Novel batteries for electric vehicles
The EU's directive to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions has resulted in a major drive to replace fossil fuel-powered vehicles with EVs. Before this becomes a reality, drawbacks to EVs such as high costs and safety concerns associated with Li-ion batteries need to be addressed. Funded by the EU, the ‘Integrated circuit for advanced battery management’ (ICAB) project aims to develop a novel BMS for use in EVs. Such a system monitors, communicates and controls the state of a rechargeable battery, in terms of voltage, temperature, charge status and health status. ICAB will develop an innovative, advanced BMS at a lower cost and with improved reliability, efficiency and safety compared to currently available BMS solutions. Researchers will achieve this by making the BMS platform universally scalable, able to support any lithium chemistry on the market and any battery pack size. Using an application-specific integrated circuit, which is a customised rather than general purpose circuit, ICAB will miniaturise electronic components, making the batteries lightweight and small. ICAB will additionally reduce the costs of EVs over their entire lifespan by developing an energy-efficient active cell balancing solution. This will maximise battery life and driving range by balancing the charge on all cells of the battery, making them more efficient. The project's breakthrough battery management technology will overcome the limitations of Li-ion batteries currently on the market. As such, they could play a significant role in the projected mass introduction of EVs in global markets.
Keywords
Batteries, electric vehicles, battery management, Li-ion, integrated circuit