Should You Build or Buy a Battery Solution? (And How To Get the Best of Both Worlds)

Apr 12

Unless you’re the Apple and Samsung of the world, you probably face the “buy vs. build” dilemma when deciding on a battery solution because you must balance various pros and cons with long-term, significant impact.

So, what should you consider when making the “buy vs. build” decision for a battery solution? Is it even possible to get the best of both worlds?

What to consider when making a battery “build vs. buy” decision

Should you custom design and develop a battery solution for integration into a product with an in-house team or engineering partner? Or should you use an off-the-shelf battery solution from a third-party manufacturer? Here’s what to consider:

Time-to-market

Buying an off-the-shelf, pre-certified battery solution can dramatically reduce development time. This approach works well for startups, minimum viable products (MVPs), pilot programs, and fast-moving product launches where speed is a competitive advantage.

Meanwhile, building a custom battery takes time and requires specialized knowledge. Design iterations, prototyping, testing, and compliance certification add to the timeline, potentially delaying product launches and revenue realization.

Cost and return on investment (ROI)

Buying a battery solution lowers the initial investment because you can minimize the costs of R&D, manufacturing tooling, and certification. Fixed per-unit pricing makes ongoing expenses predictable and simplifies budgeting. However, long-term costs may accumulate due to licensing, supply contracts, or lack of economies of scale.

Building a custom solution requires significant upfront capital for hiring engineering teams, purchasing equipment, and running validation cycles. However, the per-unit cost may drop significantly in high-volume scenarios, while owning the IP can unlock licensing opportunities or resale value.

Customization and performance optimization

Off-the-shelf solutions are for general-purpose use. They may not meet unique size constraints, environmental conditions, power profiles, or performance benchmarks. The limited customization option means you may need to design products around the constraints.

On the other hand, building a solution gives you complete control over the battery pack’s behavior, form factor, and integration strategy — which may be necessary for applications with strict requirements, such as aerospace, heavy machinery, and medical devices.

Internal resources and expertise

Buying a solution means the vendor handles most aspects of the battery engineering process, including system design, safety features, firmware updates, and compliance. You don’t have to invest in building deep internal battery expertise in-house.

Custom battery development requires in-house capabilities in electrochemistry, thermal dynamics, embedded systems, mechanical design, and safety engineering. Building a battery team is a substantial commitment that could divert resources from other business priorities if not strategically aligned.

Compliance and certification

Using pre-built, certified battery packs simplifies deployment. Reputable vendors can provide documentation, test reports, and field data to meet regulatory requirements, saving you the cost of navigating complex and time-intensive processes.

You’re fully responsible for testing and certifying a custom battery system, including abuse testing, thermal runaway prevention, EMC/EMI validation, and transport certification. This time- and resource-intensive process is costly and may delay time to market.

Scalability and supply chain management

Buying a battery solution from reputable, mature suppliers with robust production capabilities and reliable supply chains allows you to scale quickly. However, you must consider the risk of depending on a single vendor and potential price hikes.

Building a custom solution gives you end-to-end control over sourcing, vendor selection, and supply contracts. You can design for flexibility and long-term cost efficiency. However, managing raw materials, supply chain, logistics, and manufacturing operations adds complexity — particularly in a volatile battery materials market.

What if you don’t have to choose? Ending the battery “buy vs. build” dilemma

What if you can have your cake and eat it, too? You can get the best of both worlds (and then some) by combining the advantages of “buy” and “build” with our modular, cable-less, stackable battery solution — the no-code equivalent of building battery packs.

Customize battery behaviors, form factors, performance parameters, and more.
Avoid the high cost of hiring in-house battery experts or going through the complex design, development, certification, and manufacturing process.
Shorten time-to-market with a pre-built solution instead of reinventing the wheel.
Predictable pricing eliminates surprises from one of the most unpredictable aspects of product development (i.e., the battery part).

Besides, our software-defined battery (SDB) technology offers these unique capabilities:

Ease of use supports operations of any scale, from residential off-grid solar installations to large-scale industrial applications.
The ability to mix cells of different ages means operators can replace one faulty cell without the cost of replacing the entire pack.
The ability to mix cells of different chemistries allows operators to adjust battery behaviors on the fly to adapt to varying operating environments or surge requirements.
The cable-less design allows personnel without electrical skills to perform upgrades and maintenance or scale up a battery bank at the drop of a hat.