Webasto’s Modular Battery System

Webasto, a supplier of thermal management and e-mobility technologies for automotive and commercial vehicle applications, has unveiled a new modular battery system and thermal management and charging solutions. The company showed its products in Ford Motor Co.’s booth at the 2019 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

“Webasto first entered the electric vehicle market in 2014 with the high voltage heater, as part of its strategic plan to serve its OEM customers as they moved more decisively into the e-mobility space,” said Mark Denny, president and CEO of Webasto Customized Solutions in North America. “Our expansion into battery systems, battery testing equipment, thermal management and charging systems means that both small and large manufacturers now have a respected supplier with decades of experience working within the complex vehicle manufacturing environment, as well as with dealers across North America, Europe and China.”

The Webasto CV standard battery system is designed for total scalability and configuration flexibility. Each battery pack has 35 kWh of energy and up to 10 packs can be used for a combined 350 kWh. With 400V and 800V versions available, the system can be easily configured via the vehicle interface box (VIB), which is the master battery management system and power distribution unit. It is truly a plug-and-play system that reduces development time and cost for the vehicle manufacturer.

 Within the battery pack, the self-contained modules also include desiccant cartridges designed to reduce condensation, integrated thermal runaway detection sensors and pressure equalization monitors for added safety. Their compact, energy-dense format makes the battery packs easy for engineers to configure for use on virtually any vehicle platform and the modular battery system meets the requirements of several commercial vehicle manufacturers to have a cost-efficient solution even for small quantities, the company said. Conditioning the battery is essential for battery life and health. Webasto said it offers both off-the-shelf solutions for the CV Standard Battery and custom developments for OEM projects. Using both active and passive cooling, electric fluid heating and heat pump configurations, Webasto said its thermal management keeps battery systems in optimum operating temperature which have a positive effect on performance and range.