Southwest Research Institute®®
San Antonio, Texas

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nergy storage technologies –advanced batteries and ultracapacitors – are key
components to the adoption of alternatives in today’s hybrid, plug-in andelectric vehicles.
Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) has
more than 25 years experience in hybrid
electric vehicle design, integration, analysis, computer testing, control system development, modeling simulation andconstruction. Research in energy storage
technologies encompasses conventional andunconventional technologies, including flywheels, hydraulic accumulators, ultracapacitors and a number of electrochemicalbattery chemistries including lead acid,nickel cadmium, lithium-ion, nickel metal
hydride, and other experimental
chemistries.
The Institute also has experience with batteries andultracapacitors and can model, design and test thecycle life of these systems to assist clients in developing robust systems. SwRI can assist clients withintegrating battery cells into packs, and packs into
vehicular applications. The Institute can develop
fully integrated battery management and hybrid
powertrain controls.

SwRI conducts battery abuse testing, including crush tests with outgas
constituency characterization, to help clients design batteries to meet
SAE and UN standards.

Battery evaluations■ Battery performance characterization■ Life cycle testing■ Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy■ Environmental impact on battery performance■ Battery abuse testing (environmental,Battery characterization using infrared thermal
imaging is also performed to identify harmful
temperature gradients resulting from fast charging and discharging, providing essential data for
proper thermal management design.

D0 17617

mechanical, electrical, and hazardous
substance monitoring)■ Testing for battery management systemdevelopment■ Testing for modeling and simulation

Infrared thermal imaging of hybrid vehicle components identifies harmful
temperature gradients resulting from fast charging and discharging, andprovides essential data for proper thermal management design.

©2024 Southwest Research Institute. All rights reserved. Southwest ResearchInstitute and SwRI are registered marks in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V
Committed to Diversity in the Workplace

State-of-the-art equipment

D0 17625■ AV 900V battery testing system, with power rat-

The Institute conducts battery cell and module level tests to assist with indepth performance characterization.

ing up to 250 kW, voltage rating up to 900 Vdc,
and a current rating up to 1000 Adc■ ABC 150 battery testing system, with power
rating up to 125 kW, voltage rating up to 420
VDC, and a current rating up to 530 Adc■ Hydraulic crush stand capable of 230,000
pounds force■ Specialty salt fog chamber■ Short circuit test rig for high-energy batteries■ Electrochemical work stations■ Constant-current and constant-voltage loadcontrol systems■ Bitrode MCV8-100-12 multi-channel cell level
battery test system, with voltage rating up to16VDC, and a current rating up to 100A perchannel, with the ability to parallel up to 8channels for a maximum single channel test
current of 800A
■ Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy■ High temp furnaces; pool and bonfire capabilities■ Oxygen consumption calorimeters for heatrelease measurements■ Nicolet™ Magna-IR 560 and Nicolet 6700 FTIR for gas analysis

SwRI uses thermal chambers to test batteries
independent of the vehicle or in conjunction withthe engine, transmission or entire hybrid powertrain. Thermal chamber testing is also available
to test complete powertrains or vehicles.
Customized battery testing can be designed tomeet specific client needs.

D0 17616

ESS performance characterization

SwRI scientists use in-house instrumentation to evaluate thin-film batteries
at one of the Institute's many test facilities.

ESSES Consortium
Southwest Research Institute has formed the Energy Storage System Evaluation and Safety (ESSES) Consortium to provide transparency in the automotive battery market as a means to advance the development of energy
storage systems by developing precompetitive detailed cell-level test dataon currently available electrochemical storage systems across a diverse
number of manufacturers and products, and performing research toadvance the testing methodologies used to benchmark batteries, making
tests faster, cheaper and more significant. For additional information, visit
www.batteryconsortium.swri.org.

■ Thermal stability■ Overcharge■ Over-discharge■ Soft short circuit■ Hard short circuit■ Separator shutdown■ Crush■ Electrolyte vaporanalysis■ Radiant heat
■ Static capacity■ Hybrid pulse powerintegrity■ Penetration■ Forced vent withthermal runaway■ Cold cranking■ Energy efficiency■ Life cycling

Testing levels■ Cell-level lab■ Battery-pack lab■ Battery with electric motor lab■ In-vehicle battery■ In-vehicle pack■ In-vehicle battery and powertrain

Southwest Research Institute®

The Institute occupies morethan 1,200 acres in San
Antonio, Texas, and provides
more than 2 million square feetof laboratories, test facilities,workshops and offices for morethan 3,000 employees who perform contract work for industry
and government clients.

F

ounded in 1947 as an independent, nonprofit research and development organization, Southwest
Research Institute provides a significant research, engineering and testing resource for industry, business and government. SwRI’s 11 technical divisions, ranging from automobile research and space science tobioengineering and intelligent systems (swri.org) use a multidisciplinary, integrated approach to solve complex
problems in science and applied technology. As part of a long-held tradition, patent rights arising from sponsored research at the Institute are often assigned to the client. SwRI generally retains the rights toInstitute-funded advancements.

Benefiting government, industry & the publicthrough innovative science & technology

We welcome your inquiries. For more information, please contact:
Ian SmithManager
Powertrain Engineering Division
210.522.2041
ian.smith@swri.org

Southwest Research Institute6220 Culebra Road
P.O. Drawer 28510
San Antonio, Texas 78228-0510
www.swri.org
www.batteryconsortium.swri.org

SwRI Business Development • San Antonio, Texas • (210) 522-2122 • Fax: 210.522.3496 • E-mail: bd@swri.org

03-0624

The Office of Automotive Engineering (OAE) is certified to ISO 9001:2008 “Quality Management Systems – Requirements,”
accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 “General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories” andcertified to ISO 14001:2004 “Environmental Management Systems.” The OAE has also achieved Ford Tier 1 status for providing engineering services and the Engine, Emissions and Vehicle Research Division has received the Ford Q1 Quality
Award. In conjunction with these divisional quality system accomplishments, the Petroleum Products Research Department
is a Nuclear Procurement Issues Committee (NUPIC)-approved laboratory and the Fuels and Lubricants Research Division
has maintained its status as an American Chemistry Council (ACC)-approved laboratory.

JCN 272335 blISO Certification — Engine, Emissions and Vehicle Research Division