Automotive

Lithium-ion batteries have significantly increased the capability of electric vehicles, with high energy storage density and efficiency. They can currently achieve specific energy and power densities of 260 Wh/kg and 340 W/kg, respectively, with a life of over 1,000 cycles. In recent years, most developments in lithium-ion batteries have focused on cathode chemistry, with battery…

Sensata Technologies announced the availability of its new i-BMS battery management system (BMS) for electrified applications up to 60V. The new i-BMS Battery Management System from Sensata’s Lithium Balance product brand, acquired by Sensata earlier in the year, is cell chemistry agnostic, compact, integrated BMS developed for the cost-optimized mass-production of applications up to 60V, such as […]

Battery electric vehicles (BEV) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) are two “zero-emissions” vehicles. Although none achieve zero emissions, as discussed below. The amount of energy stored in a battery or hydrogen tank for a FCEV can be measured in two ways: Energy Density: Energy per unit volume, also known as volumetric energy density Specific…

Wireless charging allows an electric vehicle to be charged simply by parking it over a wireless charging pad containing an electrical coil. Vehicles can even be charged dynamically while driving along roads having multiple embedded coils. This works using the same principle as wireless phone charging or a transformer – electromagnetic induction. Induction is the…

Several standards dictate safety measures that fast charging stations must employ. Philippe Di Fulvio, Littelfuse, Inc. An estimated 5.5 million electric vehicles (EVs) were on the road in 2020. By 2025, the expectation is that over 24 million EVs will be in use. A significant limitation to wider EV adoption is the public charging infrastructure […]

The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending October 22, 2021, closed at 5,391.27 for the 25 companies in the R&D World Index. The Index was down -1.19% (or -65.00 basis points) from the week ending October 15, 2021. The stock of 12 R&D World Index members gained value from 0.1.50% (Johnson & Johnson)…

By Osamah Ahmad, product marketing, C2000 real-time MCUs, and Kevin Stauder, system engineer, automotive systems, Texas Instruments After a decade of rapid growth, global hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and electric vehicle (EV) market sales increased a record 43 percent in 2020 over 2019. This much-anticipated global HEV and EV market surge occurs because of region-led […]

Pickering Interfaces launched a new family of battery simulator modules, ideal for Electric Vehicle (EV) battery stack emulation in Battery Management Systems (BMS) test applications. The 41-752A (PXI) and 43-752A (PXIe) modules enable direct voltage and current readback either programmatically or using Pickering’s soft panel control. Each cell simulator is highly accurate, specified at ±5 mV from 1 […]

Leland Teschler • Executive Editor lteschler@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW_LeeTeschler The latest figures from the National Fire Protection Association show that only about 20% of all vehicle fires arise from problems in the vehicle electrical system—most fires have something to do with the fuel system. Seeing as electric vehicles will do away with problematic petrol, […]

The short answer is ‘no.’ We might be getting closer, but there’s still no guarantee that we’ll get there soon. Some automakers are looking at 2024 for the introduction of solid-state batteries in EVs, but others don’t see that happening until 2030. Expectations are high but unfulfilled. This FAQ reviews the anticipated benefits of solid-state…