The electric vehicle (EV) battery is one of the critical automotive technologies that have successfully scaled to support the e-mobility boom. Hwee Yng Yeo at Keysight Technologies shares key design considerations for EV battery design in Part 1 of this two-part commentary.
The average EV battery pack costs US$153 / kWh in 2022 – a 90% price drop over a 15-year period. Looking forward, the automotive industry expects demand for Lithium-ion cells to grow by some 33% annually to 4,700 GWh by the end of this decade.
More affordable EV batteries will help bring about price parity between an EV and internal combustion engine car sooner rather than later.
However, keeping a check on battery costs is a constant challenge because of rising raw materials, supply chain, and energy costs, with cell manufacturing being an energy-intensive process.
Technological innovations play a big role in contributing to the inverse relationship between plummeting prices and soaring demand for EV batteries.
Cost pressures aside, battery technology must continue to evolve to support the dynamic e-mobility ecosystem.
Evolving Roles of the EV Battery
Figure 1 illustrates an overview of the e-mobility ecosystem, and how the battery is impacted as the ecosystem evolves.
On the right, both automakers and battery developers have to create EV batteries that meet consumer expectations for longer ranges.
Figure 1: The EV battery plays a key role in the e-mobility ecosystem.
On a macro level, higher capacity and longer-life batteries will support the integration of vehicle electrification into real-world applications for a circular battery economy to reduce waste and pollution.
On the left, we have an overview of the evolving smart grid, which affects how the electric vehicle battery will transform, from a one-way “sink” that draws energy from charging stations, to a two-way or bidirectional vehicle-to-grid (V2G) enabled power source.
Designing for battery performance at cell, module, and pack levels
EV battery cells come in different form factors: cylindrical, pouch, and prismatic.
Fundamentally though, the initial development phases are similar. Cell developers must characterise, select, and optimise the cell chemistries and materials in research & development.
Figure 2: Different battery cell chemical compositions yield different properties and performance. (Source: Battery University).
Meeting the expectations for longer range, faster charging, and future-ready V2G capabilities starts at the battery cell chemistry level.
Depending on the battery performance specifications, cell developers need to analyze how each electrochemical cocktail will perform (see examples in Figure 2).
The modern battery test laboratory must handle thousands of cells under test at any one time, and accurately measure the actual performance of different cell designs to see if they meet design goals (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: Different cell characteristics must be considered when developing a new cell, as cell characteristics depend on their applications.
In designing and testing batteries, the battery design manager must consider how to juggle various test parameters for different applications when the cells are eventually assembled into modules and packs to power vehicles.
Applications range from two-wheeler motorcycles to sedans, sports utility models, and heavy transport vehicles.
The batteries for each end-user market are designed to meet different needs, and will require different test set-ups.
Figure 4: Each stage of the development cycle needs test environments that can help validate the battery performance.
Hence, the test environment must be able to support the required voltage, channels, and safety requirements (see Figure 4).
These are tests that need to be done to verify the battery’s performance at the cell, module, and pack levels:
- Record different temperatures to investigate the reciprocal electrical and thermal influence of the cells.
- Check the mechanical connections and the performance of the module.
- Communicate with the vehicles’ battery management system.
Increasing role of automated management in the battery test lab
Figure 5 provides a simple visualisation of the different roles and tasks in a battery test lab.
With the vast number of devices under test, lab managers can no longer rely on manual tracking and spreadsheets to manage a modern battery test lab.
Automating lab operations is essential to ensure not only efficient time and resource management, but also provide tracking and traceability, as well as improving testing throughput.
Figure 5: Data flow and management is essential in a modern battery test lab that oversees thousands of devices under test simultaneously.
With vast facilities and different sites, cloud-based lab operation management tools allow visibility and controlled accessibility on the state of battery testing operations.
The test data collected from the devices under test can also be used to enhance design iterations.
* Continue reading Part 2 of this commentary on ensuring quality of EV batteries from blueprint to production.
Tags: battery, byline, commentary, EV, interviews, Keysight, opinion, Tech Focus, technology
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 14th, 2024 at 3:00 pm and is filed under battery, Brief, Keysight, Motoring, Opinion, Reference, Tech Focus, VehTech, Wiki. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Tech Focus: EV Battery Design – Innovating for Longer Range and Battery Life (Part 1 of 2)
The electric vehicle (EV) battery is one of the critical automotive technologies that have successfully scaled to support the e-mobility boom. Hwee Yng Yeo at Keysight Technologies shares key design considerations for EV battery design in Part 1 of this two-part commentary.
The average EV battery pack costs US$153 / kWh in 2022 – a 90% price drop over a 15-year period. Looking forward, the automotive industry expects demand for Lithium-ion cells to grow by some 33% annually to 4,700 GWh by the end of this decade.
More affordable EV batteries will help bring about price parity between an EV and internal combustion engine car sooner rather than later.
However, keeping a check on battery costs is a constant challenge because of rising raw materials, supply chain, and energy costs, with cell manufacturing being an energy-intensive process.
Technological innovations play a big role in contributing to the inverse relationship between plummeting prices and soaring demand for EV batteries.
Cost pressures aside, battery technology must continue to evolve to support the dynamic e-mobility ecosystem.
Evolving Roles of the EV Battery
Figure 1 illustrates an overview of the e-mobility ecosystem, and how the battery is impacted as the ecosystem evolves.
On the right, both automakers and battery developers have to create EV batteries that meet consumer expectations for longer ranges.
Figure 1: The EV battery plays a key role in the e-mobility ecosystem.
On a macro level, higher capacity and longer-life batteries will support the integration of vehicle electrification into real-world applications for a circular battery economy to reduce waste and pollution.
On the left, we have an overview of the evolving smart grid, which affects how the electric vehicle battery will transform, from a one-way “sink” that draws energy from charging stations, to a two-way or bidirectional vehicle-to-grid (V2G) enabled power source.
Designing for battery performance at cell, module, and pack levels
EV battery cells come in different form factors: cylindrical, pouch, and prismatic.
Fundamentally though, the initial development phases are similar. Cell developers must characterise, select, and optimise the cell chemistries and materials in research & development.
Figure 2: Different battery cell chemical compositions yield different properties and performance. (Source: Battery University).
Meeting the expectations for longer range, faster charging, and future-ready V2G capabilities starts at the battery cell chemistry level.
Depending on the battery performance specifications, cell developers need to analyze how each electrochemical cocktail will perform (see examples in Figure 2).
The modern battery test laboratory must handle thousands of cells under test at any one time, and accurately measure the actual performance of different cell designs to see if they meet design goals (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: Different cell characteristics must be considered when developing a new cell, as cell characteristics depend on their applications.
In designing and testing batteries, the battery design manager must consider how to juggle various test parameters for different applications when the cells are eventually assembled into modules and packs to power vehicles.
Applications range from two-wheeler motorcycles to sedans, sports utility models, and heavy transport vehicles.
The batteries for each end-user market are designed to meet different needs, and will require different test set-ups.
Figure 4: Each stage of the development cycle needs test environments that can help validate the battery performance.
Hence, the test environment must be able to support the required voltage, channels, and safety requirements (see Figure 4).
These are tests that need to be done to verify the battery’s performance at the cell, module, and pack levels:
Increasing role of automated management in the battery test lab
Figure 5 provides a simple visualisation of the different roles and tasks in a battery test lab.
With the vast number of devices under test, lab managers can no longer rely on manual tracking and spreadsheets to manage a modern battery test lab.
Automating lab operations is essential to ensure not only efficient time and resource management, but also provide tracking and traceability, as well as improving testing throughput.
Figure 5: Data flow and management is essential in a modern battery test lab that oversees thousands of devices under test simultaneously.
With vast facilities and different sites, cloud-based lab operation management tools allow visibility and controlled accessibility on the state of battery testing operations.
The test data collected from the devices under test can also be used to enhance design iterations.
* Continue reading Part 2 of this commentary on ensuring quality of EV batteries from blueprint to production.
Tags: battery, byline, commentary, EV, interviews, Keysight, opinion, Tech Focus, technology
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 14th, 2024 at 3:00 pm and is filed under battery, Brief, Keysight, Motoring, Opinion, Reference, Tech Focus, VehTech, Wiki. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.