Bus bar innovation outside the battery pack will be a hot topic in the future, transferring high power from the charging inlet to the battery and then to other high-power motors and devices.
All OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers are showing increasing interest in busbars, mainly for high voltage applications. Today, battery packs have about 15-20 bus bars. For out-of-package, an automated masking process is required, which does not exist today. For now, the focus is on battery packs.
As future innovations increase the utilization of busbars external to battery packs, these new applications will create significant opportunities for ultrasonic welding to improve the overall quality of future connection designs in busbar structures. Ultrasonic welding, especially the torsion welding technique, allows for larger size welds, less vibration, and the ability to join more difficult-to-reach areas. As the industry develops, these features will allow further implementation of busbars outside EV battery packs.
The bus bars outside the battery pack need to be shielded, which is not currently available – the battery pack has an enclosure that is sealed and shielded from EMI
There is a problem when the busbars need to be bent around – they can be too stiff or can be damaged at the bent corners