AI-powered cloud-connected BMS for EVs

NXP Semiconductors has created a solution to connect its high-voltage battery management system (HVBMS) via its S32G GoldBox vehicle networking reference design to the cloud to use an AI powered battery digital twin. By using Electra Vehicles, Inc’s EVE-Ai 360 Adaptive Controls technology, it releases the power of digital twin models in the cloud to better predict and control the physical BMS in real-time, to enhance battery performance, battery state of health of up to 12% and provide multiple new applications, such as EV fleet management. The company will demo the solution at this year’s electronica.

As batteries continue to be the most expensive element in an EV, AI-powered digital twin cloud services provide a high potential to improve estimations of the battery’s SOH and SOC for better efficiency, lifetime and cost. Battery digital twins adapt to ongoing changes in battery health due to operating conditions and offer updated figures back to the BMS for continuously improving control decisions.

The solution with Electra Vehicles provides a performance advantage thanks to highly accurate sensors, real-time closed-loop control of the BMS and network connectivity together with predictive algorithms. The solution includes three elements.

The company's S32K3-based HVBMS Reference Design provides high precision and accuracy to lengthen battery life safely. Having precise measurements of the battery’s SOH and SOC uses the full potential of the battery and therefore maximises driving range with accurate diagnostics.

The second element is its S32G-based vehicle networking processing solutions. NXP GoldBox provides safe high-performance computing capacity and real-time network performance with secure cloud connectivity for data-driven cloud-based automotive services.

“NXP's contribution to the digital twin technology lies in the access to accurate sensor data, real-time closed-loop control of the BMS, high-performance in-vehicle processing and secure connectivity to the cloud for services and over-the-air (OTA) updates. By integrating Electra’s EVE-Ai architecture, we address the two main challenges associated with the digital twin approach,” said Dr Andreas Schlapka, director and segment manager Battery Management Systems, NXP Semiconductors. “These are coping with the abundance of data from our electrification solutions, which requires cleansing and appropriate feature selection, and the variance of use cases, which requires model selection and adaptive training.”

“Electra has always been focused on using a software-first approach to address the electric vehicle battery industry’s most pressing range, lifetime, and safety concerns,” said Fabrizio Martini, Co-Founder and CEO at Electra Vehicles, Inc. “Now, we have the opportunity to demonstrate our core AI battery adaptive digital twin technology that powers EVE-Ai alongside NXP. NXP has proven to be the perfect partner in this endeavour as they provide cutting edge integration hardware that positions them as leaders in BMS digital twin and cloud connectivity technology for electrification.”

electronics 2022, Booth C2 578, 15-18 November 2022.