TÜV Opens Battery Testing Center Next to PEM
TÜV Rheinland has opened Europe's most modern independent testing center for traction batteries of electric vehicles in the German-Dutch "Science and Business Park Avantis" in Aachen. With a total area of 2,200 square meters, the laboratory in the direct vicinity of the "Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components" (PEM) chair of RWTH Aachen University is also one of the largest of its kind. The investment volume amounts to more than 24 million euros; when fully operational, 25 specialists will work there. The opening of the institution, where vehicle batteries up to a size of 800 kilograms are tested, took place in the presence of PEM director Professor Achim Kampker and around a one hundred guests from business, politics and science.
The construction time for the test center was around 18 months in total. The battery testing laboratory is operated by TÜV Rheinland Automotive Component Testing GmbH, a cooperation with the commercial service provider "ConAC" from Aachen. "Innovation in the field of electric vehicle batteries is at an all-time high – accordingly, independent testing capacities are important," says Professor Achim Kampker, head of the neighboring PEM chair: "Durability and costs, material use and performance, range, and recyclability: these are key aspects of battery development. The testing services of the new test center contribute to greater reliability of the technologies, but also to marketable innovations," Kampker emphasized at the commissioning of the laboratory, where development-accompanying validations can be carried out for manufacturers.
Rapid growth in the testing market for electric vehicle batteries
The aim of the new TÜV center is to be able to fully test all current safety standards required in the market. The initial focus will be on the rapidly growing market for regulatory and manufacturer-specific testing of drive batteries for electric vehicles. In perspective, the test offer is to be extended to other storage applications. "The dynamics in the field of electromobility are extremely high: manufacturers are pushing into the booming market with more and more new models," said Dr. Michael Fübi, CEO of TÜV Rheinland AG, at the opening. Fübi, like Kampker, is a member of the "Permanent Expert Council on Electromobility" of the NRW state government.
Covering the entire "traction battery value chain"
The new competence center is integrated into TÜV Rheinland's network of testing centers around the globe. This means that the young team in Aachen will be able to cover the entire value chain relating to traction batteries for e-vehicles for the industry right from the start: from support during development to comprehensive testing and type approval. All information on the services of the test center is compiled here.