Taking advantage of many years of expertise in the development of high-performance materials for sectors such as sealing or aerospace, Amorim Cork Composites has launched a new range of cork solutions that focus on protecting the key component of electric vehicles: the battery.
Cork’s low density, together with its reduced thermal conductivity and resistance to high temperatures, make it ideal for the development of components for electric vehicle batteries. In addition, cork’s cushioning and sealing capacity makes it suitable for various applications, inside and outside the battery.
The range of solutions developed by Amorim Cork Composites focuses on sealing, housing and cell spacers applications, to prevent temperature propagation during thermal runaway episodes.
For batteries sealing, the company developed a cork solutions that combines the properties of cork with silicone. This solution complies with the UL-94 V0 requirement, which determines the flammability of a material, and features a compression set below 40% for 50% deflections, as well as resistance to wear, UV radiation and ozone. Given that cork is a 100% natural, reusable and recyclable raw material, when combined with other materials we create products that deliver a superior performance while taking care of our planet.
Regarding the interior of the batteries, multi-layer systems have been developed which combine cork with other materials, such as mica, basalt/carbon fibers, among others, to act as a thermal barrier between cells or modules (cell spacers/thermal pads), or as protection of the housing where the batteries are stored.
The multi-layer systems are available in thicknesses from 0.8 to 30mm and the most varied formats, enabling us to create products with the compressibility of up to around 80% at 2.5Mpa, thermal insulation in the order of 20-30°C/min and densities of 200 kg/m3, while guaranteeing the solution’s sustainability, due to the incorporation of a large percentage of cork.
With Amorim Cork Composites’ new range of solutions we offer technical, high-performance and sustainable alternatives that help guarantee battery performance and longevity, without forgetting the primary objective underpinning the electrical revolution – sustainability.
The «Spirit of Innovation», the world’s fastest all-electric plane, used cork agglomerates in the insulating coating of its battery box. A cork solution was chosen because of the need to find a material for the battery case that was not only structurally robust, but also lightweight and extremely fire-resistant.
The unique invention, which has now been patented, offers the added benefit of being made from sustainable natural materials – a vital component given the overall aim of the UK Government-backed ACCEL project: to accelerate decarbonization of the aviation sector.
