Your Car Doors Is perhaps Changed into Batteries Soon [Concepts]

Electric vehicle batteries are big, heavy, and dear. Volvo hopes to tackle all three problem with one creative solution: body panels that double as car batteries.

The vehicle manufacturer is working with the Imperial College in London on a materials development project that could ultimately turn entire vehicles into ultra-light batteries. As component to the project, Volvo and Imperial college built a composite blend of carbon fibers (very similar to what is found in fishing rods and tennis rackets) and polymer resin it’s supposedly strong, flexible, and lightweight enough to be used in body panels. In line with Volvo, the recent material could slash the load of EVs by up to 15%. Volvo’s carbon fiber also can charge up faster than traditional EV batteries.

Eager EV drivers shouldn’t get too excited yet-the fabric development project remains originally stages, and Volvo and Imperial College are still identifying methods to mass produce the carbon fiber blend. But inside the next three years, Volvo will try to convert a vehicle’s spare wheel recess into a composite battery. In an announcement, Volvo researcher Per-Ivar Sellergren explained , ” It is a relatively large structure that’s easy to switch. Not sufficiently large to power the full car, but enough to replace the engine off and on when the automobile is at a standstill, for example at traffic lights.” Within the next ten years, Volvo might start commercially producing the cloth in everything from vehicle roofs to dashboards.

It’s a clever idea, but we’ve one major concern: Volvo claims that the composite material is powerful and crash-resistant, but what happens if a foul accident severely scratches up a battery-containing body panel? Will it drastically increase the value of repairs? We’re curious to look if Volvo can resolve issues of safety well enough to make this work.

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This post is tagged: college in london, composite material, electric vehicle batteries, fabric development, materials development, vehicle manufacturer