6xxx aluminium sheet solutions for battery enclosures, including the cladded cooling plates that help maintain batteries in their optimal temperature range. Aluminium’s thermal conductivity is about five times that of steel, making it the superior choice for thermal applications. Constellium is the serial supplier of aluminium sheet solutions for many of the largest and most advanced EV platforms in Europe.