The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), in partnership with the Technology Innovation Agency and battery and DC power solutions provider PowerTech Batteries, will open a battery testing facility to support the research and development of future battery storage technologies.
The facility, which will also provide accredited testing services to established suppliers of automotive batteries, has been created as part of the NMMU’s uYilo E-mobility Technology Innovation Programme, the university said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The facility will be unique in South Africa in that it will create the capabilities to test and certify next-generation storage technologies, which include the popular lithium-ion (li-ion) chemistry [solution],” uYillo director Dirk Odendaal stated.
Complementing existing testing services, the laboratory would increase the country’s capacity to conduct local certification of lead-acid automotive batteries, thus, reducing the need for costly international testing, which would strengthen the competitiveness of South Africa’s battery original-equipment manufacturers.
The NMMU said the first phase of the testing facility had been completed and the testing of lead-acid automotive batteries was already under way.
The university also pointed out that, over the next five years, the facility would be expanded to enable the testing of start-stop batteries, characterise li-ion cells and battery modules; certification of a traction battery pack of up to 400 V; testing of stationary grid storage devices and destructive testing.
The facility would be officially opened on May 15.