- Mercedes is experimenting with multiple-chemistry battery packs which have a couple of kind of cell.
- A brand new kind of micro-converter and hooking up the battery cells in parallel not in sequence makes this potential.
- This innovation will enhance battery pack efficiency, modularity and area effectivity.
Whereas the main points surrounding the impressively environment friendly new electrical CLA have 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 have been proven on the occasion referred to as Mercedes Future Expertise was a brand new kind of energy converter that permits for far more management over a battery pack than ever earlier than.
Its programmable micro-converter may be wirelessly managed and embedded into the battery pack and managed wirelessly. This permits 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 have to be linked in parallel, not in sequence, which unlocks new prospects.
As an example, a automobile with this technique might steadiness the cost in its cells much better than at this time’s EVs. It might detect and isolate broken cells with out affecting your entire battery pack, and it could additionally permit for a way more correct battery well being examine, which might simply be capable to pinpoint downside cells and examine their particular person parameters.
This new kind of micro-converter can even hold the full battery pack voltage fixed whatever the state of cost. It usually varies with the state of cost.
Mercedes explains that “analysis outcomes present it’s potential 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 automobile battery is not depending on the variety of cells linked in sequence. The quantity is decided purely by the specified efficiency and capability class.”
If this makes it into manufacturing, it could additionally permit for far more modular battery packs than what we’ve in at this time’s EVs, leading to extra environment friendly use of area. It might assist automakers minimize prices by making use of elevated standardization and modularization when utilized on a big scale.
Throughout a spherical desk speak with Mercedes’ Chief Know-how Officer Markus Schäfer, we requested about the potential of utilizing a number of chemistries throughout 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 potential of an LFP and NMC pack is within the playing cards. He didn’t say after we might see such a pack in a manufacturing automotive on condition that this innovation continues to be within the very early levels of testing.
LFP (brief 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. In addition 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.
