FAQs

Many embedded circuits and devices rely on batteries for a power supply and many of these devices use primary batteries that may need to be replaced. Other embedded devices are rechargeable and use secondary batteries to remain powered. It is not difficult to select a battery type, chemistry, or packaging for a given circuit or…

Several important metrics and considerations are important when evaluating battery performance: Cell, module, and pack level: It is important to consider whether the data refers to an individual cell or a complete battery pack when comparing energy and power densities. Cells will always have the highest energy and power for a given size or weight.…

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 of the developments in lithium-ion batteries have focused on cathode chemistry,…

By Ryan Brown, co-founder and CEO, Salient Energy Lithium-ion batteries are the leading battery technology for both electric vehicles (EVs) and the renewable energy industry. This makes it critical in the fight against climate change, with the world’s ability to adopt EVs and renewables limited in part by its ability to source lithium-ion raw materials. This…

Rail splitters are usually associated with battery-powered devices, but that’s not always the case. There are several definitions of a “rail splitter,” sometimes referred to as a “virtual ground” or “pseudo ground.” The most common meaning is creating a new “0V” reference point, usually the mid-point Vin/2 of a single supply voltage such as a […]

Using energy harvesting and a rechargeable battery to power a remote wireless IoT node seems like an obvious and straightforward solution, but there are some unique aspects to consider. Don’t get me wrong: I really like rechargeable batteries; in fact, I like them a lot. Whether based on lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, lithium-ion, or other chemistry, our […]

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 […]

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 […]