Valmet Automotive continues to expand its capabilities in battery testing. Within just a few years, the company has already completed a second major expansion of its Battery Test Center (BTC) in Bad Friedrichshall, Germany. Valmet Automotive now is running one of the most modern battery testing facilities for the automotive and the commercial vehicle industries. The Bad Friedrichshall site with 145 employees plays a key role in the development and quality assurance of the battery systems developed in the EV Systems business line.
Over the past five years, Valmet Automotive has invested around EUR 15 million in the Bad Friedrichshall site, starting with the commissioning of the High Performance Battery Test Center in 2020. As part of the now completed expansion, the test bench capacity has been more than doubled. In addition, a warehouse and logistics center were set up. With this equipment, the Battery Test Center can largely cover the entire range of services customers may require of a battery system supplier.
The range of services includes:
- Performance tests, such as load cycles, customer driving profiles, energy and capacity tests, voltage cycles
- Service life tests
- Thermal management tests
- Environmental tests, such as salt spray test, leak test, damp heat, chemical resistance
- Extended tests for quality assurance of the production line at the battery plant in Kirchardt, located close to Bad Friedrichshall
- The expansion will enable us to provide the best possible support for our product development and series production of battery systems, said Site Manager Stefan Sommer, Director Testing, at the presentation of the Test Center to media representatives.
Further investments are already in the scope, based on the extension of the lease agreement for a further ten years in 2023. The focus will be on expanding service and analysis activities and intensifying product validation, particularly for battery systems used in trucks, buses, and off-highway vehicles.
Additional investments are also planned for the Weihenbronn site, where the technology testing area and the product safety assurance testing capacity will be expanded.
With the expansion of the Battery Test Center, Valmet Automotive is responding to the readjustment of its strategic direction. In the future development of the EVS division, the company will increasingly focus on its own products for the bus & truck sector as well as for off-highway machinery, e.g. for the agricultural industry, mining and forestry.
As an important product to serve these segments, Valmet Automotive introduced the Modular Power Pack to the market over two years ago and recently presented the Energy Pack concept. These segments differ considerably from the automotive industry in terms of performance requirements. This is also reflected in battery testing, especially in terms of performance and durability under extreme weather conditions, as well as higher power peaks.
Thanks to the investments made, the Battery Test Center is already able to test both the high-performance requirements of a sports car and the harsh requirements of a tractor.