Risk, Reliability, and Readiness
In today’s automotive landscape, electric vehicles (EVs) aren’t just for a niche market of eco-conscious drivers; they’re a core part of the automotive industry. When it comes to powering the next generation of EVs, batteries are the heart of these machines. Yet with great power can come great risk.
Imagine an automotive manufacturer preparing to launch its highly anticipated electric SUV. Thousands of vehicles are expected to hit the roads within months, making rigorous quality checks critical. During pre-market validation, advanced battery testing reveals a subtle defect in a single cell—an irregularity in heat dissipation that, under real-world driving conditions, could have resulted in thermal runaway. If left unaddressed, the flaw could have escalated to thermal propagation, causing heat to spread throughout the battery pack and posing risks to performance and safety.
Because the issue was caught early, engineers were able to adjust manufacturing parameters and strengthen cell-level safeguards before a single vehicle left the production line. Instead of dealing with recalls or reputational harm, the manufacturer launched with confidence, knowing every battery pack had passed the highest level of scrutiny. It’s a powerful example of how proactive testing ensures not only compliance, but also trust, safety, and long-term success in the EV market.
Certification and Support: A Vital Shield Against Failures and Recalls
With proper testing, automotive manufacturers can detect weaknesses early, which may prevent instances like the scenario above, with the goal of delivering safer, more reliable EVs. Advanced battery analyses can be a critical data point for helping to ensure EV safety and performance. These checks help confirm EV batteries can perform reliably under real-world conditions.
Applied Technical Services (ATS) offers the following EV battery testing services, from individual cells through full size battery-packs:
Thermal Runaway & Propagation Testing: Proactively testing for thermal runaway is an essential component in determining whether a battery design can prevent propagation and ensure vehicle safety. ATS conducts these high-risk tests in a safe, controlled environment to deliver maximum data and insight.
Failure Analysis Testing: Comprehensive Failure Analysis Testing — including module and pack tear downs, cell imaging, CT scanning, and chemical analysis — can identify root causes and validate performance.
Environmental Testing: Ensuring automotive batteries perform reliably in diverse environments, such as heavy rain and high humidity, is crucial for safety. ATS can test batteries under various environmental conditions, including temperature cycling, altitude, humidity, and corrosion resistance.
Mechanical Shock and Vibration Testing: Vehicles operate on a wide variety of road conditions, from uneven cobblestone streets to busy highways. ATS is equipped to test full battery packs, helping ensure they can reliably perform amidst the most extreme shocks and vibrations.
Impact Testing: We evaluate a battery’s capacity to endure sudden impacts from foreign objects or drops during handling to maintain both functionality and safety standards.
Compression/Crush Testing: Our technicians assess how a battery cell, module, or pack reacts when subject to a mechanical compression or crush.
High & Low-Temperature Testing: Our experts assess EV battery performance by simulating diverse climate conditions and testing samples in extreme temperatures.
Electrical Performance Testing: We examine the effects of temperature, state of charge, charge rate, and drive cycles to characterize the output performance and expected life of tested battery samples.
BMS Safety Functionality Testing: Battery Management System (BMS) is the primary safety control, regulating key parameters to prevent issues such as overcurrent, overvoltage, and overheating.
ATS offers testing to a wide range of standards, including but not limited to: ECE R100, FMVSS 305a, UN 38.3, SAE J2380, SAE J2464, UL1973, UL2271, UL9540.
Don’t Wait for a Breakdown: Let us Help Ensure the Safety of Your EV Battery
In the automotive world, where safety and precision are non-negotiable, manufacturers cannot afford to overlook the importance of advanced battery testing. With decades of testing experience at our state-of-the-art labs, we help automakers and suppliers safeguard against hidden risks, so your EV batteries perform safely, reliably, and efficiently.
Schedule a consultation with one of our experts today using our web request form or give us a call at +1 (888) 287-5227 to learn more about our electric vehicle battery testing services.
