“We advocate for an application-driven approach”

Zheren Wang, Head of the Battery Team at Forward Engineering, is convinced that the true potential of composite materials in EV battery enclosures remains largely untapped. At the 2025 Automotive Battery Conference, his presentation “Rethinking Design for EV Battery Enclosures” challenged conventional development approaches and called for a system-level rethink.

Drawing on more than a decade of experience in lightweighting, battery system integration, and material strategy for major OEMs and suppliers, Wang argues that only a holistic perspective—one that redefines architecture and integrates the unique advantages of composites—can deliver the next big leap in battery design. In this interview, he shares key insights and lessons learned from real-world applications.

ADT: What are the necessary design shifts to fully leverage composites in EV battery enclosures?

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Wang: A clear understanding of “where composites offer true value—such as design flexibility, insulation, fire resistance, and lightweighting—and where metals still play an essential role” is necessary, but not sufficient. The advantages can only be fully leveraged when the system architecture is designed to support them. Since each battery pack is different, we must continuously challenge ourselves: Within our current system boundaries, are there areas where composite properties can be fully utilized—where no other material can serve as a viable alternative? If not, can we redefine the system boundaries or even create new ones — so that the most impactful advantages can stand out? To support this, we have developed an engineering approach.

How does your engineering approach differ from traditional enclosure development?

I believe our approach is primarily distinguished by the fact that we continuously challenge ourselves – questioning whether, and where, the current boundary conditions allow for the full utilization of composite materials. At the same time, we try to create new system boundaries to support the use of composites, for example by rethinking both the functional and physical segmentation of the battery enclosure. In addition, we bring hands-on experience from applications where metal simply reaches its limits – such as embedding intelligent features like sensors and antennas into composite components (“Smart”), integrating multiple materials and functions into highly constrained spaces where metals are not viable (“Xtreme Integration”), and designing the entire battery enclosure and internal structures around the cells using composite materials (“Cell-Centric Design”).

Can you share any lessons learned from real-world projects applying composite strategies?

Composites also require “collaboration with metal.” Rather than aiming to replace metals outright, we advocate for a balanced, application-driven approach—leveraging the unique strengths of both materials to achieve optimal system performance. Collaboration is essential. Unlike metals—where OEMs, Tier 1s, and material suppliers have decades of shared experience—composites are still gaining broad familiarity. To accelerate adoption, we need patience and close cooperation across the value chain. Our joint projects with industry leaders like Sabic and Coleitec exemplify how collaborative development can deliver cost-efficient and safe solutions for battery enclosures.

AUTOMOTIVE COMPUTING CONFERENCE (ACC) Germany:

Munich on November 13-14, 2025