If electric vehicles are to be used on a daily basis, there is a need for high-performance, safe, and durable batteries, the partners said. To ensure that the energy stored in the battery is used more efficiently in the future, as well as to significantly increase the range of electrically powered vehicles, researchers are looking to smart battery management.

The IntLilon project aims to develop smart data transmission techniques specifically for lithium-ion batteries. Its focus of research is on powerline communications systems capable of efficiently controlling and monitoring each of the up to 100 cells found in a battery pack.

This powerline system will eliminate the need for the costly extra data-transmission wiring that has been necessary in all the battery systems used to date.

The intention is to constantly monitor and to control each battery cell individually,said Dr. Jens Strobel, who coordinates the project at Robert Bosch GmbH.

This will also allow optimum use of the battery’s energy potential: if a single cell in the lithium-ion battery is no longer operating efficiently, then only that single cell will have to be replaced, not the whole battery module. This saves resources and brings down costs.