When to bring in an external Battery Test Lab Manager
A battery test lab needs electrochemistry, power electronics, automation, safety and organisation all at once. That mix is rarely available in-house at the moment you need it. I am usually called in for one of four situations:
- Lab start-up: benches delivered, team still being hired, first tests needed quickly.
- Ramp-up: more cells to test, more internal customers, priorities changing every week.
- Lab manager away or leaving: deadlines must be met without losing quality.
- Critical campaign: homologation, cell supplier validation, long ageing tests that cannot fail.
What I take care of
Lab organisation
Scheduling of benches and climatic chambers, prioritisation of test requests, utilisation and lead-time KPIs, working rules between teams.
Cell, module and pack test plans
Characterisation (capacity, internal resistance, HPPC, impedance spectroscopy EIS), cycling, calendar and cycle ageing, thermal and abuse testing. Each test plan sets the conditions, stop criteria, measurements and results format.
Test equipment
Specifications, supplier bid review, build follow-up, commissioning and acceptance of test benches. I have commissioned more than a hundred test benches, including in gigafactories.
Safety and measurement quality
Test risk analysis, operator procedures, high-current cabling, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and metrology of measurement channels.
Results and reports
Results analysis, test reports, and automated post-processing so reporting keeps pace with the benches.
What you get
- A lab that meets its deadlines and delivers reliable results
- Written, reusable test plans and procedures
- Benches commissioned and accepted
- Teams trained on the job, able to take over
Real example: commissioning more than 100 test benches in 6 months in a gigafactory.