Bus bars are an essential component of electric vehicles. This metallic strip or bar efficiently distributes electrical power from high-energy battery packs to electric motors and other devices. Usually uninsulated, bus bars must have sufficient stiffness to be supported in air by insulated pillars. This helps cool the conductors and enables engineers to tap in at various points without creating a new joint.
Bus bars are typically produced by stamping copper sheets. However, because aluminum is both lighter and cheaper than copper, engineers would like to use that metal for bus bars. The only problem with that idea is that aluminum has less current-carrying capacity and higher impedance than copper due to its greater electrical resistivity.