Thesis Work - Modelling Cell Variance in Battery Systems

About this opportunity - Background

At Volvo Cars, efficient design solutions for energy storage systems are being explored and designed. In the foreseeable future, Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries will be the dominating solution for energy storage within such systems. Battery systems consist of multiple cells that, despite being manufactured to tight specifications, exhibit natural variance in key parameters such as electrical resistance and capacity. These differences can significantly influence the thermal behavior, performance, and lifetime of the battery system. 

This master's thesis aims to investigate the impact of cell-level variance—including but not limited to electrical resistance and capacity—on the overall performance of battery systems. While individual cells may deviate slightly from nominal specifications, these deviations can compound across the system and influence thermal behavior, energy efficiency, and degradation patterns. Though the focus of this thesis will be more on system performance than degradation. A part of the thesis would also be to identify other factors like having a temperature or State of charge distribution across the system, and understand their impact on system performance. The work will be built on state-of-the-art modelling tools available at Volvo Cars and previous work done at the department.  

Scope of the thesis work

•    Modelling Cell-Level Variance: Develop models to represent variations in resistance and capacity across cells in a Battery System in a simulation environment. 
•    Sensitivity Analysis: Investigate and quantify the effect of cell variance on various Battery systems and Full vehicle performance indicators. 
•    Validation & Reporting: Compare findings against existing literature, benchmark data, and document findings and propose ideas for future work. 
 

You will have the opportunity to cooperate with colleagues within the traction battery ART and other engineers within VCC. You will be part of a team where everyone is included and collaborates well. 

What you'll bring

We are looking for students pursuing a Master of Science degree in applied mechanics, applied physics, mechanical engineering, sustainable energy or similar. A genuine interest and curiosity in the subject matter and excellent analytical skills are needed. The ideal candidate has a background in computational mechanics and CFD/CHT analysis. Further, you have a big interest in batteries and electric vehicles. 

The main part of the work is to be done on site at the Volvo Cars R&D location in Torslanda, Göteborg, Sweden. 

Duration

•    The work will start in January 2026 
•    30 points ECTS (academic credits) if in agreement with your Thesis Advisor at the University  
•    The thesis will be conducted by 1 student