The 18650 is the cell format most packs are still built from, and the busbar is what turns a box of them into one. This page is the overview: what an 18650 nickel busbar has to do, the three geometries we stock it in — H-type, honeycomb and zig zag — and how to tell which one your layout needs. Each type has its own page with the sizes, contact distances and specifications for it.
Table of Contents:
What is an 18650 Nickel Busbar?
An 18650 cell is 18 mm across and 65 mm long, and on its own it is worth very little to a pack builder. Cells are wired into parallel groups and those groups into series, and the part that does the wiring is a nickel busbar — a strip of pure nickel cut so that one piece welds to every cell in a group at once. It carries the group's whole current, so its cross-section sets how hard the pack can be worked and how warm it gets doing so.
The material matters more than the shape here. Pure Nickel 200 has a resistivity of about 8.5 µΩ·cm against nickel-plated steel's 20+ µΩ·cm, so a pure strip wastes less of the pack's energy as heat in the interconnect, and its ductility keeps the joints intact under the vibration that cracks plated strip. What the geometry then decides is how that material is distributed across the cell group — and that is what separates the three types below.
Stocked as strip, supplied as a busbar
Aurico Alloys LLP holds 18650 busbars in Mumbai in all three geometries and in the plain strip they are cut from, so a pack that needs a standard part and a pack that needs a one-off are answered from the same stock. Every despatch carries an EN 10204 3.1 mill test certificate for the nickel, which is the document a cell manufacturer's qualification file asks for and the one a plated-steel strip cannot produce.
Where a layout does not match a standard part, the strip is cut to it — see slitting, laser cutting and stamping, and laser welding where the tabs are to be attached here rather than on your line.
The Three 18650 Busbar Types
All three are cut from the same Nickel 200 / 201 strip and all three weld the same way. They differ in how the metal is laid out over the cell group, which is a question about your layout rather than about the material. Follow the link for the sizes, contact distances and full specification of each.
| Type | What it is | Typical use | Stocked sizes |
|---|---|---|---|
| H-Type | Contact pads bridged into an H, so current is distributed evenly across the pair and heat is carried away from the weld. | The default for 2P / 3P / 4P groups on a regular pitch, hand-cut or machine-stamped. | 0.15 / 0.20 mm thick; 26, 27, 45, 47 and 72.8 mm wide; contact distance 19.0, 20.2, 33.24 and 34.5 mm. |
| Honeycomb | A honeycomb pattern through the strip, which raises the surface available for heat to leave and gives a consistent weld footprint over each cap. | Densely packed groups where the interconnect has to shed heat as well as carry current. | 0.15 – 0.20 mm thick; 6 – 25 mm wide; rolls typically 1 m or 5 m. |
| Zig Zag | An interlocking current path down the strip, which holds voltage drop down and keeps weld performance stable along a long run. | Large-format and high-current builds, where a straight strip would develop hotspots. | 0.15 – 0.20 mm thick; 6 – 25 mm wide; cut to length, rolls up to 5 m. |
Building with plain strip and cutting your own links instead? That is pure nickel strip, and the pack-level view of all of it is on nickel strip for 18650 battery packs.
Size Range and Standard Specifications
| Supplier & Manufacturer | Aurico Alloys LLP — nickel stockist and busbar manufacturer, Mumbai |
|---|---|
| Material Grade | Nickel 200 / Nickel 201 (UNS N02200 / N02201) to ASTM B162 |
| Types Stocked | H-Type, Honeycomb, Zig Zag and plain strip — sizes for each are on its own page |
| Thickness | 0.10, 0.12, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30, 0.40 and 0.50 mm; 0.05 mm occasionally |
| Width | 6 mm – 72.8 mm, depending on type: 26 – 72.8 mm for H-type, 6 – 25 mm for honeycomb and zig zag |
| Cell Format | 18650. The same geometries are stocked for 21700, 26650, 32140 and 32650 / 32700 |
| Surface & Finish | Bright annealed or matte; pure or plated on request |
| Certification | EN 10204 3.1 mill test certificate with every despatch; batch traceable |
| Packaging & Delivery | Rolls, cut lengths and bundles; ex-stock Mumbai, exported worldwide |
| Custom Work | Slitting, laser cutting, stamping and laser welding to your pack drawing |
| Minimum order | 5 kg |
| Delivery time | 5–7 days for plain strip, export orders included; custom designs depend on the order |
| Price | INR 3,500 – 6,000 per kg. Indicative USD 41 – 71 per kg; quoted against grade, form, size and quantity. |
Grade Identity: Nickel 200 / 201 International Designations
Every 18650 busbar on this page is the same material under a different national designation. Chemistry and mechanical properties are given on each type's own page.
| Standard (Common Name) | Werkstoff Nr. (Germany) | UNS (Unified Numbering System) | JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards) | BS (British Standards) | GOST (Russian Standards) | AFNOR (French Standards) | Available 18650 Configurations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickel 200 / 201 Pure Nickel Strip | 2.4066 / 2.4068 | N02200 / N02201 | NW 2200 / NW 2201 | NA 12 / NA 11 | НП-2 | LC-Ni | H-Type in 2P / 3P / 4P, Honeycomb and Zig Zag, in widths 6–72.8 mm and 0.15–0.20 mm thickness. |
Choosing a Type for Your Pack
Four questions settle it in most cases, and the answers come off your own layout rather than from us.
- What is the cell pitch? The contact distance of an H-type part has to match the centre spacing of the cells it welds to. That is why the H-type page lists contact distances alongside widths — pick the CD first and the width follows.
- How many cells in parallel? A 2P group and a 4P group want different widths of the same material, because the strip carries the whole group's current. Going wider is usually cheaper than going thicker, since thicker strip is harder to weld.
- How hard is the pack worked? Continuous high discharge is where honeycomb and zig zag earn their shape — one for shedding heat, the other for holding voltage drop down over a long run. A light-duty pack rarely needs either.
- How is it being welded? Pure nickel resists resistance spot welding precisely because it conducts so well, and the difficulty rises with thickness. If you are at the limit of your welder, that is a case for laser welding rather than for dropping to plated steel.
If the layout does not match anything stocked, send the drawing — the part is cut from the same strip either way.
Other Cell Formats & Related Products
The same three geometries are stocked for every cylindrical format we supply. If your pack uses a larger cell, start here.
21700 Nickel Strips & Busbars
The format most new EV and e-mobility designs move to from 18650. Higher capacity per cell means fewer, larger parallel groups — and a busbar carrying more current per link.
26650 Nickel Strips & Busbars
Wider cells on a coarser pitch, common in industrial and backup packs. Contact distances and strip widths are correspondingly larger than the 18650 parts.
32650 / 32700 Nickel Strips & Busbars
Large-format cylindrical cells for solar, backup and electric transport, in H-type, honeycomb and zig zag with contact distances to suit.
Nickel-Copper Sandwich Busbar
Where nickel alone cannot carry the current: a copper core for conductivity with nickel faces that still spot weld to the cell. Also see copper busbar.
People Also Search About 18650 Nickel Strips & Busbars
Global Export Destinations for 18650 Nickel Strips & Busbars
We export 18650 nickel strips and busbars in all three geometries from Mumbai, in UNS N02200 / N02201 to ASTM B162, with the mill test certificate travelling with the consignment.
We ship worldwide from Mumbai. See every destination we export to on our export markets page.
Domestic Supply Network for 18650 Nickel Strips & Busbars Across India
Stock is held in Mumbai and dispatched to the pack builders, EV assemblers and energy-storage integrators working in industrial centres across India — standard H-type, honeycomb and zig zag parts from stock, custom cuts to your drawing.
We deliver across India from our Mumbai stockyard. See every city we supply on our supply locations page.