Battery Cell Replacement with Sustainability Potential

Repair Instead of Disposal

Theo Seiler and his team combined entrepreneurial action with innovative research early on. As students, they began advancing the development of a repairable battery for e-bikes. With this idea, they initiated a research project at the InnovationCampus Future Mobility (ICM). When the first ICM InnovationChallenge was held in 2022, they won a consortium with the IPEK Institute of Product Engineering at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

In the project "Cell Contacting" the consortium developed a battery pack where the cells are connected via detachable contacts and a clamping plate. Because the system is bolted rather than welded, it can be disassembled using tools. Aged or defective battery cells can thus be individually and cost-effectively replaced directly in bike shops, while the rest of the battery pack remains usable. "Through our approach, we can avoid a significant amount of unnecessary electronic waste, as repairability is still entirely overlooked in battery technology," says Philip Müller-Welt, who leads the cell contacting projects at IPEK. Currently, only specialized companies refurbish e-bike battery packs, which means that many batteries are often entirely replaced due to the cost of fixing individual cells.

In 2024, MoThor Batteries and IPEK developed four different demonstrators of their battery in the ICM Transfer Bottom-Up project "BattereVee". These demonstrators were optimized for various criteria: weight, cost, space efficiency, and sustainability. Once completed, they will be integrated into the ICM test vehicle "eVee".

Sustainable Battery Solution for Diverse Mobility Applications

The ICM’s funding programs once again prove to be a catalyst for technology transfer. MoThor Batteries plans to use the test results from the "BattereVee" project to develop a market-ready product. Their ambitions extend beyond e-bikes, as the system is suitable for most mobility applications and stationary energy storage. While the focus will remain on light electric mobility, other applications such as forklifts or hybrid batteries for larger vehicles are also being explored in depth.

Although batteries with replaceable cells pose greater challenges during development, they significantly reduce repair and replacement costs. This results in financial advantages for the user during the battery’s lifecycle – and a sustainability gain for society. "If we truly want to achieve our sustainability goals, we must start at the design phase and build fewer products that cannot be repaired or recycled," explains Theo Seiler.