Batteries: a growth market
The energy transition and the fight against climate change have significantly boosted the battery market in recent years. Vehicle batteries for e-mobility and stationary energy storage solutions, known as Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), are experiencing rapid growth. These technologies are essential for a sustainable energy future and offer immense economic opportunities. The high growth potential makes the market both attractive and competitive. HOERBIGER is capitalizing on these opportunities with innovative and performance-defining battery components.
The automotive industry is undergoing a comprehensive transformation process away from combustion engines and towards emission-free drives. For the mobility of the future, HOERBIGER’s Automotive Division has identified three promising future fields with shifting elements for electric drivetrains (eCouplings), battery housings and electrolyzers, in which the own role as market and technology leader built up over decades can be transferred to new products. The aim is to become a one-stop solution provider for e-mobility and the hydrogen economy as a system integrator. This means that HOERBIGER assumes responsibility for the interfaces between various components and develops and manufactures all functionally relevant components in its own plants.
Automotive Division: cell caps and housings for battery cells
HOERBIGER offers cell caps and cell housings for a wide range of applications and all common cell formats. The portfolio includes deep-drawn cell housings and caps for topterminal applications as well as cell housings and cell caps for side-terminal applications. The bursting membrane can be located either in the cell housing or in the cell cap and is designed in-house. Each part is developed and validated with a clear focus on safety, durability, sustainability and efficiency. All components are tailor-made developments for customers from various fields of application and meet their specific requirements.
Standing out from the competition
In Europe, production capacities are still far from sufficient to meet future demand for electric vehicles. The strong growth is attracting the interest of many companies that want to become part of this attractive market. The HOERBIGER Automotive Division is therefore taking a long-term view: its goal is to permanently set itself apart from the competition and sustainably seize the opportunities of this future market. To enter the market, the Division is relying on the role it has built up over decades as the market and technology leader in large-scale automotive production. To further differentiate itself, a product roadmap has been developed that offers customer benefits through functional integration. The focus here is on “smart housing”, which enables significant added value in battery pack assembly and battery management.
Business Unit Safety: Explosion protection for battery energy storage solutions (BESS)
Stationary BESS are crucial for the integration of renewable energies into the electricity grid. They enable excess energy from wind and solar power plants to be stored and released as required. This makes a significant contribution to stabilizing the power grids and ensuring a continuous energy supply. Most manufacturers of BESS units today rely primarily on lithium-ion batteries. However, this technology is not without its disadvantages. A “thermal runaway” within a battery cell can produce enough flammable gas to cause a very large explosion.
The HOERBIGER Business Unit Safety is a leader in industrial explosion protection and has opened up the BESS market as a new field of activity: BESS-eX® vents are a proven product that relieves the pressure in the event of an explosion and thus helps to avoid serious consequences for people and equipment.
As BESS containers are usually installed in harsh environments, the containers must be insulated to keep the batteries cool and they must be weatherproof to prevent water from damaging the electronics. HOERBIGER’s BESS-eX® explosion vents have won over customers due to their unique watertight design, which gives the product the best rating in the industry.
The Safety Business Unit works seamlessly with BESS manufacturers to understand the dangers of special battery architectures for customers and provide tailored solutions. Here too, the aim is to find quick and effective solutions for their needs while minimizing overall project costs with smart product designs.