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About Featured Expert: AVL

AVL List GmbH is an automotive engineering and testing company headquartered in Graz, Austria, with a long-established role in vehicle powertrain development. Over decades, AVL has expanded its scope from conventional internal combustion powertrain engineering to encompass electrified powertrains, battery systems, and full vehicle integration support for electric and hybrid vehicles.

Within the EV and battery technology ecosystem, AVL operates at the system engineering, simulation, and validation layer, supporting the development of battery systems as integrated elements of electrified vehicle platforms. Battery systems cannot be evaluated in isolation; they must be engineered and validated in conjunction with electric motors, inverters, thermal management systems, vehicle control software, and mechanical integration constraints. AVL’s role sits at this intersection, where component-level behavior meets system-level performance.

AVL’s battery-related capabilities span modeling, simulation, hardware testing, and system validation. Battery system development typically begins with simulation-based analysis, where electrical, thermal, and mechanical models are used to predict system behavior under various operating conditions. These models help engineers assess tradeoffs related to battery sizing, cooling strategies, power delivery, and system efficiency before physical prototypes are built.

As programs progress, AVL supports physical testing at multiple levels of the battery system hierarchy. This includes testing of individual cells, battery modules, and complete battery packs. Testing environments are designed to replicate operating conditions encountered during vehicle use, enabling engineers to evaluate electrical performance, thermal response, and interaction with surrounding vehicle systems. Data generated during testing informs design refinement and integration decisions.

From a development workflow perspective, AVL is typically engaged during early vehicle architecture definition, prototype development, and pre-production validation phases. Battery systems must be validated alongside other electrified powertrain components to ensure compatibility and stable operation. For example, battery behavior influences inverter sizing, motor control strategies, and thermal system requirements. AVL’s system-level approach helps align these elements during development.

AVL’s testing and validation infrastructure supports repeatable evaluation under controlled conditions. This allows manufacturers to assess system behavior consistently across development iterations. In electrified vehicle programs, early identification of integration challenges is critical to avoiding costly redesigns later in the development cycle.

Beyond passenger vehicles, AVL’s battery system engineering and testing services are also applied to commercial vehicles, off-highway equipment, and other electrified platforms. These applications often introduce additional constraints related to duty cycles, operating environments, and system integration, further emphasizing the importance of system-level validation.

From a lifecycle standpoint, AVL’s role extends from early concept development through series validation. While AVL does not manufacture batteries or vehicles, its engineering and testing activities directly influence how battery systems are designed, integrated, and validated before entering production.

Typical supported applications include electric vehicle battery system development, electrified powertrain validation, vehicle integration testing, and system-level performance analysis for EV platforms. To learn more, please click here.

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