BattChallengeUA

🔋 Year one of the Battery Workforce Challenge, managed by Argonne National Laboratory and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Stellantis, has officially concluded! This inaugural year focused on designing the EV battery pack, with teams delving into every aspect, from cell characterization to pack-level design, ensuring compliance with strict safety standards. “This competition has showcased the remarkable talent of our students and propelled us toward our mission of building the battery workforce,” stated Michael Bly, Stellantis’ senior vice president, and head of Global Propulsion Systems. “Stellantis proudly supports this initiative, encouraging students to gain real-world experience in the automotive EV space.” 🎉 Congratulations to the winning teams for their outstanding achievements: 1️⃣ Battery Workforce Challenge at Colorado School of Mines team - Design Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines & Arapahoe Community College 2️⃣  BattChallengeOSU team - The Ohio State University & Columbus State Community College 3️⃣ BattChallengeUA team - The University of Alabama & Shelton State Community College Let's celebrate their success and the bright future of sustainable energy solutions!  #BattChallenge 

🏆 Congratulations to our BattChallenge Year One winners: 1️⃣ Battery Workforce Challenge at Colorado School of Mines team - The Colorado School of Mines & Arapahoe Community College 2️⃣ BattChallengeOSU team - The Ohio State University & Columbus State Community College 3️⃣ BattChallengeUA team - The University of Alabama & Shelton State Community College These teams excelled in year one of the BattChallenge, focusing on the design of the EV battery pack. Their efforts spanned from the granular level of cell characterization and testing to the broader scope of pack-level design, encompassing thermal, mechanical, and electrical considerations while upholding stringent safety standards. “We are energized by the collective efforts, dedication, and ingenuity demonstrated by the students after year one,” said Michael Berube, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Sustainable Transportation and Fuels in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), U.S. Department of Energy Renewable Energy at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). “Together, we’re preparing a skilled workforce ready to lead the charge in sustainable energy solutions, driving us towards a greener future.” https://bit.ly/3UDQPXd

BWC End of Year 1 Competition Results: The UA Battery Workforce Challenge (BWC) Team attended the Year 1 Competition (May 6th to May 9th 2024) in Chicago and won the Third Place Award among 12 competing teams selected to compete from across North America (United States and Canada). The BattChallenge is an elite public-private partnership and North American collegiate engineering competition sponsored by DOE, Stellantis, and it is managed by Argonne National Laboratory. The Project Manager Mohammad Alsmadi received the Award on behalf of the team. In addition, the team has won the Most Creative Technical Design Check-In Award which is presented as recognition for the team who showed creativity in problem-solving, design optimization, and integration strategies for their battery pack. This award was given to the team due to the innovative integration of concepts developed in Dr. Jaber Abu Qahouq’s Research Laboratory in addition to the electrical bussing strategy in the battery which considers the industry’s Automotive Safety Integrity Level Standards. Moreover, the Overall Engineering Management Award was presented to the Engineering Manager Owen Schreiber. The following 14 personnel traveled to the competition to represent the larger team: Project Manager Mohammad Alsmadi (UA ECE Graduate Student), Engineering Manager Owen Schreiber (UA ME Graduate Student), Hardware Lead Shane Vanderhagen (UA ECE Undergraduate Student), Software Lead Ahmed Bakr (UA CS Graduate Student), Vehicle System Integration Lead Lukas Kiesewetter (UA ME Undergraduate Student), Team Member Sadie Jarrell (UA ChE Undergraduate Student), Team Member Dexter Gard (UA CS Undergraduate Student), Team Member Henry Herman (UA ECE Undergraduate Student), Team Member Ahmad Fuad (UA ECE Graduate Student), Team Member Kerry Pinkard (SSCC Student), Team Member Nery Carillo (SSCC Student), Lead Faculty Advisor Dr. Jaber Abu Qahouq (UA ECE), Faculty Co-Advisor Dr. Krishna Shah (UA ME), and Vocational School Advisor Mr. Michael Hobson (SSCC). Alabama Transportation Institute Alabama Mobility and Power Center Center for Advanced Vehicle Technologies (https://cavt.eng.ua.edu/) The University of Alabama College of Engineering Battery Workforce Challenge The University of Alabama Shelton State Community College UA: The University of Alabama. SSCC: Shelton State Community College. ECE: Electrical and Computer Engineering. ME: Mechanical Engineering. CS: Computer Science. ChE: Chemical Engineering.

We are excited to share this video giving more insight into the University of Alabama's Battery Workforce Challenge team. 

UA BattChallenge team has participated in the Transportation Awareness Day organized by Alabama Transportation Institute, held in Hale County College and Career Academy, Greensboro, AL. The team showed several educational demonstrations related to electric vehicle (EV) batteries and battery packs and communicated key messages from UA BattChallenge team and the Battery Workforce Challenge Competition.

As the semester comes to a close, our team continues to work towards their goal of creating a better EV battery. 

Our team had a wonderful time traveling to Maddox Intermediate School to educate their students about STEM, electric vehicle batteries, and of course the Battery Workforce Challenge!

Happy Friday everyone! Today we are having a percentage day with Blenz Bowls. Treat yourself to a delicious smoothie bowl and support our team while you're at it! Be sure to share what you got and tag us!

Meet Zachary Michaels, a master's computer science student at The University of Alabama. He is very excited to be working on the Battery Workforce Challenge and is taking full advantage of the amazing software development experience it provides! He enjoys the teamwork and hands-on work involved with completing tasks for the challenge. He is looking forward to working further on the project with the team. 

We had a great all-hands meeting this past weekend! Our leads helped us review deliverables, plan for the May competition, and of course, get to know other team members and swim lanes better.