- Mercedes is experimenting with multiple-chemistry battery packs which have multiple sort of cell.
- A brand new sort 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 had been an important information we obtained whereas in Stuttgart final week, Mercedes-Benz additionally gave us a glimpse at what it’s cooking up for the long run. Among the many many inventions we had been proven on the occasion referred to as Mercedes Future Expertise was a brand new sort of energy converter that enables for way more management over a battery pack than ever earlier than.
Its programmable micro-converter will 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 technique to work, the cells must be related in parallel, not in sequence, which unlocks new potentialities.
As an example, a car with this technique may stability the cost in its cells much better than in the present day’s EVs. It may detect and isolate broken cells with out affecting all the battery pack, and it could additionally permit for a way more correct battery well being test, which might simply be capable to pinpoint downside cells and test their particular person parameters.
This new sort of micro-converter may hold the overall 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 offer 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 now not depending on the variety of cells related in sequence. The quantity is set purely by the specified efficiency and capability class.”
If this makes it into manufacturing, it could additionally permit for way more modular battery packs than what we now have in in the present day’s EVs, leading to extra environment friendly use of house. It may assist automakers minimize prices by making use of elevated standardization and modularization when utilized on a big scale.
Throughout a spherical desk discuss with Mercedes’ Chief Know-how Officer Markus Schäfer, we requested about the opportunity of utilizing a number of chemistries inside the identical battery pack, particularly each LFP and NMC cells. Schäfer informed us “Sure, that is precisely the concept, to combine and match,” and he confirmed that the opportunity of an LFP and NMC pack is within the playing cards. He didn’t say once we may see such a pack in a manufacturing automotive on condition that this innovation remains to be within the very early levels of testing.
LFP (quick for lithium iron phosphate) batteries can higher take common quick charging all the best way 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 popular 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.
