Smart batteries: requirements of the automotive world

Electrification of passenger cars is one of the most effective approach to reduce noxious emissions in urban areas and, if the electricity is produced using renewable sources, to mitigate the global warming. Automotive battery packages are complex systems that have to comply with many constraints: high performances in terms of gravimetric and volumetric energy and power densities, long cycle and calendar lives, electrical safety, crashworthiness, recyclability. To respect all the above requirements, battery systems integrate a complex battery management system (BMS) connected to an extended network of sensors able to measure the electric potential and the temperature at multiple points in the battery package. New sensing technologies, based on different measurement principles, are emerging as promising approaches to improve the performances of the battery systems and to respond to the needs of the automotive manufacturers.