Hybrid/Electric Vehicle Battery Manufacturing: The State-of-the-Art

The increasing demand for alternative and sustainable energy sources to replace gasoline powered engines has intrigued the development of battery technologies for hybrid and electric vehicles. This has brought both challenges and opportunities. Not only are new battery designs with advanced features needed, but also a high manufacturing capacity to satisfy the increasing market is required. This chapter summarizes the recent advances in automotive battery technologies and their manufacturing processes, as well as environmental and recycling issues. It reviews the main aspects in technology and manufacturing processes for electric vehicle batteries, such as Nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) and lithium (Li)-ion batteries. The chapter outlines the typical requirements for automobile batteries. It illustrates different types of electric vehicles, and introduces the development of vehicle battery technology. The chapter summarizes the recent advances in automotive battery technologies and their manufacturing processes, as well as environmental and recycling issues.