How to build the next generation of electric vehicle batteries: Three Industry Trends and DuPont's Answer

Enhancing energy density and charging speed has become the core engine driving the performance leap of electric vehicles. This trend presents unprecedented challenges to the overall design of battery systems. With the application of high-energy materials such as high-nickel and silicon-carbon anodes, as well as the widespread adoption of ultra-fast charging technologies above 4C, the heat generated during frequent charging and discharging processes increases sharply, and internal stress changes become more intense. This significantly raises the difficulty of thermal management and increases the risks of structural fatigue and interface failure. Particularly in high-frequency fast-charging scenarios, the battery cells repeatedly expand and contract, and the battery system must withstand both high-temperature environments and continuous mechanical stress. This poses extremely stringent multiple challenges to the adhesive materials in ensuring structural stability between cells, uniform heat conduction, and long-term reliability.

DuPont BETAFORCE™ elastic structural adhesives utilize multifunctional integrated design.Integrating structure fixation, thermal management, and electrical conductivity into one, avoids the thermal resistance issues that may arise from stacking multiple materials, thereby enhancing thermal conduction efficiency. This integrated solution not only...Simplified the production process and reduced both cost and weight.It provides a reliable guarantee for the safe and stable operation of the battery under high-power fast charging and high energy density conditions.

In the context of the global automotive industry's accelerated move towards carbon neutrality, power batteries, as the core of electrification, have environmental impacts that span the entire lifecycle from raw material extraction, production, and manufacturing to usage and recycling. Therefore, reducing carbon footprints, minimizing energy-intensive processes, promoting the use of renewable materials, and comprehensively eliminating potentially harmful chemicals (such as PFAS and other persistent pollutants) are becoming rigid requirements for the battery and key material supply chains. Moreover, automakers and battery manufacturers are setting stringent ESG goals, pressuring upstream material suppliers to achieve cleaner production processes and more transparent carbon data traceability while ensuring performance.

DuPont adheres to the sustainable development concept of "from source to loop."In the innovation of power battery materials, we fully practice environmental responsibility. The company not only implements strict carbon footprint tracking and management throughout the entire supply chain lifecycle, actively adopts renewable materials and low-carbon production processes to reduce overall environmental impact, but also is committed to promoting green alternatives to key hazardous substances. For example, DuPont is systematically...Gradually phase out per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) widely used in traditional automobile manufacturing.These "forever chemicals" are subject to increasingly stringent global regulations due to their environmental persistence and potential health risks. During the initial stages of material development, DuPont implemented the "Safe-by-Design" principle, prioritizing the use of non-toxic, low-hazard green chemical components to avoid the use of substances of very high concern (SVHC) at the molecular level. Simultaneously, through material innovation, they optimized the process routes.Eliminate the need for solvent cleaning and surface chemical pretreatment required in traditional gluing processes, which are high-emission and high-risk operations.Not only has it significantly reduced the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the generation of industrial wastewater, but it has also effectively protected the occupational health and safety of front-line production employees, achieving a synergistic improvement in environmental performance, production efficiency, and social responsibility.