- Mercedes is experimenting with multiple-chemistry battery packs which have multiple kind of cell.
- A brand new kind of micro-converter and hooking up the battery cells in parallel not in sequence makes this doable.
- This innovation will enhance battery pack efficiency, modularity and house effectivity.
Whereas the main points surrounding the impressively environment friendly new electrical CLA have been crucial information we obtained whereas in Stuttgart final week, Mercedes-Benz additionally gave us a glimpse at what it’s cooking up for the longer term. Among the many many inventions we have been proven on the occasion known as Mercedes Future Expertise was a brand new kind of energy converter that enables for rather more management over a battery pack than ever earlier than.
Its programmable micro-converter might be wirelessly managed and embedded into the battery pack and managed wirelessly. This enables for management on a person cell pair, permitting for a lot finer adjustment of the cost that goes into every one. For this method to work, the cells must be linked in parallel, not in sequence, which unlocks new potentialities.
As an illustration, a car with this method might stability the cost in its cells much better than at present’s EVs. It might detect and isolate broken cells with out affecting your complete battery pack, and it will additionally enable for a way more correct battery well being verify, which might simply be capable of pinpoint drawback cells and verify their particular person parameters.
This new kind of micro-converter may preserve the full battery pack voltage fixed whatever the state of cost. It sometimes varies with the state of cost.
Mercedes explains that “analysis outcomes present it’s doable to supply a relentless HV output of 800 volts, whatever the state of cost and the state of well being of the person cells. The output voltage of this car battery is not depending on the variety of cells linked in sequence. The quantity is set purely by the specified efficiency and capability class.”
If this makes it into manufacturing, it will additionally enable for rather more modular battery packs than what we have now in at present’s EVs, leading to extra environment friendly use of house. It might assist automakers lower prices by making use of elevated standardization and modularization when utilized on a big scale.
Throughout a spherical desk discuss with Mercedes’ Chief Expertise Officer Markus Schäfer, we requested about the potential for utilizing a number of chemistries inside the identical battery pack, particularly each LFP and NMC cells. Schäfer instructed us “Sure, that is precisely the concept, to combine and match,” and he confirmed that the potential for an LFP and NMC pack is within the playing cards. He didn’t say once we might see such a pack in a manufacturing automobile on condition that this innovation remains to be within the very early phases of testing.
LFP (quick for lithium iron phosphate) batteries can higher take common quick charging all the way in which to 100%, exhibiting much less degradation than NMC (nickel manganese cobalt) batteries. Additionally they have higher thermal stability and are extra reasonably priced. Nonetheless, NMC batteries can retailer extra present and are most well-liked for large-capacity battery packs that energy long-range EVs. Having each in the identical battery pack would have a number of benefits, profiting from each their strengths.
