An aluminum alloy material for electric vehicles with dramatically improved thermal durability has been developed, and it is expected to greatly contribute to reducing the risk of electric vehicle accidents in the future.

The Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS, President Choi Cheol-jin) announced on the 9th that the research team of Dr. Eo Gwang-jun and Dr. Son Hyeon-woo of the Aluminum Research Lab of the Metal Materials Research Division succeeded in developing an aluminum alloy for electric vehicles with dramatically improved durability.

The research team discovered a new mechanism by which nanostructures within aluminum alloys operate, and confirmed that the alloy developed through this improved thermal durability by up to 140% compared to materials from advanced foreign companies.

The existing aluminum battery outer material has a problem in that it continuously deteriorates due to the heat generated by the battery, which critically increases the risk of accidents as the electric vehicle ages. The aluminum alloy developed this time can increase thermal durability and delay exterior material deterioration caused by heat generation by adding various trace elements to the existing 6000 series aluminum alloy.

The research team created a new database by adding dozens of trace elements and analyzing nanostructures through a cutting-edge nanostructure precision analysis process using a transmission electron microscope and a 3D atomic force microscope.

Based on this, we were able to confirm that several elements can improve thermal stability.

Aluminum alloys with improved thermal durability technology can exhibit excellent properties in parts that are used for long periods of time in high-temperature environments, such as electric vehicle battery exterior materials and supersonic aircraft structural materials.

Existing technologies for improving thermal durability have had limitations in that they utilize a database of elements that have long been used in aluminum alloys.

This study is significant in that it diversifies the database of thermal durability enhancement technologies and suggests new directions for alloy design.

The electric vehicle battery casing market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.4% from USD 464.9 million in 2020 to USD 863.3 million in 2029.

Although we are currently lagging behind advanced overseas companies in terms of technological competitiveness, it is expected that localization through this technology will not only have an import substitution effect but also enable exports.

Dr. Son Hyun-woo of the Materials Research Institute, who led the research, said, “If the technology developed this time is commercialized, it will be an opportunity to recognize the need for the development of high value-added aluminum alloys that are lagging behind advanced overseas companies, and at the same time, it will be an opportunity for domestic companies to enter the research and development market more actively.”

This research was conducted with the support of the Ministry of Science and ICT through the basic project of the Korea Institute of Materials Science and the National Research Laboratory (N-Lab.) project. In addition, the research results have been published in three SCI-level papers and two related patents have been applied for. The research team is currently conducting follow-up research with the goal of completing basic research on manufacturing technology for aluminum alloys with excellent thermal stability and transferring the technology to domestic aluminum battery outer material manufacturers through applied research along with technological maturity.