Master Thesis Student - battery safety

Master Thesis Student - 30 hp - When Salt and Moisture Contamination Becomes an Electrical Safety Risk in High-Voltage Battery Packs

Introduction

Thesis work is an excellent way to get closer to TRATON and build relationships for the future. Many of today's employees began their TRATONcareer with their degree project. TRATONdevelops battery-electric vehicles for Scania and MAN and needs deeper knowledge of how contamination and moisture can affect electrical safety in high-voltage battery packs.

Background

Water inside a high-voltage battery pack is not equally hazardous in all situations. Clean water may cause a temporary reduction in insulation resistance, while salt, dirt and corrosion products can create a more conductive and persistent path across an insulating surface. Under humidity and electrical bias, electrochemical migration, corrosion, electrical tracking or dendrite formation may progressively reduce isolation and increase the risk of an unintended current path.

Objective

The purpose of the thesis is to establish a condition-based understanding of when salt and moisture contamination becomes a functional concern, an isolation failure or a short-circuit risk. The work will relate contamination conductivity, creepage geometry, material combination, voltage stress and exposure history to measurable electrical response and physical degradation.

Job description

The student will review relevant literature and requirements related to insulation coordination, creepage, surface insulation resistance, corrosion, electrical tracking and electrochemical migration. Representative battery-pack components or test coupons will be selected and characterized before exposure. The student will then design and perform controlled exposure tests using clean water, salt solution, artificial seawater and selected dirt/salt mixtures under defined humidity, temperature, electrical-biasand drying-cycle conditions.

The student will measure insulation resistance, leakage current, surface resistance and recovery after drying, while also documenting wet-film length, tracking, corrosion, dendrite formation and other physical changes. The results will be used to compare temporary leakage or intermittent bridging with progressive tracking and permanent conductive-path formation. The final outcome will be a contamination-risk model and recommendations for component design, cleanliness control, inspection and validation testing. Initial tests will use representative coupons or subcomponents; full-pack testing will only be performed under an approved laboratory safety procedure.

Education/program/focus

We are looking for one master’s student in electrical engineering, battery and energy systems, vehicle engineering, materials science, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering or a related field. Relevant knowledge includes high-voltage safety, insulation coordination, creepage and clearance, electrochemistry, corrosion, environmental testing, electrical measurements, data analysis and risk assessment. Experience with laboratory testing and microscopy is advantageous. Company-specific laboratory and high-voltage safety training will be required before energized testing.

Number of students: One

Start date for the thesis work: Spring 2027 (flexible)

Estimated time required: One semester, 30 hp, approximately 20 weeks

Contact persons and supervisors

PhD, development engineer, battery safety team, Zahra.Besharat@ scania.com

Daniel Carlsson, head of unit Lifetime, Regulations and Safety, [email protected]

Application:

Your application must include a CV, personal letter and transcript of grades. Please also describe any relevant experience in battery systems, high-voltage testing, materials, corrosion, electrochemistry or experimental measurements.

A background check might be conducted for this position. We are conducting interviews continuously and may close the recruitment earlier than the date specified.

Publication date from- to

2026-10-13-2026-11-22