When the Temperature Falls, Can Your EV Keep Up?
As the weather in North America turns colder, a particular seasonal sight may once again come into view: lines forming at electric vehicle chargers. You may remember headlines highlighting such scenes as those in Chicago, with some EVs queuing for hours. Cold conditions (and hot conditions, too!) can have a significant impact on an EV’s ability to charge quickly. While solutions exist, such as preheating, this limitation puts the importance of environmental testing front and center. One of the biggest advantages of environmental testing is the invaluable knowledge that your product can perform under real-world conditions. As more of the global automotive industry turns towards EVs, ensuring reliability is key to protecting consumer confidence.
Weiss Technik is a premier supplier of environmental test chambers for all stages of EV and battery development. From prototype cell testing and mature pack validation to full-scale vehicle dynamometer (dyno) certification, we offer solutions to meet any requirement. Join us as we explore the unique challenges of EV development and discover how Weiss Technik can help you meet them head-on.
Why is EV Reliability So Important
It may seem obvious that any product needs to meet consumer expectations to be successful, so what makes EVs special? While traditional vehicles are judged on a variety of metrics, buyers consistently cite reliability as a major factor in their EV purchasing decisions. Let’s look at some of the specific factors that have an outsized influence:
- Price – An EV is often the second-largest investment a household will make. This means the purchase is a bigger decision, subject to more research and scrutiny. If an EV develops a poor reputation, it can deter buyers long after any root cause has been eliminated.
- Reliance – For many people, a vehicle is their primary connection to the world. The capabilities and reliability of an EV directly impact everyday commuting for work, food, and other necessities. Any failure can significantly disrupt daily life.
- Preconceptions – People are more likely to be apprehensive about purchasing an EV compared to a traditional vehicle simply because the technology is new. EVs lack a history of proven performance, and extensive testing is one of the most direct ways to counter those concerns.
- Safety – Anyone using an EV must trust that the vehicle is safe. Battery failures may be highly visible and dramatic, even rare incidents can create a negative perception of EVs regardless of actual frequency or circumstances.
- Infrastructure – As of 2024 there are approximately 204,000 non-household EV charging station in the USA. The location and availability of these chargers dictate where and when EV owners can recharge, making them a significant factor in EV travel. While range is commonly cited as the second top factor in purchasing decisions, accurate range values are especially important to consumer trust.
What Makes EV Testing Different
While EVs are obviously different from traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, they are expected to perform in the same conditions. So, what makes testing for EVs special, and why can traditional ICE testing infrastructure be inadequate?
The answer is just as obvious; an EV battery presents different challenges that require different solutions. From a development standpoint, this difference is stark. Battery designs need to be validated at multiple stages and have unique risks to personnel safety. Most batteries use lithium, which can react violently if exposed to the outside environment. Fire suppression becomes more challenging due to the ability of a lithium fire to supply it’s own oxygen, making some mitigation methods ineffective. Even if an event does not result in a fire, highly toxic gases may be produced which must be detected and exhausted to prevent exposure. In early stages or during deliberate destructive testing, cells may even become pressurized and rupture violently, requiring overpressure protection for the workspace.
But that is just the battery, what about a full EV? Many of the same battery-only concerns can also be carried forward into the full EV. In ICE vehicles, air needs to be supplied for combustion, which is then generally exhausted from the test workspace. This means that a significant portion of the heat generated during testing is simply removed with the hot exhaust gas. EVs reject 100% of their heat to the surrounding air, leading to higher live load in the workspace that must be designed for.
How Can Weiss Technik Help
Here at Weiss Technik, we are proud to provide testing solutions for every stage in an EV life cycle. From small-scale reach-in chambers for testing individual battery cells to full dyno chambers, Weiss Technik has the experience to meet all your environmental testing needs. We have partnered with many top EV manufacturers in the US to provide custom solutions for:
- Protype cell fault testing
Up to EUCAR Level 6 hazard mitigation
- Charging station temperature/humidity testing
Stand-alone or in vehicle test cell for combined testing
- Battery pack warranty evaluation chambers:
Pack-scale safety features with custom loading solution
- XL commercial vehicle dyno EPA testing:
Over 55,000cuft workspace with +180kW max heat load
- Pack-scale thermal shock battery testing:
+72°C to -40°C in <30min
- Combination dyno + solar simulation:
1200W/m2 irradiance with integrated controls
As EV technology continues to evolve, one thing remains constant: reliability is the foundation of consumer trust. Thorough environmental testing ensures that vehicles and their components perform safely, efficiently, and consistently under real-world conditions.
Whether you’re developing prototype battery cells or validating full-scale EV systems, Weiss Technik delivers the precision, safety, and innovation needed to bring your products confidently to market.
Ready to take your EV testing to the next level?
Connect with Weiss Technik today to learn how our custom environmental testing solutions can accelerate your path from concept to certification.