LUMotorsport’s electric Formula racing car with Powdertech’s advanced dielectric coatings.
Loughborough University Motorsport (LUMotorsport), one of the UK’s premier Formula student team, partnered with Powdertech Surface Science, to achieve durable, high-performance dielectric coatings that could meet the rigorous demands of motorsport, provide electrical insulation, and protect against short circuits, electrical arcing, and from overall environmental degradation.
Potential dielectric coating challenges
Honeycomb structure of elctric Formula racing car’s battery cell pack
Loughborough University Motorsport (LUMotorsport)’s electric racing car's battery pack design presented critical challenges-
Complex part geometry: The part geometry of the EV battery pack with its honeycomb type structure presented technical challenges. The dielectric coatings on these parts needed a film build thin enough to allow battery cells to fit, but thick enough to provide the required dielectric coverage. The holes could easily fill with too much powder, preventing successful build of the battery enclosure. The shape of the battery also made testing coating thickness difficult.
Insulation requirements with environmental protection: Another critical challenge was to ensure adequate electrical insulation as per spec to prevent short circuits and thermal arcing. Protection of metal components, which were prone to wear and corrosion under high-stress environment can affect the reliability and durability of the battery cell pack, as it would be subjected to intense conditions of motorsport. Like all components with dielectric requirement, the coating needed to be 100% defect-free – as any weak point in the coating will lead to a failure at the testing stage.
Collaboration with Powdertech Surface Science for technically advanced dielectric coating
Our dielectric coating process met the battery assembly's fit tolerance, ensuring we provided the right coating thickness in the cell cavities, so that the cells sit flat on the battery pack’s surface. We jigged parts at an angle so we could get the required coating thickness, ensuring holes would not fill with powder.
We orientated the parts in a particular way to avoid uneven surface coating and used Eddy current gauges to measure the coating thickness and ensured we hit the minimum threshold for the dielectric insulation properties.
We were able to achieve the desired balance between protection and fit tolerance, a critical factor in the dielectric coating process for EV battery assemblies.
For measuring electrical insulation we conducted a defect sweep using Holiday testing, followed by a high voltage test using our Hi-Pot equipment to measure the kilovolt dielectric breakdown strength at our on-site dielectric test cell.
Check out the video to experience the precision and technical expertise that went to enhance LUMotorsport's 2025 electric race car.
Achieved desired performance and reliability.
The process successfully achieved the required fit tolerance, coating thickness and dielectric breakdown strength of 1000Kv. The holes retained shape so that battery cells could fit into holes. The battery packs were tested with a thickness meter on flat face and vernier on curved edges of holes.
LUMotorsport’s team was sure that their parts meet the required dielectric spec, as the parts successfully passed the Hi - Pot testing. The parts were assembled without the holes getting filled with powder, this resulted in overall successful part delivery.
Our TiZr passivation process, created a stable protective layer that allowed protection against corrosion and extreme high temperatures from the intense motorsport conditions.
LUMotorsport achieved advanced dielectric coating solution that met their technical demands without compromising the battery's fit and performance.
Through a collaborative effort, Powdertech Surface Science provided LUMotorsport with a tailored dielectric coating solution that addressed the specific technical challenges of their electric Formula racing car's battery pack.
Let’s build the future of EV insulation together. Connect with us to discuss your next dielectric coating project.