Examining The Battery Quality and Standards for LEVs in Asia

Vivian WeiGeneral Manager, China Operations

eCycleElectricProfessional LEV Consulting

Mar. 2012

eCycleElectric ConsultingA Passionate, Experienced Team To Assist You Every Step of the Way

- 42 years of experience in the bike industry- 16 years of experience in the e-bike industry- 77 satisfied clients in 12 countries and regions- 20+ years of experience in the motor business- 40+ media contacts in the EV and LEV world- 6,000+ contacts in the LEV industry worldwide- Offices in USA, China, Taiwan and Germany

Light Electric Vehicle Association Founded in 2009 and based in the US, LEVA today has over 200

members from 25 countries, over 40 global media partners and over 6000 industry contacts.

The Light Electric Vehicle Association (LEVA) represents the strategic interests of light electric vehicle retailers, dealers, distributors, manufacturers and suppliers to promote the development, sale, and use of LEVs worldwide.

Members receive support and educational resources to expand their businesses while initiating efforts to influence and adopt legislation, regulation, performance standards and general best practices in the light electric vehicle industry.

Outline• LEV Battery Industry in China• Battery Supplier Qualifications• Definition of Quality in Different Markets• Comparison of Different Battery Types• Battery Manufacturer’s Perspective

• Examine and Control Cell Quality• Examine and Control Battery Pack Quality• LEV Specific Battery Testing

• LEV Manufacturer’s Perspective • LEV Prototype Development Stage • LEV Production Stage

LEV Battery Industry in China

• +29 million e-bikes produced in 2011• +0.5 million e-bikes exported in 2011• +600 lead-acid battery manufacturers in 2012 (down from +3,000 in 2011)• +60 lithium battery manufacturers in 2012

Labor Intensive VS Fully Automatic

Labor Intensive VS Fully Automatic

Manufacturing Dust Control

Quality Inspection Stations

Warranty + Certificate ≠ Quality

Battery Supplier Qualifications• Willingness to customize a function specific pack• After-sales responsibility and commitment• Management with battery expertise• Strong R&D and engineering capability• Required certifications and Insurance

How to Define Quality in Different Markets

• Safety• Reliability

Warranty• Cycle Life• Calendar Life

Performance• Climate• Terrain• Road

Conditions• Purpose of

Use

Intelligence

Different Markets Needs for Battery

Different Purposes of Use

Shopping Commuting

Different Purposes of Use

Picking up Kids Postal Services

Different Purposes of Use

Food Delivery Recreation

Lead Acid Battery Module Characteristics

Characteristics of Lithium-Ion Modules

Comparison of Different Battery Types

How to Realize Quality

• Require the extreme requirements and expectations of all the markets and make that your requirement.

• Build performance requirements into vendor requirements and testing protocol.

Examine and Control Cell Quality

• Raw Materials • Components• Assembly Equipment• Assembly Process• Testing Facility• Testing Protocol

Examine and Control Cell Quality

Work shop Humidity control Dust control levelSlurry Room ≤30%RH 100,000

Coating Room ≤20%RH 10,000

Slitting Room ≤30%RH 100,000

Auto Winding Room ≤1%RH 10,000

Auto Assembly Room ≤1%RH 10,000

Humidity and Dust control will affect the self-discharge rate of the cells and ultimately the consistency of the cells.

Examine and Control Pack Quality---Cell Consistency

High-precision cell test equipments are needed to accurately test and group the cell voltage and resistance before pack assembly to ensure the consistency of cells.

HIOKI high-precision voltage re-sistance test machine

Match detector for cells

High precision, multi-function electrical performance test machine

Examine and Control Pack Quality--BMS Test

To ensure the quality of BMS, each BMS has to be tested for all the performances. A BMS test system is needed to test the whole BMS function pre-assembly or post-assembly.

BMS Test Items： over charge protection; over discharge protection; over current protection; short-circuit protection; BMS current consumption test; BMS temperature protection test Power Battery Testing System

LEV Specific Battery Test

Arbin high power charge/discharge test machine

LEV performance test of complete bike

Vibration test machinethermal shock test machine

Performance Test• Compatibility Test

Test the matching of packs, accessory products and chargers. Test Machine: Product and Charger

• Voltage, Internal Resistance TestTest the open-circuit volts, AC resistanceTest Machine: Resistance/Voltage meter

• Rated CapacityTest the capacity when charge at 0.2C and discharge at 0.5CTest Machine: Discharge tester

• Electricity Maintain and RecoveryCharge at 0.2C and store for 30 days, test the capacity; recharge, test capacity recovery.Test Machine: Discharge tester

• Cycle TestCharge and discharge the pack test the capacity after cycleTest Machine: Discharge tester

• Battery IndicatorTest indicator condition at different electricity stateTest Machine: Multi function meter

Environment Test

• Temperature ShockPut the pack in mutual exchange of high and low temperature, test the performance changeTest Machine: Thermal Shock Chamber

• VibrationVibrate the packs and test the performance changeTest Machine: Vibration platform, discharge tester

• High/Low Temperature CapacityTest the pack capacity at high and low temperatureTest Machine: Thermal Shock Chamber, charge/discharge tester

Safety Test• High current discharge capacity

Discharge the full-charged pack with high current and test the capacityTest Machine: Discharge tester

• Over charge/discharge protectionTest the over charge/discharge protection voltageTest Machine: Discharge tester

• Over current protectionTest the over protection currentTest Machine: Discharge tester

• Pulse dischargePulse discharge the pack with different currents, test the pack performanceTest Machine: Discharge tester

• Short-circuit protectionShort-circuit the pack and test if the pack has protectionTest Machine: Short-circuit platform

Drive System Integration

Battery Testing-LEV Prototype Development

• Work with the supplier to develop a prototype pack for evaluation

purposes.• Conduct both bench (load and cycle testing) on the preliminary prototype

and real world ride testing to flesh out any issues.• Go back and forth a few times before getting it right.• Send the complete pack to a third party test lab to do destructive testing

to uncover any possible safety issues. • Conduct a small pilot production, and go through the testing steps once

more. • Move to mass production and the IQC process if all of the pilot packs pass

testing.

DAS-Data Acquisition System

DAS is used conduct performance tests in real life rides, as well as test stand rides. Depending on the test results, battery parameters and controller parameters are adjusted accordingly.

E-bike Performance Test•Current•Voltage•Range•Temperature•Speed•Battery Capacity

Battery Testing-LEV Production

LEV manufacturers often work with their battery suppliers on

a testing protocol of production battery packs for incoming quality control purposes.

• Supplier Test• Random Inspection• Full Inspection• Sampling on the complete bike• Test Ride

Supplier Test Batteries are required to be 100% tested at supplier’s end

with the submission of a test report.

Random Inspection

• Physical Appearance• Accuracy of Customer Logo• Physical and Technical Specs • Charger Performance• Max Charging Voltage• Discharging Capacity Test• Cut-off Discharge Voltage

Full InspectionAfter random inspection, 100% inspection will be conducted on• Physical Appearance• Accuracy of Customer Logo• Charging Port• Discharging Port

Battery Voltage Inspection

Battery Capacity Inspection

Logo Size and Location Inspection

Sampling on the complete bike

Depending on the production model lot size, every 20 to 50 bikes, one bike will be randomly selected for its complete performance charge / discharge test to ensure under load the bike performance, battery performance, and charge / discharge characteristics meet the standards set for the particular model.

Test RideTo ensure the battery performs properly on the bike, every battery will be installed on the bike for a test ride. During the ride, the actual bike functions are switched to test for performance consistency.

Our Most Rewarding Moment

Fairly Bike Manufacturing Company, Ltd.

Tianjin Flying Pigeon Electric Bicycle Manufacture Co., Ltd.

Tianjin Lishen Battery Joint-Stock Co. Ltd.

Currie Technologies

Special Thanks To:

Thank You!For any questions, please contact Vivian Wei at vivian@ecycleelectric.com