Purem by Eberspaecher high-strength steel battery housing challenges aluminium standard
Category: Automotive, Batteries, Battery Management Systems, Lightweight Materials, Thermal Management
Purem by Eberspaecher’s high-strength steel battery housing uses thinner walls than aluminium equivalents to reduce weight while meeting crash protection and hermetic sealing requirements
(Image courtesy of Eberspaecher)
Purem by Eberspaecher, the exhaust and acoustics subsidiary of the Esslingen-based Eberspaecher Group, has developed a high-strength steel battery housing for electric and hybrid passenger cars. The concept challenges the aluminium standard that dominates current model generations, offering vehicle manufacturers a lighter, cheaper, and lower-carbon alternative as the next battery generation takes shape. For OEMs weighing cost and sustainability targets, the case for rethinking enclosure materials is becoming harder to ignore.
Why high-strength steel battery housing challenges aluminium
Most electric and hybrid vehicles on sale today use aluminium for their battery enclosures. Purem by Eberspaecher argues that high-strength steel, applied in thinner walls, offers greater strength than aluminium while reducing both mass and production cost. The company states that steel generates a smaller carbon footprint during manufacture and is easier to recycle at end of life.
The housing also addresses the safety requirements that define battery enclosure design. Steel’s strength protects the battery cells in a collision or when struck by a foreign object. Precisely placed weld seams and special sealing solutions create hermetic insulation around the battery modules, shielding occupants from fire or toxic gases in a critical situation. Purem states the concept meets current customer requirements and is designed to comply with future battery protection legislation.
Thermal management integration and the battery management system
Customisation sits at the core of Purem’s approach. The supplier uses virtual process planning and simultaneous engineering to tailor each housing to the customer’s exact layout, incorporating ventilation ducts, high-voltage cable routing, and the specific arrangement of individual battery modules. Each design is customised to reflect the specific requirements of the application.
Cross-functional collaboration between Purem’s exhaust engineers and the broader Eberspaecher electronics division supports integration of a battery management system into the housing concept. That pairing draws on Purem’s extensive knowledge of material processing and welding, developed through its exhaust systems work, and allows the supplier to advise on the full enclosure package rather than the housing structure alone.
A steel concept covering BEVs and plug-in hybrids
Purem by Eberspaecher is offering the steel battery housing for both fully battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. The PHEV application extends Purem’s existing work across exhaust and acoustic systems into battery enclosure supply.
For programmes where powertrain efficiency depends on keeping mass low and unit costs competitive, the combination of structural rigidity, thinner-wall construction, and recyclability positions high-strength steel as a material worth serious consideration when specifying the next generation of passenger car battery housings.
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