Mercedes-Benz has introduced an innovative battery system designed to transform electric vehicle energy storage. Dubbed the Power Converter, this technology allows precise management of individual cells or groups, extending overall battery longevity. Additionally, it supports mixed cell chemistries and varying voltages within a single pack, offering greater flexibility.
The new technology is still in the development stage, but it has the potential to significantly improve the performance and efficiency of EV batteries. For decades, traction batteries have had thousands of individual cells, which are arranged into cell groups or modules. The car’s brain can monitor the voltage of each cell or module, but when it comes to charging or discharging, everything gets the same treatment.
How the Power Converter Works
With Mercedes’ new technology, each cell inside the pack can not only be monitored, but also controlled by a programmable micro-converter. This approach has several advantages, including prolonging a car’s battery life, using different cell chemistries inside the same pack, and removing bulky power electronics that handle AC and DC conversion.
The Power Converter can regulate the energy flow of individual cells or cell groups, removing the need for a single big converter. If cells of varying chemistries or ages are bundled in the same pack, the micro-converters can make sure that they all get charged properly, albeit at different power levels.
Benefits of the Power Converter
The technology also enables a more modular approach to battery use. For instance, if a large-capacity battery isn’t used at full potential most of the time, the car’s brain can put part of the pack in standby mode, keeping the cells at the right level for preservation. Then, when a long-distance road trip is being planned, the computer can unlock the full capacity.
Bidirectional charging is baked into the Power Converter. This means that AC and DC conversion, as well as bidirectional charging, are handled directly by the micro-converters, enabling finer control over how the battery is used.
Mercedes-Benz said that the new technology has the potential to boost the driving range and efficiency of future plug-in models. However, there is a potential downside to the technology – with thousands of micro-converters sealed inside a battery pack, it inevitably means that there are thousands of components that can fail.
