A new patent filing from General Motors shows that the automaker is exploring new ways to package EV battery cells. The patent, filed by GM in June 2023, was published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) last week. It shows an inverted “U” configuration for prismatic EV battery cells.
Battery cells currently used in GM EVs use large-format pouch cells with nickel-cobalt-manganese-aluminum (NCMA) composition. The flexibility of the pouch cells allows for the varied design requirements of GM’s BEV3 and BT1 platforms across multiple makes and models. Conversely, prismatic EV battery cells are flat, rectangular, and rigid. They offer greater space efficiency and structural integrity but don’t have the flexibility of pouch cells and likely would’ve been more expensive to produce when General Motors was first kicking off its current wave of EVs.
However, reduced costs and simplified manufacturing might make prismatic cells more viable for production GM EVs in the near future. The specific battery configuration in this patent filing claims to create higher thermal conductivity and better heat dissipation to increase the effectiveness of cooling systems. If the designs in the patents can be produced as planned, they would reduce cell size and increase energy density compared to existing batteries in production models.
So, if prismatic cells are better and The General figured out an optimal design, why aren’t they already in production? Put simply, the design is still too complex to be easy to manufacture. Retooling battery factories to make prismatic cells to these specifications would be a major investment with uncertain payoffs by the time the new battery designs reach production.
However, the patent filing provides an interesting glimpse at what the future of GM EVs could be. Earlier this month, we reported on GM and LG Energy Solution collaborating on the development of prismatic battery cells. In that announcement, General Motors claimed prismatic cells would reduce the number of modules in a given battery pack by 75 percent, thereby reducing weight and costs. LG Energy Solution’s own experience and patents will benefit GM through this extended partnership.
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