Ricardo wins EV battery cell test programme from Volvo Cars

Volvo Cars has chosen Ricardo as engineering test partner on a project to assess and characterize the performance of battery cells.

The cells to be tested are intended for production applications in high voltage battery packs for electric vehicles and the firm was keen to highlight that the contract underscores Ricardo’s established reputation as a technology leader in the field of electrified vehicle powertrains and battery systems.

Under the terms of the contract, Ricardo will assist Volvo Cars with the provision of a large-scale test programme to assess the life cycle characteristics of a range of new lithium-ion cells to determine their suitability for various future production electrified vehicle applications.

Ricardo has secured an order for a large-scale EV battery cell test programme from Volvo Cars / Picture: Getty/iStock

Ricardo’s director for the passenger car & motorcycle market sector, Martin Tolliday, said: “We are pleased to have been selected by Volvo Cars to support this important testing programme. Through the successful completion of many research and product development programmes for leading international clients, Ricardo has the hands-on experience and expert capability to support and advise our customers from the concept design phase through to production sign-off, and from identifying application appropriate cells and developing control systems to the design and manufacture of the pack, in the rapidly developing field of large-scale, high capacity automotive lithium-ion batteries.”

The work builds upon Ricardo’s extensive experience and reputation in all aspects of electrified vehicle powertrains, serving a wide range of leading global customers. In terms of battery systems, this experience spans from partnering in research projects exploring the application of new cell types and chemistries, through to the execution of multiple design, development, testing and niche production manufacturing projects in the area of advanced electric vehicle battery packs and their control systems.