Charge the power with the chassis

The biggest challenge for electric cars today is the high cost and weight of lithium-ion batteries. Currently 9 European companies and organizations are studying a new composite material that can be stored - releasing energy faster than conventional lithium-ion batteries, and in the future can replace steel plates to make chassis. Volvo is the only car manufacturer to participate in this 3-year project.

A sample of Volvo electric cars. (Photo: Volvo).

Initially, the team will focus on developing materials that contain carbon fiber and polymer. This material is said to be both hard and malleable, which means it can be shaped when needed, thus replacing the steel plates in the car, making the body structure lighter to improve overall performance.

The study will also include ways to make materials suitable for large-scale industrial production. Unlike steel plates (which can be stamped with thousands of sheets per hour), carbon fiber has so far been largely placed in a template by hand, although many automakers and suppliers are trying to overcome it. this problem.

The ultimate goal of the project is to replace the side wheel of the test vehicle with a similar plate made of this new material. It cannot store a large amount of energy, but is enough to restart the engine of a hybrid car (gasoline engine - electric) when it is necessary to move away from the red stop position.

Volvo calculated that if the steel bars of the body were replaced with lighter materials, the weight of the vehicle could be reduced by about 15%. That is not to mention the energy storage benefits. To date, the only car to be produced is said to have a carbon fiber structure that is the electric vehicle used for the 2014 BMW MegaCity.