Applied EV

About the customer

Applied EV develops safety-rated, autonomous-ready, digital control systems and modular vehicle platforms for industrial and commercial applications.

Their proprietary AV transport platform, the Blanc Robot™, is a cabinless, driverless vehicle, configurable for multiple autonomous commercial uses, including on-road and off-road applications.

Their mission is to create the future of transport with efficient, driverless vehicles for the automotive and industrial sectors—so having a safe, reliable battery system is crucial to their operation.
 

The challenge they faced

Applied EV were manufacturing battery packs with 18650 Li-Ion cells, similar to those found in popular consumer electric vehicles. While their batteries performed well, real-world usage of cylindrical 18650 and 21700 Li-Ion cells proved a challenge.

The nature of electric vehicles means the cells are subject to surges of power during their operation. These significant changes in current means thermal management of the less stable cells is critical for the battery to operate safely. Therefore, Applied EV were adding a proprietary thermally conductive phase change matrix to provide the additional safety and improved thermal management the vehicles required.
 

Our solution

Applied EV showcased its Autonomous Vehicle Platform at CES 2019, where a meeting with Toshiba battery engineers led to discussions around adopting the SCiB™ LTO cells for Applied EV’s 5th Generation Blanc Robot platform.
 
A SCiB™ cell solution was exactly what Applied EV had been looking for, as it allowed for a simplified engineering process to achieve a superior level of thermal operation, and less custom work and development to achieve a higher-performing safety level EV battery.
 

How the solution was implemented

Due to the integration of the battery pack in the floor structure of the vehicle’s chassis, an off-the-shelf battery pack wouldn’t suit—it required a custom solution.
 
Toshiba worked with Applied EV to develop a battery pack designed uniquely for their 5th Generation Blanc Robot platform. The Toshiba team gathered a significant body of technical data which allowed Applied EV to proceed smoothly with the integration process, and developed a special laser welding method in-house to form the special EV packs.
 
Toshiba’s expertise ensured Applied EV created a powerful EV battery pack. A compact yet scalable solution, the new SCiB™ battery is closely integrated with the vehicle’s floor plan. It also provides direct cooling where and when needed, facing one of the project’s key challenges head on.

 
Showcase Section

The results

The wide operating temperature range of our SCiB™ cells now enables passive cooling for all Applied EV’s battery applications. This has allowed them to simplify their system, reduce their parts count, and improve field reliability of their vehicles. The cells have performed well under their varied operational conditions, and with 20,000 cycles per battery, we expect them to continue performing long into the future.
 
Implementing a Toshiba SCiB™ cell solution has provided Applied EV with a level of confidence that they are using a safe, robust, and reliable battery across all their autonomous EV platforms. As Applied EV is creating the future of driverless, efficient transport, this is a peace of mind their customers now share.