- 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 collection makes this attainable.
- This innovation will enhance battery pack efficiency, modularity and area effectivity.
Whereas the small print 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 longer term. Among the many many inventions we had been proven on the occasion referred to as Mercedes Future Expertise was a brand new kind of energy converter that enables for far 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 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 must be linked in parallel, not in collection, which unlocks new prospects.
As an illustration, a car with this technique might stability the cost in its cells much better than at the moment’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 verify, which might simply have the ability to pinpoint downside cells and verify their particular person parameters.
This new kind of micro-converter may also preserve the whole 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 attainable 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 collection. The quantity is set 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 got in at the moment’s EVs, leading to extra environment friendly use of area. It might assist automakers lower prices by making use of elevated standardization and modularization when utilized on a big scale.
Throughout a spherical desk speak with Mercedes’ Chief Expertise Officer Markus Schäfer, we requested about the potential for utilizing a number of chemistries throughout the similar battery pack, particularly each LFP and NMC cells. Schäfer advised 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 after we might see such a pack in a manufacturing automotive on condition that this innovation continues to be within the very early phases of testing.
LFP (brief 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. In addition they have higher thermal stability and are extra inexpensive. Nevertheless, 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.
