40000);}); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1648132010491-0');setInterval(function(){googletag.pubads().refresh([slot2]);} 40000);});Opening the volt: Electrifying.com takes a tour of Audi’s top secret battery test centreMike Askew The world of electric car batteries is a mysterious one The further you dig into the technicalities of how they work While the cocktail of elements that make up a modern lithium-ion electric car battery is largely the same for every pack engineers are constantly tweaking the formula to create the perfect battery that can store huge amounts of energy and be recharged in lightning quick time.  In an anonymous-looking building on a featureless industrial estate a few miles outside Ingolstadt in Germany Audi operates what amounts to a boot camp for electric car batteries The top secret facility in Gaimersheim has one mission – to put battery cells and packs through an accelerated life-cycle in an effort to discover the perfect chemistry.  Audi designs a new battery cell for every electric car it makes and puts every one through the same test process Audi battery cell expert Dr Bernhard Rieger tells us that the ones undergoing tests now are being prepared for a car destined for production in four years Starting this early in the production cycle means that any potential areas of concern can be addressed long before the cells are in full production.  The first series of tests any Audi battery cell undergoes are temperature trials Cells are charged and discharged constantly at fixed temperatures in special sealed chambers with sensors churning out vast strings of data on the condition and performance of the cells Audi performs a range of tests from -30 to +60 celsius Only when the data looks right does Audi move onto the next stage Rieger takes us to an even bigger set of air-tight chambers where engineers put full battery packs through the same rigorous tests The full packs are tested as they would be in a car with a full water heating and cooling system operating to keep the cells at optimum temperature In the cold chambers (as low as -30 degrees) the pumps send heated water underneath the battery modules to keep them warm while in the 60 degree hot chambers (designed to replicate the kind of temperatures experiences in places like Arizona) the pumps channel cold water under the modules.  The tests allow Dr Reiger and his team to accelerate the ageing process of a an electric car battery Packs are tested at a vast range of temperatures in sealed conditions for a year enduring countless rapid DC charges and full discharges By running the tests continuously for a year Audi can accurately replicate 15 years of usage - usually with a much more demanding workload than most cars will ever have to endure Dr Reiger claims that once a pack completes its test cycle it will have covered the equivalent of 300,000 kms.  And it’s not just the cell chemistry that gets tested at Gaimersheim placed on vibration plates for days on end and overcharged to check for any potential safety problems Dr Reiger explains that while the Audi customer warranty covers the battery for eight years and 100,000 miles his team are only happy when a pack comfortably passes the 15 year Dr Reiger’s team are also responsible for building the battery packs fitted to Audi’s prototype cars These hand-built vehicles – assembled at the brand’s nearby Ingolstadt factory – are then disguised and dispatched to locations around the world for real-world hot and cold weather endurance testing With hundreds of prototype and pre-production cars built for each new model Dr Reiger’s team are one of the busiest at Audi.  Designing a battery that can store a large amount of energy is relatively easy Designing one that can be recharged quickly is also fairly straightforward It’s this: a cell with very high density takes a long time to charge while a fast charging cell can’t store a large amount of energy.  Given that the perfect electric car battery needs to be high density AND be able to charge at high speeds cell design is all about striking the perfect balance between the two Factor in the added requirement for battery cells to last as long as the car and you can understand why brands like Audi like to keep their battery recipes under wraps.  Then there’s the matter of future-proofing the design Audi takes four years to design and perfect its battery cell design and chemistry the fastest rapid charger you could find in the UK would have been a 150kW Tesla unit 350kW chargers are becoming increasingly commonplace while range expectations are almost double what they were To ensure that the next generation of electric Audis meet the needs of electric car buyers in 2026 and beyond the brand is testing charging speeds beyond those currently available.  Audi also says that in order to go to the next level of charging speeds advanced 800 volt systems will be part of the brand’s future offering A new large car platform known as PPE has already been developed and will underpin Audi’s next generation of all-electric models The chemistry locked away within the cells we saw undergoing tests in Gaimersheim will almost certainly be used in this next generation of all-electric Audis New tax-beating sub-£40k Kia EV6 ‘Air’ introduced with 63.0kWh Standar.. 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Browse our reviews here to start Please fill out your contact details below Audi opens the door to its battery torture chamber as it pursues the perfect power pack The new BFFT headquarters is a clearly visible milestone on the company’s progress towards top ranking as Germany’s most popular midsized employer in the automotive industry employee bistro and the company’s in-house fitness and yoga studio especially requested by the client for company employees are all located on an area of 8 700 m² within sight of AUDI AG The architects at Kandler – Bunje Architekten + Ingenieure displayed their confident architectural style and sensitivity for material in designing this clearly proportioned with its outstanding open and transparent appearance Optimal working conditions with natural light and ventilation are created by floor to ceiling windows in all offices and workshops The high tech character of the custom-developed stick system façade which constitutes the central design element is particularly apt for a company in the automotive and electronic industry rotating aluminium louvre slats provide shade from the sun and can be either operated individually or centrally regulated consisting of maintenance balconies from the first to the fourth floor these slats also act as a second façade layer The floor-length aluminium sun protection slats give the multilayered façade structure and rhythm in the best spirit of corporate architecture for a company which is AUDI AG’s strategic development partner and which can claim to be “the automotive engineering developer with a difference” The ground floor on the west side and parts of the north and south façade comprise rear ventilated façades with an ALUCOBOND®-tray panel cladding The ALUCOBOND®-tray panel grid is designed in accordance with the stick system façade to provide a uniform appearance Architects: Kandler-Bunje Architekten + Ingenieure Donauwörth | GermanyConstruction: Screw attached tray panelsYear of Construction: 2012Product: ALUCOBOND® PLUS metallic colours Silver Metallic