It's best to stick with a material that's designed to insulate a car battery, such as rigid foam, plastic or rubber. Garrett Tortelli is the Senior Merchandise Manager of Batteries Plus.
What makes a good battery cover?
One critical component that plays a pivotal role in the durability and safety of batteries is the battery cover. In recent years, aluminum has emerged as a material of choice for these covers due to its unique combination of properties.
3. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC): Polyvinyl Chloride is commonly used in automotive batteries where high chemical resistance and durability are required. Its robustness against acidic environments, coupled with its non-flammable nature, makes PVC an ideal choice for components exposed to extreme conditions.
Polypropylene (PP) is often considered the best material for battery casing due to its chemical resistance, durability, and lightweight nature. What is the casing material of a battery cell?
PET can also be used as a film or coating material for battery casings. Polypropylene (PP) — PP is another popular choice for battery insulation due to its low electrical conductivity, good chemical resistance, and high-temperature tolerance. It is often used in battery separators.
One plug-in hybrid EV built in China is already using a thermoplastic polypropylene compound instead of aluminium for its battery case cover, providing savings in weight. Other EVs now in production around world are using several thermoplastic materials for components such as cell carriers and housings, battery modules and battery enclosures.
The choice of materials used for a battery case has to cover a wide range of performance issues. Replacing steel or bonded aluminium with thermoplastics or glass fibre composites is offering lighter cases and more options for increasing the energy density by using larger components that can be more easily assembled.