From Concept to SoP

Battery development competences in the FEV Group

3. November 2016 | Engineering Service

Since building its first in-house EV fleet in 2010, FEV has been deeply involved in numerous high voltage traction battery programs. To date, FEV has performed 46 projects, 14 of which are related to various OEM mass production programs. Behind the success of these programs stands an experienced battery development team that is distributed worldwide. This team uses established FEV methods and is eager to support OEM and Tier 1 supplier customers in developing advanced and robust battery technologies. As a premium battery development partner, FEV’s battery experts are keen on pushing the boundaries and getting seriously and serially involved in developing the next generation of batteries. FEV project teams are flexible in terms of planning and the focus of each project phase. Resources can be dynamically allocated as needed to meet challenging customer schedules and milestones.

When working with FEV, short development cycles can be expected, especially in the early proof of concept and functional validation phases, where aspects such as cell selection, performance/cooling, packaging/production feasibility and cost are quickly elaborated. FEV can efficiently select a cell from a continuously updated database that considers key cell supplier technology, roadmaps and the results of internally-performed tests. Using FEV’s effective 1D simulation models, the system performance and cooling concept can be validated, considering the natural cell aging behavior over the system lifetime.

Concept Validation

Building and testing prototypes goes hand-in-hand with functional validation. FEV offers all of the facilities needed to build and test batteries as well as to integrate them in the target environment and perform in-vehicle testing with remote monitoring. Battery assembly at FEV follows a well-documented process ensuring high quality batteries and traceability in the supply chain. FEV’s proprietary rapid prototyping Battery Management System (BMS) solution can be quickly adjusted to new customer interfaces and functionalities and plays a key role during the prototyping phase.

Design Validation

FEV can also alternatively support or take turnkey responsibility in the design validation phase, where digital mockups and virtual testing using 3D FEM/CFD are leveraged to accomplish a frontloading strategy. Innovative designs aiming for the highest power/energy densities can be efficiently tested this way. Lessons learned from previous projects and benchmarks are naturally integrated in the process. Thus, proven solutions can be offered for cooling (liquid/air), housing, mechanical integration, crash protection, sealing/insulation, safety, high voltage / low voltage routing and electromagnetic interference (EMI) and compatibility (EMC).
In addition, supply chain, production and cost requirements are at the core of FEV’s services which include searching for and evaluation of suppliers, developing production concepts and performing system cost analysis in collaboration with FEV Consulting. FEV’s capabilities are rounded up by cost effective design validation planning and execution in FEV’s advanced highly automatized test centers.

Mature Battery Management System

The BMS development process at FEV is inherited from an established engine control unit development process which is, at its DNA, compliant with state of the art automotive standards related to quality (CMMI), safety (ISO26262), AUTOSAR compliance, design principles and the automation toolchain. FEV offers various scenarios for the BMS. Based on customer-provided specifications, FEV can provide high level application software (APSW) tailored from an existing high quality template which has been tested and used successfully in many projects.
The APSW offers a fast and low risk solution with an established toolchain that can be quickly integrated in various OEM and Tier 1 hardware and basic software, allowing the OEM flexibility in terms of supplier choice. FEV also offers customized hardware and basic software development in terms of specification, design, and functional safety according to ISO26262, prototyping and testing as well as supplier management. FEV’s BMS HW can be used as a starting template that can be quickly customized into an OEM-owned product.

Development through Production Readiness

Extended support beyond design validation into homologation and through SOP is a significant benefit of working with FEV. FEV stands behind its solutions and offers OEMs support in BMS calibration, BMS HiL testing, EOL concept, as well as aftersales and maintenance strategy.

>> TODAY FEV CAN COUNT 46 PROJECTS OF WHICH 14 ARE RELATED TO VARIOUS OEM MASS PRODUCTION PROGRAMS

Battery - Battery Test Bench

Highly automatized FEV cell test benches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Battery - Battery Management System

FEV’s 3rd generation BMS master unit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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