Page 9 - EngineerIT November 2022

WIRELESS BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

• Disposal – the recyclable metal and potentially hazardous materials inside a capabilities, and experience to
battery pack require approved and regulated disposal arrangements. The simple successfully drive these innovations
connections and absence of a communications wiring harness make removal of together with their customers and
battery modules easier and quicker than that of a wired battery. bring them into the market by making
• Data management – the wBMS technology makes it easy to read out critical battery them ready for series production. AVL
data from each intelligent module: this means that the condition of the batteries can is currently strongly working on battery
be determined individually. These data can, for instance, provide information about ecosystem solutions through developing
the SOC and SOH of a module. In combination with data from when the module was data analytics methodologies,
originally produced, this allows the optimal usage in its second life application and predictive functionalities supported
the provision of a detailed set of specifications for each module on sale. The ready by using virtual development, and
availability of these data increases the resale value of the modules. vehicle and battery data in order to
increase the lifetime and performance
Complete solutions for wBMS by ADI of batteries.
The wireless network protocol implemented by ADI in the wBMS system fulfills the Together with ADI, AVL is working
automotive industry’s requirement for reliability, safety and security under all operating to provide smarter BMS solutions to
conditions based on the network-wide time synchronisation technology. The use of their customers all over the world
the wBMS in a mass production EV from General Motors is a proof of its reliability in by combining the strength of both
the harshest environments: the wBMS-based battery has been run over hundreds of companies. n
thousands of kilometers in more than 100 test vehicles, on-road and off-road, and
in environments ranging from a desert to the frozen north and under the toughest About the Authors
conditions. Stephan Prüfling, M.Sc., studied
With the wBMS, ADI also supports automotive manufacturers’ programmes in industrial engineering and electrical
compliance with the ISO 26262 functional safety standard. The radio technology and the engineering with focus on e-mobility
networking protocol have been developed in such a way that the system is resilient in and energy grids. He joined AVL in
noisy environments and provides secure communication between the monitoring units 2016 and is a product manager for
and the manager using a sophisticated encryption technology. The security measures e-drive component solutions such
avoid spoofing of data transmitted on the wireless network by an unintended recipient as e-motors and power electronics.
such as a criminal or hacker. Furthermore, the transmitted data are received without Currently, his major focus is product
any modification of the contents, and the intended recipient knows exactly which management for battery management
source has sent a message. solutions and leading innovation
projects in this field.
Lifetime management of the value of the battery Norbert Bieler is an electrical

Across the entire battery pack’s lifetime, from initial assembly, through disposal, to engineer with a focus on
second life, the wBMS capability embedded in the battery pack ensures that the microelectronics and 25 years of
vehicle’s manufacturer and its owner can easily track the condition of the battery, combined experience in automotive
maintain the performance and safety, and maximise the value. The entire system, management at Siemens VDO,
including the interactions between the battery modules’ cell monitoring units and Continental Automotive, and Analog
the ECU, is handled by ADI’s technology, with configuration settings defined by the Devices. Norbert’s expertise lies in
manufacturer. vehicle systems, architectures, and
The wBMS technology is also backed by ADI’s battery lifecycle insight service functions as well as electronics for the
(BLIS) technology. This provides edge-based and cloud-based data software to support interior, chassis, and powertrain. His
traceability, production optimisation, monitoring in storage and transit, early failure focus in the past 15 years has been
detection, and lifetime extension. Together, the wBMS and BLIS technologies enable on hybridisation and electrification
automotive manufacturers to gain higher returns on their investments in battery pack of the overall vehicle drivetrain. He
development and production, improve the economics of their EV business strategies, leads business development and
and help accelerate the market’s shift toward a low carbon, sustainable future for strategy, along with development of
personal mobility. e-mobility projects that define new
The key to designing and enabling such battery solutions with wBMS are system technologies and innovations for car
understanding as well as methods and tools that support the design and technologies manufacturers, Tier 1s, and strategic
as described before. AVL offers the full range of simulation, testing, engineering partner networks.

EngineerIT | November 2022 | 9