Replacing the single cells in the battery pack?

[JejuSoul]

Cooling plate is the wrong term. There is no active cooling in our car. I would call them plastic trays.

Also for the true DIY enthusiast there is no size limit because you can build your own, or as shown here modify the existing tray to fit a longer cell.



My opinion is that this kind of extreme DIY will never become common.
The sensible solution is replace the complete 27kWh pack with a complete 30kWh pack.

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A reality check using actual numbers in one specific country.
Using data from How Many Left there are about 400 27kWh Soul EVs in the UK and 500 30kWh.
About 1% of the 30kWh models are being written off each year after crashing.
My guess is that about 50 of the 27kWh Soul EVs will need a replacement battery pack each year for the next 8 years, but there are only 5 packs available each year.
At best 10% of the old cars will get a used Soul EV replacement battery pack. More likely 1%.

Hence there is a strong need for an alternative method.

 

[JejuSoul]

...
a) replace the complete 27kWh pack with 30kWh pack (for which you need to wait in a long queue, because there is a limited supply of these packs in the used parts market & the brand new does not worth it to buy at Kia dealerships. --> Result: 8 years happiness with 210km range.
...
b) replace all the modules (we have 8 modules in our Souls) with used parts: "so-called" compatible cells, but replacing the complete modules (newer technology from a newer Hyundai Kona/Ioniq, Kia eNiro, or even from other brands, what so ever is newer in age and in tech & their modules can physically fit into the same place of the old cells) keeping the old battery house, & old BMS, but using the new module frames. --> Result: 2-5 years happiness with 250-290km range (comes with 2 years warranty).
...
c) replace the complete 27kWh pack cell-by-cell in the original module with brand new cells which more-or-less match the size of the original cells, even from another brand (not SKI, but Samsung or Panasonic or LG, ... whatever fits in & compatible with its technical parameters) --> Result: 8 years happiness with 210-290km range.
...

My favorite choice here is option a).
This is a 'cheap', 'simple', 'plug and play' solution.
Problem is there aren't enough used 30kWh packs from salvage yards to match demand.

I do not currently have much confidence in option b)
Anecdotal evidence from Jordan / Ukraine is that these fixes lack long-term reliability.
The one exception to this seems to be the DIY repair video from Ukraine where they actually build their own BMS to get the new cells properly balanced. Although that is mix and match not an entirely new pack.

Option c) may well work but is probably more expensive than buying a used EV with better stats.

What I would really like to see is an open-source BMS for the Soul EV with options to ensure that other brand cells can be properly used. This is something that is being developed for the Nissan Leaf.