Prospects and challenges of application of structural battery in vehicles

Structural batteries offer a novel solution to the issue of battery mass as a “weight burden” and can also alleviate the problem of “range anxiety” in electric vehicles (EVs). This paper reviews structural battery design methods. By comparing the advantages of decoupled structural battery design and coupled structural battery design in relation to vehicle structural characteristics, it is found that vehicles incorporating decoupled structural battery designs may reach the market faster than those with coupled designs. The impact of structural battery applications on improving vehicle range is analyzed using the vehicle energy equation, along with an exploration of the boundary effects of increasing battery mass. Additionally, the paper discusses the challenges faced by structural batteries, particularly in real-world vehicle application scenarios. Finally, the paper discusses the potential applications of structural batteries in other fields and explores their potential in low-altitude aerial vehicles. Through a review and discussion of current research in the field of structural batteries, the goal is to encourage more scholars to focus on this technology and to promote its application not only in the vehicle industry but across a wider range of fields.