Battery cell and pack monitors help manufacturers extend EV range
High-voltage ASIL D-compliant, high precision battery monitors improve range estimations, said Texas Instruments (TI). The company has introduced automotive battery cell and pack monitors, maximising electric vehicle (EV) drive time and enabling safer operation, said the company.
Advanced battery management systems (BMS) are helping overcome critical barriers to widespread adoption of EVs, said TI.
According to TI, the BQ79731-Q1 and BQ79718-Q1 devices provide an “unprecedented level of accuracy and precision in measuring battery voltage, current and temperature to effectively determine the true range of a vehicle and increase the overall life and safety of the battery pack”.
Accuracy and precision in measuring battery voltage have become critical to a consumer’s EV driving experience. Even a slight change in temperature can have a significant impact on an EV’s range and colder weather, in particular, can impact battery range by up to 40 per cent. Such variations can create considerable uncertainty in battery voltage and expected EV range.
The BQ79718-Q1 allows vehicle manufacturers to maximise the true range of the EV with battery cell voltage measurements down to 1mV of accuracy. The BQ79731-Q1 allows measurement of the battery pack current down to 0.05 per cent of accuracy for a clear picture of the state of charge and state of health at the individual cell and pack levels, effectively reflecting true remaining mileage, reinforcing confidence in the battery life of the EV.
TI also claims that the industry-leading voltage and current synchronisation (64 micro seconds) enables instantaneous monitoring of battery pack power. This level of synchronisation enables electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, which provides vital insight into the cell core temperature, battery aging and state of charge of the battery.
The BQ79718-Q1 battery cell monitoring integrated circuit achieves ASIL accuracy (main path, redundant path and residual error seeking) giving manufacturers the ability to charge and discharge a vehicle battery pack beyond any cell monitor previously on the market, claimed TI.
Automakers can jump-start designs by purchasing the battery cell monitor BQ79718-Q1 evaluation module (BQ79718EVM-049). The 18-channel BQ79718-Q1 comes in a 10 x 10mm, 64-pin thermally enhanced thin quad flat package (HTQFP).
TI also offers the battery pack monitor BQ79731-Q1 evaluation module (BQ79731Q1EVM-060), which comes in a 7.0 x 7.0mm, 48-pin thermally enhanced thin quad flat package (HTQFP).
TI will demonstrate its BMS technology featuring the new BQ79718-Q1 and BQ79731-Q1 devices at CES 2023, in Las Vegas, USA (05 to 08 January).
