eVehicle Technology
Visteon a global leader in automotive technology has revealed a first production-intent, completely wireless battery management system (BMS) to monitor battery packs continuously for state of health and charge with General Motors (GM) being the first OEM to equip its electric vehicles (EVs) with the systems, making it standard on all planned EV models powered by its Ultium batteries.
Our wireless BMS technology eliminates wiring harnesses found in the battery packs of traditional systems, delivering a solution that offers a secure, safe and robust battery system for EVs.
Sachin Lawande, President & CEO, Visteon
The ground-breaking system was built in tandem with GM and other collaborators and provides a platform to deliver high battery cell measurement accuracy for the lifetime of the vehicle, along with maximum energy use per cell required for better vehicle range. Additionally, this new wireless system can support safe and sustainable zero-cobalt battery chemistries, such as lithium iron phosphate (LFP) – which are important factors in sustainability efforts for automakers.
The modular solution supports multiple charging protocols and is intended to meet OEM cost, weight, and packaging requirements. Visteon applied its experience as a developer for in-cockpit electronics, cybersecurity, and vehicle interface control modules to offer this holistic wireless BMS that improves time-to-market, design flexibility, battery pack energy density and speed of manufacturing.
Agility is the key to maintaining GM’s leadership position in EVs. While we have vertically integrated many crucial EV components, it still makes sense for us to partner with great companies like Visteon to accelerate our vision for battery technology.
Kent Helfrich, Exec. Director, Global Electrification & Battery Systems, GM
GM expects the wireless BMS to drive GM’s Ultium-powered EVs to market faster, as time will not be needed to develop specific communications systems or redesign complex wiring schemes for each new vehicle. Instead, the wireless system will help to ensure the scalability of Ultium batteries across GM’s future lineup, encompassing different brands and vehicle segments, from heavy-duty trucks to performance vehicles.
Because the integrated hardware architecture and system software can extend across multiple vehicle platforms with minimal module configuration changes, this flexible wireless solution reduces engineering costs significantly and can more easily be integrated with thermal management systems and other vehicle controls.
Visteon’s wireless innovation should reduce end-user repair costs since the types of physical harnesses and wires where issues can originate have been eliminated in the new system.
