位于俄克拉荷馬城的Cox Automotive電池解決方案中心可以滿足OEM的整套售后需求。
位于俄克拉荷馬城的Cox Automotive電動(dòng)車電池解決方案中心已成為電動(dòng)車電池研究、維修、再制造和回收的首選之地。Cox Automotive是一家坐擁凱利藍(lán)皮書(shū)二手車評(píng)估（KBB）、Autotrader二手車交易平臺(tái)和美瀚（Manheim）拍賣公司等著名品牌的大型企業(yè)集團(tuán)。
許多電動(dòng)車購(gòu)買者都不曾想過(guò)電池還能得到維修。當(dāng)這些復(fù)雜度接近于生物體的動(dòng)力電池出現(xiàn)問(wèn)題，經(jīng)銷商的傳統(tǒng)維修技術(shù)人員往往難以輕松解決。這時(shí)候就輪到Cox Automotive的“速派醫(yī)生（Flying Doctors）”團(tuán)隊(duì)出場(chǎng)了，他們既可到現(xiàn)場(chǎng)親自維修，也可全程指導(dǎo)經(jīng)銷商的技術(shù)人員進(jìn)行維修。
如果遇到更棘手的問(wèn)題，經(jīng)銷商和OEM還可將電池送往俄克拉荷馬城的電池解決方案中心，維修團(tuán)隊(duì)會(huì)單獨(dú)診斷并解決該電池的問(wèn)題。如果無(wú)法修復(fù)，電池就會(huì)被送往化合物部門(mén)進(jìn)行回收，并加工成廢料和可再利用的黑質(zhì)。
Cox Automotive的EV電池解決方案部門(mén)副總裁Lea Malloy表示，電池解決方案業(yè)務(wù)已開(kāi)展了11年，其前身是2021年被Cox Automotive收購(gòu)的初創(chuàng)公司Spiers New Technologies。目前該中心是“覆蓋電池全生命周期的首個(gè)及唯一的一站式服務(wù)中心”。
Malloy尤其引以為傲的是，該公司“曾為全美最大規(guī)模的電池召回事件提供了支持”，即參與處理了在2017年至2022年間因火災(zāi)隱患被召回的雪佛蘭Bolt和Bolt EUV車型的電池。“我們從中積累了大量經(jīng)驗(yàn)。”
雖然位于俄克拉荷馬城的電池解決方案中心的規(guī)模最大，但Cox在底特律、拉斯維加斯及其亞特蘭大的公司總部附近也設(shè)立了維修中心。維修中心在接收和發(fā)回電池的過(guò)程中擁有一項(xiàng)獨(dú)特的優(yōu)勢(shì)，那就是利用美瀚拍賣公司在145個(gè)地區(qū)運(yùn)營(yíng)的現(xiàn)成的交通運(yùn)輸網(wǎng)絡(luò)。
在介紹用于研究電池和最佳診斷方法的電子實(shí)驗(yàn)室時(shí)，Malloy表示：“電池診斷技術(shù)是我們的秘密武器。”該實(shí)驗(yàn)室的工程經(jīng)理Connor Taylor介紹了實(shí)驗(yàn)室如何以高度的創(chuàng)業(yè)精神設(shè)計(jì)并打造獨(dú)家診斷工具。
“在對(duì)某些電池進(jìn)行測(cè)試時(shí)，有時(shí)市場(chǎng)上找不到現(xiàn)成的測(cè)試工具，因此我們必須自主研發(fā)這些設(shè)備。以這臺(tái)800V隔離電壓采集裝置為例，一些新型電池采用了電壓為800V或更高電壓的架構(gòu)，但市面上大多數(shù)同類裝置的最高電壓僅為600V，無(wú)法滿足我們的測(cè)試需求，因此我們必須自行研發(fā)。”
他表示，中心的許多自主研發(fā)設(shè)備其實(shí)在市面上已有同類產(chǎn)品，但通常出于控制成本的原因，他們還是會(huì)選擇自主研發(fā)。他向我們展示了一套用于測(cè)試豐田普銳斯和凱美瑞電池模塊的源測(cè)量裝置。我們需要在測(cè)試過(guò)程中對(duì)電芯反復(fù)執(zhí)行充放電操作，同時(shí)記錄電壓、電流和溫度。Taylor表示：“雖然當(dāng)時(shí)可以采購(gòu)現(xiàn)成的設(shè)備來(lái)完成這項(xiàng)測(cè)試，但據(jù)我們推算，測(cè)試共需要2000個(gè)通道，而每個(gè)通道的報(bào)價(jià)就達(dá)到了1000美元。在2018年，我們根本拿不出200來(lái)萬(wàn)美元支付供應(yīng)商，也等不起9個(gè)月的交付時(shí)間。”
Cox公司早在2019年就完成了該裝置的設(shè)計(jì)，但隨后芯片短缺問(wèn)題又迫使其重新設(shè)計(jì)該裝置。Taylor表示：“這反而是件好事，因?yàn)槲覀兡軌蛟谛略O(shè)計(jì)中選用更先進(jìn)、性能更高的芯片，而該項(xiàng)目的最終成本僅為2萬(wàn)美元。”
Taylor還向我們展示了另一臺(tái)Cox自主研發(fā)的工具——25kW快速放電裝置，可幫助回收?qǐng)F(tuán)隊(duì)在報(bào)廢電池前耗盡電池電量。
在電池診斷環(huán)節(jié)上，根本原因分析工程經(jīng)理Brandon Carter簡(jiǎn)要介紹了接收電池后的處理流程。他告訴我們：“電池組外部使用了大量密封膠，所以必須用振動(dòng)切割工具沿著電池蓋切割密封膠，以將其剝離電池組。”打開(kāi)電池組后，每個(gè)電芯都會(huì)單獨(dú)進(jìn)行測(cè)試，以找出損壞的電芯。操作人員必須小心替換損壞的電芯，并確保其與相鄰的電芯“匹配”。隨后，操作人員需要重新連接母線，并在這個(gè)被召回的電池上使用密封膠并擰緊186個(gè)螺栓，從而將電池蓋再次密封。
在整個(gè)電池診斷過(guò)程中（包括缺陷電池的運(yùn)輸和拆箱），安全問(wèn)題得到了高度重視。他解釋說(shuō)：“我們規(guī)定每個(gè)箱子只能包含一個(gè)模塊。而且在高電壓條件下工作時(shí)，我們會(huì)穿上40卡電弧防護(hù)服，看起來(lái)可能像常見(jiàn)的防爆服或養(yǎng)蜂人的防護(hù)服。之所以穿上這些厚重的防護(hù)服，是因?yàn)槲覀兿Ｍ麑?shí)驗(yàn)室的每位員工都能夠平安下班。我們要求每位員工都對(duì)這些電池可能帶來(lái)的危險(xiǎn)保持高度警惕。”
盡管經(jīng)銷商能夠判斷電池組何時(shí)需要維修，但他們并非總能提供Cox“速派醫(yī)生”團(tuán)隊(duì)維修電池所需的完整數(shù)據(jù)。Carter表示，維修團(tuán)隊(duì)有時(shí)必須在現(xiàn)場(chǎng)完成電池問(wèn)題的深入診斷，且零件必須在維修完成前送到現(xiàn)場(chǎng)。他表示：“在外出作業(yè)時(shí)，我們必須保持靈活的工作計(jì)劃。”
在Cox處理鎳氫電池的環(huán)節(jié)上，產(chǎn)品運(yùn)營(yíng)經(jīng)理Sarah Hake介紹了另一種關(guān)鍵組件的非傳統(tǒng)獲取途徑。研究人員需要借助熱敏電阻來(lái)測(cè)量模塊溫度，但是特定型號(hào)的熱敏電阻難以獲得。經(jīng)過(guò)調(diào)查，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)透析機(jī)等醫(yī)療設(shè)備上使用了類似的熱敏電阻。她指出：“我們不需要醫(yī)用級(jí)別的熱敏電阻。生產(chǎn)的這些熱敏電阻也并非全部達(dá)到A級(jí)，有些只有B級(jí)，但它們的精度已經(jīng)非常高了，完全能夠滿足我們的測(cè)量需求，而且也很容易獲得。”
在回收環(huán)節(jié)中，耗盡剩余電量和使用多功能破碎機(jī)分離電池的過(guò)程大約需要三天時(shí)間。強(qiáng)勁的空氣分離器會(huì)將大小不同的材料進(jìn)行分離，隨后電芯和內(nèi)容物將通過(guò)次級(jí)破碎機(jī)徹底粉碎。在每個(gè)階段中，材料會(huì)逐漸被分離成更小的成分，直至一部分材料最終被分離成可再次出售的含陽(yáng)極和陰極材料的黑質(zhì)。Cox表示其加工的黑質(zhì)是市場(chǎng)上品質(zhì)最好、污染最少的。這一說(shuō)法得到了合作伙伴Aleon Metals的支持。
電池解決方案中心運(yùn)營(yíng)管理總監(jiān)Tim Harris表示，這是因?yàn)槲覀儾捎昧霜?dú)特的干式回收工藝。他解釋說(shuō)：“我們采用干燥粉碎工藝得到了這些黑質(zhì)，而非常規(guī)的濕法回收。因此，我們會(huì)在粉碎前徹底釋放電池的電量。一些公司會(huì)把電池放入水溶液中進(jìn)行分離，以便處理帶電模塊。我們則是在粉碎前先放電，以確保操作安全。”他還表示干式回收工藝更加環(huán)保。
“材料會(huì)隨著傳送帶轉(zhuǎn)移至后續(xù)處理環(huán)節(jié)。到達(dá)指定位置后，它們會(huì)被送入多個(gè)粉碎裝置中。在粉碎材料時(shí)，我們會(huì)將其處理成所需的大小。我們還采用了一系列分離器，用于徹底分解這些特定大小的材料，以及獲得包含高度清潔黑質(zhì)的材料。”
不過(guò)，在電池回收領(lǐng)域中，“更清潔”是一個(gè)相對(duì)概念。實(shí)現(xiàn)這一點(diǎn)需要企業(yè)在切實(shí)保護(hù)工人和周圍環(huán)境上付出持之以恒的努力。SAE受邀參觀中心時(shí)注意到，Cox巨大的回收室內(nèi)彌漫著灰色煙霧。32名回收技術(shù)人員分兩班工作，穿著全封閉防護(hù)服，并佩戴3M Versaflo供氣式頭盔。在保護(hù)外部環(huán)境方面，廢氣會(huì)經(jīng)過(guò)一系列過(guò)濾處理才會(huì)向大氣排放。
該回收中心每天最多可處理2000個(gè)模塊。但工作人員表示，在一般情況下，他們每天大約處理1000個(gè)模塊。
The company's Battery Solutions Center in Oklahoma City gives company end-to-end dominance in serving OEMs’ post-sale needs.
At Cox Automotive’s EV Battery Solutions center in Oklahoma City, the conglomerate most famous for its KBB, Autotrader and Manheim auction brands, has become a go-to for EV battery research, repair, remanufacturing and recycling.
It's something that not a lot of EV buyers think of. When the complex, virtually living organisms that power EVs have problems, it’s often not a simple fix that can be handled by a dealer’s traditional service technicians. Enter Cox, whose “Flying Doctors” can be dispatched to either complete the repair or walk the dealer’s technicians through the process.
And if the problem is more extensive, a dealer and OEM can send a battery to Oklahoma City, where separate diagnostic and service teams work on the problem. If the battery can’t be saved, it is sent to another end of the compound to be recycled and turned into scrap and black mass that can be used again.
Lea Malloy, Cox AVP for EV battery solutions, said the 11-year-old business, which was Spiers New Technologies before Cox acquired it in 2021, “is the first and only one-stop shop for the entire battery lifecycle.”
Malloy is particularly proud that the company “supported the nation’s largest battery recall,” the fire-related recall of 2017 to 2022 Chevy Bolt and Bolt EUV models. “We learned a lot from that.”
Though the Oklahoma City center is Cox’s largest, they also exist in Detroit, Las Vegas and Atlanta, near the company’s HQ. One unique advantage for the company when shipping batteries to and from repair centers is that it can use Mannheim Auctions’ already-existing transportation network that operates between its 145 locations.
Home-cooked diagnostics
“Battery diagnostics is our special sauce,” Malloy said, referring to the electronics lab, which researches batteries and determines best diagnostic practices. Connor Taylor, the lab’s engineering manager, discussed how the lab has a startup mentality when it comes to engineering and building their own diagnostic tools.
“The testing we need to do with some of these batteries, sometimes there just isn't a commercial option, so we have to build the equipment,” he said. “An example of that is this 800-volt isolated voltage acquisition part. Some newer batteries are 800-volt architecture or higher, and most of the commercial equipment tops out at 600 volts. So, we couldn't really find anything that would fit our needs. So, we had to roll our own.”
He said the other big category of self-built equipment is things that do exist, but there’s a reason for building it in-house. Often, that’s cost. He showed a source measurement unit for testing Toyota Prius and Camry battery modules. Testing involves repeatedly charging and discharging cells while recording voltage, current and temperature. “You can buy off-the-shelf equipment that does that,” Taylor said. “But we calculated that we needed 2,000 channels and were quoted $1,000 a channel. Back in 2018 we didn’t have $2 million to just give to a supplier and wait nine months.”
Cox had a completed design in 2019 but then the chip shortage hit and forced them to design the unit a second time. “That was somewhat of a good thing,” he said, because it allowed them to use newer, better chips. The end cost of the project: A mere $20,000
Among other tools developed in-house is a 25kW rapid discharger used by the recycling crew to deplete batteries before they’re shredded.
Getting inside… safely
Over on the diagnostic line, Root Cause Engineering Manager Brandon Carter gave an overview of the process once a battery is received. “There's a lot of sealant on the outside of the battery pack, so we must use an oscillating cutting tool to go around the perimeter of the lid and peel it from the battery pack,” he said. Once inside, individual cells are tested to find the bad ones. Those are then replaced, with careful attention given to ensuring that they “match” their neighbors before the busbars are reconnected and the lid is once again closed by applying sealant and tightening 186 bolts on this particular battery, which was part of a recall.
A significant part of the team’s attention is on safety throughout the process, including shipping and unpacking defective batteries. “These are one module per box, and when working at this voltage, we use a 40-cal arc flash suit, or what you would probably recognize looks like a bomb defusing suit or a beekeeper suit. It is some heavy-duty stuff, because we want everyone in our facility to go home exactly the way they came here,”
he said. “We want everyone or treat these batteries with utmost respect for the possible dangers that they bring.”
Though a dealer can identify when a battery pack should be repaired, they may not always have the complete data that Cox needs for its Flying Doctors to perform repairs. So occasionally, Carter said, in-depth diagnostics have to be completed on-site and parts have to be shipped before a repair can be completed. “We have to be pretty flexible without schedules when we’re out in the field.”
On the line where Cox deals with NiMH batteries, product operations manager Sarah Hake discussed another unusual sourcing of a critical component. They needed thermistors to help measure module temperatures. But the specific model was hard to come by, so they searched and found that similar thermistors are used on medical equipment like dialysis machines. “We don't necessarily need the medical grade ones. Not everything when they get manufactured is going to be that A-ranking,” she said. “These are actually the B-grade ones. They are still incredibly, incredibly precise, which is good for us, but it also made them very easy to get.”
94% material recovery
In recycling, it’s about a three-day process to ensure battery discharge, then run everything through various shredders. Powerful air separators divides big pieces from smaller pieces, then actual shredders tear the cells and contents apart. At each stage, material is separated into its component parts until eventually part of it is the black mass containing anode and cathode materials that can be resold. Cox says it produces the best, least-contaminated black mass on the market, and the claim backed by partner Aleon Metals.
Tim Harris, the center's director of operations management, said it’s because of the unique, dry recycling process. “Our black mass is shredded in a dry process. We don’t push them down into water to shred them, so we depower [the batteries] to zero before we shred,” he said. “Some other companies run it through a water solution so they can shred live modules. We depower them so they're safe before we shred them. He also said that process is environmentally cleaner.
“It’s traveling up one conveyor. From that point, it moves on to several crushing pieces. When we go to crush it, get it to that particular size we need. We also have a series of separators that actually break down these particular sizes [and] get to what we need to get that really clean black mass.”
Being cleaner is a relative term in battery recycling, though, and it takes effort and consistency to successfully protect workers and the surrounding area. Cox’s enormous recycling room had a gray haze floating in it when SAE Media visited. Thirty-two recycling techs, operating in two shifts, work in fully encapsulated suits and what look like 3M Versaflo air-supply helmets. As for protecting the outside world, exhaust air goes through a series of filters before leaving the building.
The recycling center handles up to 2,000 modules a day, but workers said in a more typical day they process about 1,000.
位于俄克拉荷馬城的Cox Automotive電池解決方案中心正在處理一家OEM召回的電池，并由一名電池技術(shù)人員負(fù)責(zé)登記入庫(kù)。(Cox Automotive)
回收室的技術(shù)人員穿戴著高度防護(hù)的全封閉防護(hù)服、頭盔和呼吸面罩，因?yàn)樵诜鬯殡姵氐倪^(guò)程中會(huì)產(chǎn)生潛在的有害空氣微粒。（Cox Automotive）
雖然處理的是高科技電動(dòng)汽車電池，但回收過(guò)程是機(jī)械性的，相對(duì)簡(jiǎn)單。部件會(huì)不斷被粉碎，并被分類為成分材料和黑色物質(zhì)。（Cox Automotive）