Marelli recently announced an innovative advancement in battery management systems (BMS) for automotive applications based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). EIS analyzes the electrical properties of materials or systems by measuring their response to an applied alternating current signal. This development is set to elevate the standard for battery cell management by ensuring optimal operation and enhanced battery pack performance.
The company’s BMS is an electronic control unit that monitors the state of the cells in a battery pack to ensure their safe operation within specified voltage, current, and temperature ranges. Lithium-ion batteries degrade, reducing their capacity and increasing their resistance.
The EIS application provides insights into lithium-ion batteries’ degradation, related capacity reduction, and increased resistance. Such insights are essential for accurately determining the remaining useful life of the batteries and their residual economic value.
Traditionally, EIS has been an expensive laboratory tool, but Marelli has developed a cost-effective solution ready for large-scale production, capable of early anomaly detection, preventing thermal runaway.
The current generation of the Marelli Energy BMS platform, known as “EIS ready,” already brought significant improvements in its ability to measure impedance in lower frequency ranges. The next-generation “Full EIS” BMS is set for release in 2025, and will offer enhanced capabilities, enabling higher frequency measurements and providing a comprehensive overview of each battery cell’s condition.
By integrating Cloud tracking and AI applications to empower calculation algorithms, the new “Marelli Energy” BMS platform will optimize real-time estimation of the battery pack’s state of charge and state of power, offering a precise evaluation of the its remaining useful life (RUL) and degradation.
These advancements bring longer battery life, improved drivability, and extended driving range.
Filed Under: BMS, Technology News