A battery pack need a
battery management system (BMS)
In e-mobility, all is nothing without them: batteries. They deliver the “juice” for countless vehicles and
applications that are exciting precisely because they don’t need to be connected to a power outlet all the time.
Yet even though the technology has made great progress over the past decades, batteries still seem a little
old-school compared with state-of-the-art high-tech electronics. For example, the microprocessor of a smartphone
is able to perform billions of operations within seconds. However, charging the battery takes hours.
In
addition, batteries are the heaviest of all the installed components. Consumers might find this annoying, but it
is simply in the nature of things that energy storage devices and the chemical reactions inside them can’t be
miniaturized to the same extent as is customary in the semiconductor industry.
Different battery types
Most common are cheap alkaline batteries, for example in remote controls and watches. Nickel-cadmium batteries,
with similar uses as alkaline batteries, are rechargeable. Lithium-ion batteries are used for example in
cameras, power drills, and electric cars. Lithium-polymer batteries are for example in smartphones and tablets.
Lithium polymer batteries are a special type of lithium-ion battery that can be built very flat, since a gel
electrolyte is used instead of a liquid one. However, they are more sensitive than lithium-ion batteries.
Even though lithium batteries are the gold standard today, they have certain downsides that can’t be overlooked.
Most people have seen pictures of smartphones or electric cars whose batteries caught fire or even exploded—a
horror scenario. This is why researchers all over the world are looking for new battery types and technologies.
The goal: Lowering the size, weight, charging time, and price of batteries while increasing their safety. In
addition, the elements of lithium and cobalt (the main components of many batteries) are not available in
unlimited quantities.
Magnesium batteries on the horizon
Magnesium batteries could be a potential successor. This technology is at the focus of a research project by the
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Helmholtz Institute in Ulm. “A magnesium battery would offer
decisive advantages over conventional lithium-ion batteries,” the KIT writes in a press release. “As an anode
material, magnesium enables much higher energy densities and would be much safer.” Another benefit: Magnesium is
about 3000 times more common than lithium and easier to recycle. “If Europe makes good progress with the
development, then magnesium batteries might also help to reduce the dominance of Asian battery manufacturers and
establish a competitive battery industry in Europe,” the KIT also writes.
Another candidate for what is
known as a solid-state battery is, surprisingly, glass. The sodium contained in glass is one of the most common
elements. Such batteries with a special glass electrolyte are potentially capable of being charged within
minutes, while offering better safety than flammable lithium-ion batteries. However, some time is going to pass
before such a battery technology will be ready for the market and will be able to replace lithium-ion batteries.