The event’s website listed more than 2,000 attendees. They included Avery Dennison’s Scott Krusinski, market manager, Energy Storage/EV Battery/Automotive, Max Van Raaphorst, business development manager – E-mobility and Automotive, and Steve DeMaagd, business development manager – E-mobility and Automotive.
Our team’s key takeaways
Upon returning from the Sunshine State, Scott, Max and Steve boiled down their observations to three key takeaways.
1. What slowdown?
“We’re past the initial stages of advancement for batteries and EVs,” said Scott. “And despite recent headlines regarding a potential slowdown for EV adoption in North America, all exhibitors, presenters and attendees are full speed ahead with their plans. The industry is experiencing tremendous growth and technological advancements driving and, also, driven by the electrification revolution.”
To Scott’s point, IBS presenter Mike Sanders of Avicenne Energy gave an overview of the battery market. The market CAGR from 2021-2023 was 36%, while Avicenne predicts the worldwide EV/PHEV market will more than triple by 2040. Automotive will be the primary driver of growth for the battery market, but vehicles such as heavy trucks, e-bikes and buses will eventually have a significant share.
This is great news for converters and others working with pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) tapes. Tapes offer tremendous potential as a material solution for some of the critical challenges EV battery manufacturers are working to address. As the market grows, tape converters will have more and more opportunities to grow with it.
2. Safety remains a major focus
Battery safety was, in fact, one of the seminar’s main educational themes. Presentations covered a variety of topics related to thermal runaway solutions, including:
New cell chemistries
Advances in cell materials, such as new separator films and current collectors
New test methods for evaluating cell penetration and thermal runaway propagation
Benchmarking of thermal barrier materials
“Battery technology has come a long way, but engineers are still challenged by issues that ultimately ladder up to consumer safety and comfort,” said Scott. “At the top of many of their to-do lists is preventing thermal runaway.”
PSA tapes are an ideal bonding solution for many of the materials being specified for thermal runaway prevention. They’re lightweight and easy to use, fit well in narrow spaces within battery packs, and can be laminated to materials such as mica, that engineers are relying on to solve this challenge.
3. A dynamic, divergent technological evolution is still underway
“In many ways, the EV battery industry is still finding its footing,” said Scott. “The technology has come a long way in just the past couple of decades. But the technological path forward is not settled, and engineers are still working through standards of cell format, pack design, and cell chemistry.”
For example, while today’s global battery market is dominated by lithium-ion, presenters expect a proliferation of technologies — including solid state, gaseous electrolyte, and sodium-ion — to be utilized in the future. Another area that may significantly affect future battery performance is cell-to-pack (CTP) design. With CTP, individual battery cells are integrated directly into the pack, bypassing the need for cell modules. This optimizes pack volume and increases energy density. In other words, CTP batteries pack more punch per volume than today’s batteries.
As this evolution continues, engineers will surely rely on a broad toolkit of material solutions for challenges that possibly haven’t even been defined yet. That toolkit includes versatile PSA tapes for bonding, and as an assembly and structural aid.
Let’s discuss growing our business in the EV battery industry
Perhaps the most significant takeaway is confirmation that this remains an exciting time to be involved in the EV battery industry and that PSAs can play a vital role in that industry’s future. Battery makers are looking for expertise and production capabilities from converters, functional material manufacturers, and PSA manufacturers such as Avery Dennison.
