Abstract
For the next future cars generation, weight reduction and electrical power increasing demand appears to be the main technical requirements to be fulfilled.
The development of batteries able to match the high electrical performances Vs weight and volume reduction (driving to the energy and power density increasing), shape and dimensions suitable to allow more flexibility in the battery installation, is an essential requirement to be met.
The Exide Compact semibipolar battery, tested by Fiat on the low consumption Punto prototype, shows very interesting features which could satisfy these requirements.
Moreover, the new concept of base cell structure allows to get the connection between the elements directly through the common grids: in this way high energy and power density are obtainable and no sudden electrical interruption is possible.
The Compact semibipolar concept allows to design the battery with a very thin profile, and makes the battery particularly suitable for electrotraction applications too.