EV Battery Manufacturing Efficiency

Background

Electric vehicle battery packs rely on bus bars — thick conductive links between cells — to carry hundreds of amperes. Traditional copper bus bars are heavy and expensive, contributing significantly to pack weight and BOM cost. A Leading EV Battery Pack Assembler producing packs for multiple OEM platforms sought a lighter, more cost-effective conductor that could handle 400 A continuous current without sacrificing reliability.

The Challenge

The battery pack assembler needed bus bars that would:

• Carry 400 A continuous current across cell-to-cell and module-to-module links without excessive heating
• Reduce bus bar system weight by at least 25% compared to copper to improve vehicle range
• Lower material cost while maintaining full mechanical and electrical reliability over the vehicle lifetime
• Pass accelerated lifecycle testing simulating 10+ years of thermal cycling and vibration

The Solution: Raytron CCA Busbar

We supplied our CCA Busbar with specifications tailored for EV battery applications:

• Construction: Aluminum core with 20% copper volume cladding, achieving a density of 3.6 g/cm³ — roughly one-third that of solid copper (8.96 g/cm³)
• Current rating: 400 A continuous with verified temperature rise within automotive specifications through optimized cross-section geometry
• Termination: Copper-clad surface allows standard welding, brazing, and bolted joint processes — no special tooling required
• Thermal management: Aluminum core provides excellent thermal conductivity, improving heat dissipation across the bus bar network

Results

• Weight Reduction: 30% lighter bus bar system compared to copper equivalents
• Cost Savings: 12% reduction in material cost per battery pack
• Current Capacity: 400 A continuous current rating verified through thermal testing
• Lifecycle Reliability: Passed 2,000-hour accelerated lifecycle testing with no measurable increase in contact resistance