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Thyristors save space in charger

Littelfuse has developed a reference design for a 2 MW bidirectional fast charger for commercial vehicles (writes Nick Flaherty). Rather than using MOSFETs, the 12-pulse thyristor stack can support a 2 MW output in a smaller volume with just forced-air cooling. Five 70 kW modules using thyristors that are stacked to provide 350

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BMS measures cells in real time

Rather than using algorithms that model the expected performance of battery cells, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measures the current from each individual cell using random pulses to avoid overheating the cell.

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Calcium shows promise for cells

Researchers in Japan have developed a promising rechargeable calcium metal battery with a long lifetime (writes Nick Flaherty). The prototype is capable of 500 cycles of repeated charging-discharging. As the fifth most abundant element in Earth's crust, calcium is widely available and inexpensive, and has a higher energy density potential than lithium.

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Tool chain for ZEVonUDS standard

Vector Informatik has developed a tool chain for the emerging ZEVonUDS standard for onboard diagnostics (OBD) in EVs (writes Nick Flaherty). The standard, SAE J1979-3, details how OBD data is read from vehicles using an external diagnostics device called a scan tool. This can be used to monitor functions in ECUs that have an influence

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Lab allows customised validation

NI has developed a software-defined battery laboratory to speed up the validation of battery systems (writes Nick Flaherty). The lab covers a battery’s lifecycle from r&d to validation, production, second life and re-manufacturing by using different software loads.

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Solid-state cell is safety-approved

Factorial has become the first company to receive safety certification for a large, 100 Ah solid-state lithium metal battery cell (writes Nick Flaherty). The large-format automotive solid-state cell has received the United...

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ML finds solid-state cell materials

Researchers in the US have used machine learning (ML) to identify new combinations of materials for solid-state batteries (writes Nick Flaherty). The class of compounds, called argyrodites, contains attractive...

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Plastics offer key role in designs

Plastics are now able to replace metal for the construction of EV charging stations (writes Nick Flaherty). SABIC has created a concept demonstrator made with all-plastic components to showcase the use of high-performance plastic resins and blends in EV chargers, using expertise developed under a project called BlueHero.

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Cell simulator for latest monitors

MicroNova has enhanced its Cell Module Controller (CMC) simulator to support the latest high-accuracy battery cell monitors and balancers from Texas Instruments, or TI (writes Nick Flaherty). The NovaCarts CMC simulator has a daisy-chain comms interface to the bridge device on the master board of the BMS or the master control unit to provide precise […]

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Sensor aims to boost range of EVs

LEM has developed a current sensor with resolution of 0.1% that can boost the range of EVs. The CAB 1500 uses an open-loop fluxgate transducer to deliver the resolution and a total error of 0.5%.