vsNEW, a startup that provides battery health reports for used electric and hybrid vehicles, has launched a comprehensive two-minute EV battery health report.
By collecting and analyzing hundreds of diagnostic data points from a vehicle’s battery management system (BMS), vsNEW offers dealerships and used EV buyers transparency to the overall condition of a vehicle’s battery.
vsNEW’s technology can assess EV and hybrid batteries across all OEMs, including Tesla. It generates reports based on each vehicle’s actual data without using estimates and assumptions often used by telematics-based predictions or lab-based models.
This technology fills an important gap by detecting the three main causes of battery failure in EVs, including degradation, irreparable cell imbalance, and physical pack damage.
1. Degradation is the slow decrease of battery capacity and resulting range over time, measured in vsNEW’s battery health report by comparing overall battery capacity and range as a percentage compared to when the battery was new. For instance, if a battery’s overall capacity and the vehicle’s range has decreased by 15%, then vsNEW would show those metrics as 85% vs. new.
2. Irreparable cell imbalance is often an undetected condition that can lead to premature battery failure. Unlike degradation, which is noticeable by a driver over time, cell imbalance can only be detected by analyzing each cell’s voltage in comparison to the others in the pack. Any outlying cells can lead to a catastrophic failure, where the battery will be restricted to 50% or less of its original range.
“Cell imbalance is the hidden killer of EV batteries,” according to Sachin Chaudhry, vsNEW’s CEO. “Used EVs of any age or mileage can suffer from irreparable cell imbalance and it’s often hard to detect until it is too late. Our technology can provide an early warning signal for dealers and buyers before more serious issues occur. Approximately 5% of the used EVs we see show early warning signs of this type of failure.”
3. Physical pack damage can be caused by a road hazard incident or when a vehicle has been in an accident, leading to battery failure. vsNEW’s technology assesses for pack damage to assure the overall integrity of the pack is sound.
Filed Under: Technology News