Volvo is making a step of progress into EV batteries. They announced the commencement of development of “lightweight structural energy storage components that could improve the energy usage of future electrified vehicles.” The automaker has been tasked with making the battery part of an electrified car's structure.

The first carbon fiber nano structured battery components have been fitted to a Volvo S80 test car. Each piece is individually shaped to fit under/next to the car's existing panels.

The boot lid was hooked up into the car's electrical system to store power, and its engine plenum cover also adopted the new construction method, and it was discovered that it “is powerful enough to supply energy to the car’s 12 Volt system.”

Volvo says, “It is believed that the complete substitution of an electric car’s existing components with the new material could cut the overall weight by more than 15 percent.”