- An EV usually has a battery pack, an inverter, a DC-to-DC converter and several other bits and bobs that live in different housings.
- This isn’t particularly energy efficient, so Stellantis came up with a solution.
- It’s called the Intelligent Battery Integrated System, and it simplifies an otherwise complicated layout by stuffing all the components into a single enclosure.
Stellantis claims it has found a way to deliver more driving range and higher energy efficiency in run-of-the-mill electric cars. By combining all the different components that usually sit outside an EV’s battery pack into a single unit, the auto giant says it managed to cut charging times and reduce weight while boosting power and range.
The solution is goes by the name Intelligent Battery Integrated System (IBIS), and the first working prototype has been fitted to a Peugeot E-3008 crossover, which uses Stellantis’s STLA Medium platform–the same that underpins the latest generation Jeep Compass.
Photo by: Stellantis
In practice, the IBIS embeds the inverter and charger functionalities directly into the battery, irrespective of the type of chemistry or application. This means that one nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery could just be taken off a shelf somewhere and fitted to an family-oriented EV. Or a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery could very quickly be integrated into a commercial electric vehicle.
Stellantis, along with its partner Saft, claims this solution supports alternating and direct current (AC and DC). It can also supply electricity to both electric motors and the grid, thanks to its vehicle-to-grid (V2G) functionality, while simultaneously supplying power to the vehicle’s 12-volt and auxiliary systems.
6
Source: Stellantis
According to the automaker, the prototype battery that’s ready for real-world testing, provides energy efficiency improvements of up to 10% and a power gain of 15% compared to a conventional battery of the same size. In other words, an IBIS-based battery can provide 230 horsepower (172 kilowatts), while a similar traditional battery can only output 201 hp (150 kW).
The all-in-one approach also reduces weight by roughly 88 pounds (40 kilograms) and frees up to 0.6 cubic feet (17 liters) of space that can be used for something else in the car. Charging speeds have also been improved by reducing losses. On a 7 kW AC charger, Stellantis claims a full charge would take six hours on an IBIS battery instead of 7 hours.
The next phase of the development program is to validate the packaging system in the real world. If it all goes to plan, the IBIS could make its way to Stellantis production EVs by the end of the decade, the company said.
