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ELECTRONICS

Analog Devices estimates that OEMs pursuing this reduce, repair, and re-use strategy can these upfront savings can be utterly wiped
eliminate seven tons of carbon emissions per battery pack if it’s repaired and not recycled. In out by the associated development costs
terms of cost savings, OEMs typically earmark approximately $1000 to recycle each individual that can arise as system deficiencies begin
EV’s battery pack – this can exceed the profit the OEM made on the original vehicle sale, so it to surface in later design stages. A well
makes good business sense for OEMs to explore ways to resell their used EV batteries as quickly as architected, flexible wBMS design can
possible to get the most value out of them. preclude the cost overruns and frustrations
associated with tweaking individual battery
Device security and design success packs for individual vehicle models, enabling
As the life cycle of the EV battery pack is further extended, it becomes increasingly necessary to greater overall scalability for OEMs’ battery
maintain tight security protocols accompanying each and every wBMS module on its journey from pack platforms.
manufacturing to servicing to decommissioning. OEMs must maintain the integrity of the battery
modules at all times, or risk negating the value of the module for re-use in second life applications A bright future for wBMS
if its secure status can’t be independently verified. When accounting for the simplified
This holds important implications for vehicle serviceability as well. wBMS modules can manufacturing processes and lowered
be designed to essentially authenticate themselves, and battery packs can be designed to CAPEX/OPEX outlay relative to legacy wired
automatically reject “bad” modules. This also makes it easier to ensure that only genuine spare BMS, OEM feedback on maturing wBMS
parts are going into the battery pack, installed by approved service agents where warranted. technology suggests a possible achievable
Here again, implementing these measures can be cost prohibitive and/or perceived as a major cost savings as high as $250 per passenger
barrier for OEMs attempting to exploit the full benefits of wBMS. The prospect of designing a EV. Factoring in the attendant vehicle/
brand new security architecture for a new communications platform extending across the full life battery service and inventory monitoring
cycle of the battery or module is hardly palatable to the OEM. efficiencies – and the added opportunity to
ADI’s major, sustained investment in wBMS and secure module tracing capabilities unburden increase overall profit via second life battery
OEMs of the significant time and expense of implementing secure locations across their supply pack reclamation and repurposing – it’s
chains and/or babysitting systems that do not benefit from the convenience of public key-based easy to envision a profitable and sustainable
certificate schemes. OEMs won’t need to hire a devoted (and expensive!) team of top-flight future for wBMS technology in next-
cybersecurity specialists if this hard work is already done for them upfront, and ADI can help generation EV designs.
OEMs meet these stringent security requirements right out of the gate with minimal CAPEX GM is the first of many OEMs to
outlay. embrace wBMS, and it’s striking that it
This underscores the need for a comprehensive design strategy that helps OEMs maximise elected to debut the benefits of wBMS
the full value of their investments in wBMS technology without worrying that any one misstep can in – of all vehicles – a very large SUV, a
upend the projected overall cost savings. ADI’s advanced battery pack simulation technology can vehicle class perhaps best remembered
go a long way towards helping OEMs achieve first-pass design success by predicting their wBMS for its outsized environmental footprint.
system performance via a thorough assessment of the pack’s simulated “digital twin” – long If the GMC Hummer can be transformed
before the CAD drawing stage even begins. into an all-electric poster child for green
This will help to establish a comfortable design margin for OEM battery packs developed transportation, the last remaining barriers
for wBMS, while helping to confirm wBMS inter-operability with the surrounding ecosystem of to mainstream EV adoption are surely
components. This is a critical point that can’t be overlooked: a wBMS must be designed to be crumbling before our eyes – and wBMS
really robust in order to be truly low cost from a development point of view. technology will play a pivotal role in this
Marginally “good enough” wBMS designs may save some system cost here and there, but transformation. n

For more information on Analog Devices
contact Conrad Coetzee at
ccoetzee@arrow.altech.co.za

About the author
Shane O’Mahony is the product marketing
lead for wBMS at Analog Devices. He
worked as chip lead on high performance
RF radio systems for 12 years before leading
the product marketing for wBMS. In this
role, Shane has partnered with OEMs and
Tier 1s to capture the system-level and
sustainability benefits of wireless battery
management. He can be reached at
Figure 4: The architecture of the world’s first wBMS production system. Cell pack monitoring hardware
and production network, safety, and security software provided by Analog Devices. shane.omahony@analog.com.

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