Battery Management Systems
Battery management systems (BMS) are a critical component of electric vehicle (EV) batteries and energy storage systems (BESS) to ensure safe and efficient operation of the battery pack. BMS performs several functions, including monitoring the battery's state of charge, state of health, and state of safety. The design and operation of BMS are critical in ensuring the safety and efficiency of EV batteries. As the demand for electric vehicles continues to grow, the importance of BMS will only increase, making it a critical area of research and development in the field of electric vehicle batteries.
2024 List of U.S.-based manufacturing facilities that provide BTMS systems for the EV and BESS industries:
| Manufacturer | State |
|---|---|
| AC Propulsion | CA |
| Akasol | MI |
| Analog Devices | MA |
| AVL LIST | |
| Battery Systems | |
| BorgWarner | MI |
| Boston-Power | MI |
| BYD | |
| Calsonic Kansei | |
| Cascadia Motion | OR |
| CATL | |
| Continental | |
| Denso | |
| Eberspacher | |
| Element Energy | CA |
| Elithion | |
| Ficosa | |
| G-Pulse | |
| Hella | |
| Hitachi | |
| Horiba Mira | |
| Indie Power Systems | TX |
| Infineon | CA |
| Intel | |
| Ion Energy | |
| Johnson Matthey | |
| Leclanche | |
| LG Electronics | NJ |
| Lithion Battery | NV |
| Lithion Battery | TX |
| Lithium Balance | |
| Lynntech | TX |
| Marelli | |
| Maxim | CA |
| Microvast | TX |
| Midtronics | |
| Mitsubishi | |
| Navitas System | |
| Nuvation Energy | ON |
| NXP Semiconductors | |
| Octillion Power | CA |
| Orient Technology | |
| Our Next Energy | MI |
| Panasonic Corporation | |
| Preh | |
| Renesas Electronics | |
| Ricardo | |
| Robert Bosch | |
| Roboteq | |
| Samsung SDI | |
| Silicon Labs | |
| ST Microelectronics | |
| SVolt | |
| TAE Power | CA |
| Tesla | |
| Texas Instruments | |
| Titan Advanced Energy | MA |
| Toshiba | |
| Turntide | CA |
| Vitesco | |
| Voltronix | CA |
| XALT Energy | MI |
Importance of BMS
BMS plays a vital role in ensuring the safety and efficiency of EV batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are highly sensitive to temperature, voltage, and current fluctuations, and BMS helps to regulate these parameters. The system continuously monitors the battery's state of charge (SOC) and state of health (SOH), ensuring that the battery operates within its optimal range. BMS also performs several safety functions, including overvoltage and undervoltage protection, overcurrent protection, and thermal management.
Design of BMS
BMS is designed to perform several critical functions. The system consists of several components, including a battery monitoring unit (BMU), a battery control unit (BCU), and a battery protection unit (BPU). The BMU is responsible for monitoring the SOC, SOH, and other battery parameters, and the BCU regulates the charging and discharging of the battery pack. The BPU provides protection against overvoltage, undervoltage, overcurrent, and thermal events.
The design of BMS also includes cell balancing, which ensures that all cells in the battery pack are charged and discharged equally. Cell balancing helps to extend the lifespan of the battery pack and improve its overall performance. The BMS also communicates with the vehicle's onboard computer system, providing real-time data on battery performance, which is critical for vehicle operation.
Operation of BMS
BMS operates in several modes, including charging mode, discharging mode, and idle mode. In charging mode, the BCU regulates the charging of the battery pack, ensuring that it charges within the optimal range. In discharging mode, the BCU controls the discharge of the battery pack, ensuring that it operates within the safe limit. In idle mode, the BMS monitors the battery parameters, ensuring that the battery remains in a safe state.
BMS also performs several safety functions, including overvoltage and undervoltage protection, overcurrent protection, and thermal management. The system detects any abnormal battery conditions and activates the appropriate safety function to prevent damage to the battery pack and ensure safe operation.
BMS Components
The BMS consists of several components that work together to ensure the safety and reliability of the battery pack and to optimize its performance. Some of the key components of an EV BMS include:
Battery Monitoring Unit (BMU): This unit contains integrated circuits that monitor the voltage, current, temperature, and other parameters of each cell in the battery pack. This information is used to calculate the state of charge (SOC), state of health (SOH), and other important parameters that are used to manage the battery pack.
Battery Protection Unit (BPU): This unit has a circuit that provides protection to the battery pack from over-voltage, over-current, and over-temperature conditions. This helps to prevent damage to the battery and to ensure the safety of the vehicle.
Battery Control Unit (BCU Circuit: This unit contains a balancing circuit that manages the voltage difference between cells in the battery pack to ensure that they are balanced and operating within a safe range. This helps to extend the life of the battery pack and to improve its performance.
Communication Interface: The BMS needs to communicate with other Electronic Control Units (ECUs) in the vehicle, such as the Vehicle Control Unit (VCU) and the Charging Control Unit (CCU), to exchange information and coordinate the functions of different systems. The communication interface is used to establish this communication.
Battery Management Software: The BMS software is responsible for managing and controlling the various components of the BMS. It processes the data from the battery monitoring ICs, implements the battery protection and balancing algorithms, and communicates with other ECUs in the vehicle.
