Scania picks Keysight for battery test at R&D lab

Scania, part of the Volkswagen Group, is driving the shift to e-mobility for commercial vehicles while pursuing a long-term strategy to achieve the company goals for innovation and sustainability.

The bus and truck manufacturer's 1,000-square-meter laboratory includes three 250-square-meter test halls for battery cells, modules and packs. The main focus is on battery performance and lifespan evaluation in various climatic conditions from -40°C to 70°C.

Keysight provided a customised turnkey battery laboratory solution including the full range of the company's Scienlab Battery Test Systems for cells, modules and packs, coupled with a comprehensive safety concept while realising the installation at the customer's site.

In addition to Keysight's Energy Storage Discover Software for test and control, Scania leveraged Keysight's PathWave Lab Operations For Battery Test, an integrated, web-based lab management platform that optimises workflow, test throughput and data management.

This solution enables Scania to optimise planning and coordination of its battery laboratory by managing all resources, including lab personnel, test systems and devices under test (DUTs).

"The need for relevant skills and knowledge in battery usage and lifecycle optimisation is more important than ever before. Here in the lab, we have the prerequisites to perform our very best in this area," said Håkan Örnhed, Head of Test Cell Operation Battery and E-components at Scania. "We see an increasing need to intensify battery testing and tailored deployment. Keysight's experience and expertise in battery testing has resulted in a solution that meets our requirements, which made them the perfect choice to realize this crucial project." Örnhed continued.

The new battery laboratory complements a smaller facility with a climatic chamber for battery pack testing, that is extremely flexible because it is basically "outdoors." With this lab, Scania can test the performance of battery packs on operational electric trucks and buses without removing batteries.

Vehicles are parked close to the lab and connected to the testing equipment, or the powertrain can be tested in a huge climate chamber instead of running real-life winter tests outdoors.

Scania's engineers examine the best operational conditions for the battery, considering things such as temperature setpoint, state of charge window and charging power profile for tailored utilisation in optimising battery life and customer needs.

"Our goal is to provide comprehensive test solutions that help our customers accelerate and improve their development activities. We are extremely proud that we could support Scania in their aspiration to secure a market leadership position for commercial EV vehicles," said Thomas Goetzl, vice president and general manager for Keysight's Automotive and Energy Solutions business unit. "Our collaborative approach with Scania was to challenge the state-of-the-art, which enabled us to gain insights from a world-leading transportation manufacturer who strives to discover new edges of e-mobility use-cases and technologies."