NXP Introduces New Generation of Battery-Cell Controller ICs
NXP Unveils Next-Generation Battery-Cell Controller ICs for Enhanced Lithium-ion Battery Management Systems
NXP Semiconductors, a leading provider of secure connectivity solutions, has announced the launch of its new family of battery-cell controller Integrated Circuits (ICs) – the BMx7318 and BMx7518. These ICs are designed to revolutionize Lithium-ion battery management systems (BMS) by improving performance, reliability, and safety.
Key Features and Benefits
The new ICs boast several key features that make them ideal for modern energy-intensive applications.
- High Precision Analog Front-End (AFE) Measurement: The ICs offer accurate voltage, current, and temperature sensing for each cell, enabling precise state-of-charge (SOC) and state-of-health (SOH) monitoring.
- Multi-Cell Support: The ICs can monitor 12 or 18 battery cells respectively, supporting scalable battery pack designs.
- Integrated Cell Balancing: The ICs feature efficient passive cell balancing to equalize cell voltages, improving battery pack consistency and longevity.
- Safety Monitoring and Protection: The ICs come with built-in hardware and firmware features to detect over-voltage, under-voltage, over-current, short circuits, and temperature anomalies in real time.
- Robust Communication Interfaces: The ICs support daisy-chainable communication protocols for system scalability and integration with host controllers or battery management units.
- Low Power Consumption: The ICs operate energy-efficiently to minimize parasitic power draw from the battery, thereby improving overall system efficiency.
- Flexible Configuration and Programmability: The ICs offer user-programmable registers and alert thresholds, supporting adaptable BMS design tailored to specific battery chemistries and applications.
- Built-In Diagnostics and Self-Test: The ICs feature on-chip diagnostics capabilities for maintenance and fault detection, enhancing system reliability and uptime.
Benefits in Battery Management Systems
The new ICs bring several benefits to battery management systems:
- Improved Performance: The high accuracy in cell monitoring and balancing leads to better capacity utilization, extending battery runtime and cycle life.
- Enhanced Safety: Rapid detection of fault conditions protects against hazardous events like thermal runaway, overcharging, or deep discharge, making batteries safer to use.
- Increased Reliability: Integrated diagnostics and fault management reduce downtime and maintenance costs by allowing proactive interventions.
- Scalability and Flexibility: The ability to manage various battery pack sizes and configurations supports a wide range of applications, from electric vehicles to energy storage systems.
- Reduced System Complexity: Integration of multiple functions in a single IC reduces component count, PCB complexity, and overall system cost.
Summary
NXP’s BMx7318 and BMx7518 battery-cell controller ICs provide comprehensive monitoring, protection, and balancing functionality optimized for lithium-ion battery packs. These features collectively enhance battery pack performance, reliability, and safety – crucial for modern energy-intensive applications requiring robust and intelligent battery management solutions.
The new ICs are based on an advanced analog front-end architecture that reduces crosstalk and deters electromagnetic interference (EMI). This, along with the integration of more of the BMS into a single EMI-robust chip, allows NXP to reduce external component count by up to 50%, saving space and cutting costs for OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers.
As the demand for energy-intensive applications continues to grow, NXP's new ICs are poised to play a significant role in ensuring the safety, reliability, and efficiency of lithium-ion battery management systems. NXP plans to roll out the new family of battery-management ICs more broadly in late 2025.
- The renewable-energy industry could benefit significantly from NXP's new battery-cell controller Integrated Circuits (ICs), as they are designed to improve the performance, reliability, and safety of Lithium-ion battery management systems.
- With features such as high precision analog front-end (AFE) measurement, integrated cell balancing, and robust communication interfaces, these ICs offer a cost-effective solution for both technology and finance within the renewable-energy sector.
- The use of data-and-cloud-computing technologies can further optimize the performance of these ICs, allowing real-time monitoring and analysis of battery packs in energy storage systems, thereby enhancing the overall efficiency and longevity of renewable energy solutions.
