FEV has announced plans to expand its high-voltage battery testing capabilities following selection as part of the ‘France Relance’ strategy initiated by the French government. The investment project will improve the company’s test bench access and enable the pursuit of electrification.
“In 2019 we invested in a new building at our technical center and head office in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, to increase our battery testing capacity,” said Nadim Andraos, executive vice president for FEV in France, Spain and North Africa. “To be able to address today’s growing demand in the area of high-voltage battery testing, FEV France’s facilities will now be further expanded. The total area of the battery testing facility will cover 600m².”
The upgraded test facility will enable up to two battery packs to be tested at the same time under extreme environmental conditions ranging from -40°C to +70°C and will complement the existing climatic test facilities (-30°C to +70°C).
FEV’s new facility will also allow technicians to interrupt a running test to perform examinations or implement changes to the setup without having to completely shut it down. The test can simply be restarted at the point of interruption.
The facility is expected to be available for future customer projects by mid-December 2021.