Interplex Cell-PLX™ Interconnect Plates: What are they
In previous articles, we provided extensive discussions about electric vehicle batteries, how they work, their key components, and how they are manufactured, among others. However, there are other EV battery design elements that are deserving of similar focus, one of them being the EV battery interconnect plates.
This article discusses battery interconnects and how they function, with a specific focus on the Interplex Cell-PLX™ interconnect system.
What are battery interconnect plates?
As an analogy, if you consider the EV battery as the “heart” of your car, the battery interconnect plates serve as the major “arteries” that optimize the flow of electricity into the car’s “circulatory system”.
Just as constricted flow around your heart can cause major health problems, your EV’s health and performance can suffer if there are any blockages or bottlenecks in collecting electricity from the individual battery cells and moving power into the car’s electrical network.
Interconnect design considerations
The interconnect collector plate is a vital part of the EV battery system. Therefore, the battery interconnect system should share the same rigorous design considerations as the EV batteries themselves. The primary consideration is that it should be capable of withstanding the stresses and other environmental factors that the electric vehicle is often subjected to, while maintaining a small, compact shape with flexible components so that it will fit inside very tight spaces.
Other important considerations include the following:
- Robust collection of electricity from battery cells
- Unrestricted flow of aggregated power into the EVs electrical powertrain and systems
- Flexibility to handle a wide range of battery sizes, number of cells and power output
- Conformance with stringent automotive grade standards
- Compact
- Lightweight
- High Reliability
- Robust design
- Must have a failsafe
- Resistant to vibrations
- Safety from short circuits
- Withstand extremes of temperature
These factors and more can be found in the Interplex Cell-PLX™ Power Interconnect System
What is Interplex Cell-PLX™?
Interplex, a global leader in customized application solutions in electric vehicles, developed the innovative Cell-PLX™ custom battery interconnect system.
Because of its customizable design, the Cell-PLX™ can be used with the three main lithium-ion EV battery module types, namely cylindrical, pouch, and prismatic. Because of its thin and lightweight design, Cell-PLX™ enables batteries that fit into tight spaces and weight constraints, but still maintaining mechanical and electrical robustness to withstand stresses within the electric vehicle environment.
In addition, the Cell-PLX™ is capable of meeting the design requirements of a growing variety of EV and other applications (such as land and maritime transportation and wind energy storage). In order to meet the requirements of these complex applications, the battery interconnect system is customizable, enabling the individual battery cell arrays to efficiently connect with current collectors. The Cell-PLX™ also can include a customizable lead frame interface which connects to the battery management system.
Last but not least, its modular design makes the Cell-PLX™ capable of incorporating passive and active component placement, including the majority of positive and negative interconnects, signal interconnects, cell holder designs, fuses, and thermistors.
Is Cell-PLX™ Sustainable?
The sustainability of Cell-PLX™ as a battery interconnect system lies in its versatility, which makes it customizable to a wide range of design requirements across a broad spectrum of applications, including electric transportation and energy storage solutions. The Cell-PLX™ EV battery system, in particular, comes with integrated control board interconnects and pluggable multi-module expansion capabilities.
The result of this, particularly in an electric vehicle, is that you not only have zero emissions with your car, sustainability is also enhanced because all of the high-precision design elements in the Cell-PLX™ interconnect system are integrated and well-organized.
Cell-PLX™ features
Let us take a look at the various features of the Interplex Cell-PLX™ Battery Interconnect System:
- Customizable single and multi-layer current collector designs for reliable and longer-lasting performance
- Supports a wide variety of current densities and cell array configurations
- Laser-welded and wire bond attachment options
- Tight-tolerance current collectors
- A variety of options for module-to-module connections
- Sturdy and robust packaging formats for environments with high vibration
- Seamless integration of active and passive components for EV battery cell monitoring and overall safety. This includes fuses, thermistors, majority of positive and negative interconnects, signal interconnects, cell holder designs, or circuits and/or harnesses connected to the control board.
- Quick time-to-market; Vertical integration of in-house production capabilities
- Integrated custom-design for overmolded lead frames for connecting to the Battery Management System (BMS) control board
The Interplex Cell-PLX™ interconnect system can be used in an extensive range of applications, including:
- Automotive – Electric vehicles, automotive power systems
- Commercial Transportation – Buses, trains, subway systems
- Industrial – Light trucks, tractor trailers
- Aerospace – airplanes, electrification of civil aviation
- Maritime – Electric boats, ferries
- Personal Mobility – Motorcycles, electric scooters, bicycles
- Energy – Solar energy storage, wind energy storage
To learn more about the Cell-PLX™ battery interconnect system, simply drop an email inquiry to Interplex. Our representatives will be happy to answer your questions about this innovative interconnect solution.
