LG Energy Solution has partnered with US chipmaker Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) to develop advanced fast-charging technologies aimed at boosting demand for eco-friendly cars by addressing concerns about charging speed.
The collaboration, announced on Wednesday, involves a memorandum of understanding between LG Energy and ADI to enhance LG Energy’s battery management total solution (BMTS).
Over the next two years, the two companies will work together to develop algorithms for precise measurements of internal temperatures of EV battery cells. ADI will supply high-performance battery management integrated circuits (BMICs) as part of the agreement.
“This cooperation is expected to lead to the development of advanced fast-charging technologies,” LG Energy stated.
LG Energy plans to leverage its battery manufacturing and battery management system (BMS) capabilities along with ADI’s advanced impedance measurement technology to further enhance its BMTS.
Impedance, in electrical engineering, is the opposition of an electrical component to alternating current and voltage in a circuit. By precisely measuring impedance, which varies based on the battery’s condition and age, LG Energy aims to gain accurate insights into the battery’s internal temperatures.
Current devices are unable to measure the exact temperatures inside individual batteries in real time, as they are attached to the outside of the cells. This limitation forces battery makers to set conservative safe charging temperature standards, hindering opportunities to improve charging speeds.
To address these challenges, LG Energy and ADI will develop electrochemical impedance spectroscopy solutions to estimate the internal temperature of individual battery cells accurately. These solutions, which do not require a separate temperature measuring device, are expected to improve battery performance and longevity by enhancing the safety and speed of fast charging, as well as accurately assessing the batteries’ status.
If successful, the collaboration between LG Energy and ADI would represent an innovative application of real-time impedance measurement to analyze the internal status of EV batteries, a technology that has yet to be commercialized, according to LG Energy.
