By Em Jankauski
All 12 North American Battery Workforce Challenge collegiate competition teams met in Indianapolis from May 3-9 for the BattChallenge’s second year-end competition, battling it out for dozens of awards — with the First Place Overall Award being the most coveted.
Jon Darrow, Stellantis’ vice president of propulsion systems, was the plenary session keynote speaker who shared how his passion for engineering was cultivated in his parents’ Mackinac Island, Mich. saltwater taffy shop where he watched machinery twist and pull loads of taffy each day, sparking his curiosity of the engineering behind the machine.
Darrow encouraged the BattChallengers to enjoy their journey to the workforce, asking them to pause and appreciate what’s happening in the here and now.
“What an amazing opportunity you have here — the teamwork, the friends, the leadership, the program management and just understanding the deadlines and things you’ve got to get done — this is industry right here,” Darrow said.
Software and hardware testing
Key milestones for the competition included electrical testing at the Battery Innovation Center. These in-person inspections of prototype modules and Battery Design Units had students running 300 amps through their BDUs to measure rise-over-ambient temperatures at various locations. Here the students conducted standard charge and discharge cycle tests of their prototype modules.
At BIC, students also conducted module inspections of their full-size and mini live cells as well as one team’s inert cells. Of the nine inspections, all passed. Eight modules were also tested, and another huge victory for the crews was that they all completed the tests.
Eleven BDUs also underwent inspections by industry experts from Stellantis, Eaton and AVL. Of the 11 inspected, 10 were able to run successfully, close the Eaton Breaktor and run 300 amps through the BDU.
Teams were able to compare and assess their design via milli-ohm resistance measurements across the BDU, and they were also able to compare and assess their design via rise-over-ambient temperatures near the Breaktors.
The students’ Hardware-in-the-Loop demos, which put the guts of the battery’s electrical system out on display to show how it functions, were also a huge success. HIL benches were put to the test at the Ivy Tech Community College’s Conference Center and Culinary Institute during the Battery Expo. Here teams demonstrated functionality of safety critical software features using their HIL simulations.
Presenting battery expos
Team members showcased the functionality of sensors and contractors to be integrated into the battery pack, and they used hardware emulation to simulate the full vehicle system.
On Wednesday, high schoolers from Walker Career Center got to explore the battery expo with guidance from Argonne National Laboratory organizers and Stellantis sponsors. Here they also got to learn how to build a battery and see how much voltage their own bodies create by measuring the electrolytes in their systems. Students also got the opportunity to network with reps from Stellantis and Mopar, the automaker’s car parts, service and customer care division.
Later that evening, students had the opportunity to network with 10 of the competition’s sponsors during the sponsor social. They competed in bingo to win sponsor-donated prizes including interview prep and resume review sessions from Stellantis, an hour-long virtual call with ABTC’s CEO/COO Ryan Melsert and/or a board member, and a half-day-long training from BIC reps flying out to the winning team’s school.
Teams’ battery expo booths were judged by industry subject-matter experts on Thursday. Here they also had to present their Obeya, a Japanese term meaning large room, project management displays to judges as well. Their displays had to distill complex project updates into compelling visual formats using the key focus points of safety, testing, team pulse and team choice.
Here crews gained hands-on experience conducting a focused, time-boxed standup that aligned multidisciplinary team members around key milestones, blockers and priorities. This approach closely reflects professional program management practices.
Reeling in the awards
Teams spent Friday exploring Indianapolis and then capped the evening off with the year two awards ceremony, held at the Hilton Indianapolis.
Keynote speaker Paul Kearns, Argonne National Laboratory’s lab director, reminded the students of the rich history of the Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions, sharing the opportunities it brings hundreds of college and vocational students across North America.
“We believe in your potential to make a significant impact, and we are excited to see how you will contribute to the future of battery technologies and industry,” Kearns said.
Teams were recognized all evening long for their year two achievements. The evening concluded with awarding the overall winners, including:
- First Place Overall: McMaster University & Mohawk College
- Second Place Overall: The Ohio State University & Columbus State Community College
- Third Place Overall: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology & Ivy Tech Community College
- Fourth Place Overall: Colorado School of Mines & Arapahoe Community College
To see the full list of year two award-winners, visit our Year Two Competition webpage. You can also visit our Press Center to view the year two competition press release.
