HORIBA MIRA Announces £2m Creation of Advanced Battery Development Suite

News > HORIBA MIRA Announces £2m Creation of Advanced Battery Development Suite

New facility developed in response to increasing demand for electric powertrains
Advanced Battery Development Suite will provide dedicated facilities for high voltage battery testing in both climatic and EMC environments
Announcement comes weeks after the launch of HORIBA MIRA’s Advanced Emissions Test Centre

HORIBA MIRA – a world-leader in advanced engineering, research and product testing – is enhancing its test and engineering capabilities with a dedicated Advanced Battery Development Suite.

D45608 003 1

The Development Suite, which represents £2m of investment by the HORIBA Group into HORIBA MIRA’s engineering capabilities, will provide test and development services for battery packs and other components for hybrid and electric vehicles.

The facility will enable HORIBA MIRA to complete battery pack testing, simulated battery pack testing, integration testing and development of powertrain and battery packs at system level including EMC characterisation.

The 2000 sq. ft. test centre, which starts construction this month, is a dedicated facility for the testing and development of high voltage battery systems. The facility is capable of high resolution cell characterisation as well as testing battery modules and packs through representative charge and discharge cycles at a wide range of temperatures to provide full representative testing profiles. The Development Suite provides unique levels of testing capability for the UK, with the ability to test battery packs at up to 600kW, 1200A and 1000V.

The facility is set for completion by the end of 2017, and will continue the growth of HORIBA MIRA’s capability in sustainable technologies.

Dr. George Gillespie OBE, CEO at HORIBA MIRA, said:

“By 2020, 26 per cent of vehicles across the globe will have an electrified powertrain. The increase in electric and hybrid vehicles demands improved test facilities, which can keep pace with the changing requirements for battery range and thermodynamic efficiency – which is exactly why we’re developing the Advanced Battery Development Suite.

“This investment, in addition to the recent launch of our Advanced Emissions Testing Centre, which is already performing incredibly well, demonstrates HORIBA MIRA’s commitment to reducing vehicle emissions through improved testing facilities and expertise, and we look forward to officially opening our new battery suite towards the end of the year.”

This latest investment follows on the heels of a £0.5m investment earlier this year on a range of High Voltage EMC testing products to support the latest developments in plug-in vehicle technology. The Advanced Battery Development Suite also complements an existing battery validation test facility, which is located at HORIBA MIRA’s Quatro Park facility, based near Basildon in Essex.