Spinout About:Energy and Eatron Technologies have been awarded funding from the UKRI’s Faraday Battery Challenge to develop an AI-powered decision-engine for battery management systems.
The first-of-its-kind battery management system developed by About:Energy and Eatron Technologies will deliver increased battery longevity, and accelerate time-to-market.
The advancement will help position the UK as a global leader in AI-powered intelligent battery management systems.
AI-powered methods are challenging to integrate into battery management systems
Current battery management systems rely on simple, empirical methods that sacrifice accuracy in return for reduced computational effort.
Further to this, AI-powered methods are hard to integrate within battery management systems. This is because conventional methods are complex, with demanding training processes and require large volumes of input data.
Collaboration between About:Energy and Eatron Technologies
The aiMAGINE project combines About:Energy’s high-fidelity electrochemical battery models with Eatron’s AI-powered cloud platform. The collaboration delivers highly accurate state-of-charge, state-of-health, and patented remaining useful life predictions.
The electrochemical models are enhanced by AI, improving predictions by accounting for physical behaviours that cannot be modelled.
The new AI-powered decision engine will provide accurate operational parameters to the battery management system, increasing battery pack longevity and simplifying integration.
Dr Umut Genc, CEO of Eatron, said: “Implementing our novel AI-powered intelligent battery software layer with this revolutionary AI-DE can extend a battery pack’s first life by up to 20%.
“This makes it possible for OEMs to design optimally-sized, more cost-effective battery packs, and this actively contributes to our sustainable e-mobility goals by reducing raw material consumption and CO2 emissions.”
Dr Kieran O’Regan, Co-Founder and COO of About:Energy, added: “The use of our advanced electrochemical models vastly streamlines AI model training, and this facilitates both ease of integration and a reduced time-to-market for OEMs and Tier 1s.
“The high-fidelity modelling reduces the need for physical experiments while delivering a clearer, more accurate picture of battery health. Armed with this information, an AI-DE-equipped BMS can deliver not just a longer battery lifetime, but faster charging times, too.”
Capitalising on existing relationships with OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers
About:Energy and Eatron Technologies will capitalise on their existing relationships with OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to develop the system for use in both two- and four-wheeled electric vehicles.
The two businesses applied for the grant after the Battery Technology Global Business Innovation Programme in Japan. Here, Innovate UK brought together some of the UK’s most promising innovators in the battery development and technology industry.
The funding aims to develop battery technology in the UK
The funding from the Faraday Battery Challenge is part of an £11m package aiming to accelerate the development of battery technologies in the UK.
It is part of the UK Government’s net zero transport goals, supporting job creation in cutting-edge AI technologies and increasing consumer confidence in electric vehicles.
