AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Center, is working with the SMART5G Project on a new battery-swapping system for electric vehicles. The focus of the SMART5G Project, which is partly funded by Spain’s State Research Agency (AEI), is the design and development of a battery charging and replacement station for lightweight mobility.
The system will allow depleted batteries to be swapped quickly for batteries charged with solar energy. The system uses artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to predict cars’ energy consumption and battery usage. The SMART5G Project also involves creating an intelligent, energy management platform that improves security and safety and eliminates the risk of electromagnetic interference.
The project proposes an innovative sustainable structural battery housing for light automobiles based on a reusable and recyclable thermoplastic long fiber compound with dual functionalities: flame-retardant additives and electromagnetic shielding (EMI) particles.
This new solution increases the driving range of the vehicle by reducing its weight compared to the metallic, usual housings. In this way, less energy will be needed for the same displacement reducing energy cost and carbon footprint.
Begoña Galindo, a Sustainable Mobility Researcher at AIMPLAS, states: “Thermoplastic matrix composites could play a key role in industry in the 21st century due to their many advantages, including weight reduction, high rigidity and specific strength comparable to metal materials. The new generation of electric car manufacturers is starting to use these plastic materials, which enable free design and make cars around 40% lighter.”
AIMPLAS is collaborating on the project with ITERA Mobility Engineering, ELIX Polymers and the Universitat de València (UV). The project (reference PLEC2021-007994) has been funded by MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 and the European Union’s Next Generation funds.