Designing EV BMS systems with modeling techniques

Exicom is optimising BMS performance by using COMSOL Multiphysics simulation that understands the thermal behaviour of different battery cell and pack designs, writes COMSOL's Neena Picardo.

- Neena Picardo

India is a fast-growing market for electric vehicles (EVS), with one study predicting that over 30 percent of the vehicles sold in India will be electric by 2030. The battery packs that power EVS are one of the main drivers of the electric mobility revolution in India. In order to monitor and manage battery pack performance and safety, packs are usually equipped with a Battery Management System (BMS). A BMS is an electronic system that monitors a battery's voltage, temperature, coolant flow, and health and predicts a number of other performance parameters, such as current variation and heat generation, helping to extract optimum performance from a battery pack.

The role of simulation in developing an accurate BMS

Exicom Tele-Systems designs, develops, and deploys energy solutions, including the latest Li-ion battery technologies. To date, it has deployed Li-ion battery solutions totalling more than 1.8 GWh - among the highest in the world by a single company. Exicom also offers charging solutions and BMS for electric two-wheelers and light electric vehicles, which are driving the growth of electric mobility in India. Exicom's innovative BMS solutions are prized for their performance and life.

At Exicom's R&D centre in Gurugram, India, the technology team led by Dr Parmender Singh has developed a BMS that can be used to precisely monitor and manage Li-ion batteries in applications across a broad voltage range (up to 1,000 V). This BMS is also chemistry agnostic; it can be used with Li-ion batteries of a range of chemistries such as lithium ferrophosphate, or lithium iron phosphate (LFP), lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC), and lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA).