Apr 18 2016
Outokumpu material experts, in collaboration with scientists from Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, in Germany, are working towards developing future-oriented stainless steel solutions. The recent invention is a new battery pack designed specifically for electric vehicles.
This new battery pack incorporates a number of lightweight engineering technologies and new types of structural and cooling strategies. Outokumpu’s Forta H1000 austenitic, ultra-high-strength stainless steel helps to implement structural lightweight engineering initiatives with high safety levels.
A high capacity for energy absorption and increased stiffness with thinner wall thicknesses are crucial characteristics for the development of future lightweight designs in automotive engineering. The Forta H-series fulfills these requirements.
Stefan Lindner, Senior Technical Manager, Outokumpu
The casing of the batteries used for electric vehicles have extremely high requirements based on crash safety and hardness, because these batteries are installed mostly in the underfloor area. The structures need to be as compact and lightweight as possible, but standard materials like carbon steels and aluminum have their own limitations.
With Forta H1000, we were able to engineer a safer casing despite its leaner structure and thus save a considerable amount of weight. Using 1.2 mm thick sheets instead of 1.5 mm wall thickness allows a weight reduction of about 20 percent.
Dipl.-Ing. Paul Heinen, Head of the FSEM II Project, Aachen-based Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT.