TI Enables Automakers to Take Full Advantage of EV Range with the Industry's Most Accurate Battery Cell and Pack Monitors

­Texas Instruments (TI) introduced new automotive battery cell and pack monitors with the most accurate measurement capability available on the market, maximizing electric vehicle (EV) drive time and enabling safer operation.

As EVs grow in popularity, advanced battery management systems (BMS) are helping overcome critical barriers to widespread adoption. With a focus on solving complex system design challenges, TI provides the most advanced, comprehensive portfolio of BMS devices, enabling automakers to create a safer, more reliable driving experience and accelerate EV adoption.

The BQ79718-Q1 battery cell monitor and BQ79731-Q1 battery pack monitor are the newest products in TI’s comprehensive BMS offering. The BQ79731-Q1 and BQ79718-Q1 devices provide an unprecedented level of accuracy and precision in measuring battery voltage, current and temperature to effectively determine the true range of a vehicle and increase the overall life and safety of the battery pack.

“Automakers aim to get the most range possible out of their EVs, and accurate state-of-charge estimations are vital to achieve this,” said Sam Wong, general manager for BMS at TI. “Our new devices bring substantially higher precision to voltage and current measurement, giving automakers confidence to accurately measure an EV’s true range.”

Effectively increase drive range with the industry’s leading precision

As consumers turn to EVs, accuracy and precision in measuring battery voltage have become critical to a consumer’s driving experience. Even a slight change in temperature can have a significant impact on an EV’s range; and colder weather, in particular, can impact battery range by up to 40%. Such variations can create considerable uncertainty in battery voltage and expected EV range.

The BQ79718-Q1 allows automakers to maximize the true range of their EV with high-performance battery cell voltage measurements down to 1 mV of accuracy, and the BQ79731-Q1 allows measurement of the battery pack current down to 0.05% of accuracy. These innovations will provide the clearest picture possible to measure accurate state of charge and state of health at the individual cell and pack level, effectively reflecting true remaining mileage and instilling confidence in the battery life of their EV.

Enhance state-of-charge estimations with pack voltage and current synchronization

In addition, industry-leading voltage and current synchronization (64 µs) enables instantaneous monitoring of battery pack power, providing a real-time snapshot of battery health. This level of synchronization enables electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, which provides vital insight into the cell core temperature, battery aging and state of charge of the battery. 

Enable higher levels of safety and performance with holistic BMS offering

The BQ79718-Q1 battery cell monitoring integrated circuit achieves an unprecedented Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) accuracy (main path, redundant path and residual error seeking) giving automakers the ability to charge and discharge a vehicle battery pack beyond any cell monitor previously on the market.

The BQ79718-Q1 battery cell monitor and BQ79731-Q1 pack monitor join TI’s portfolio of high-precision battery monitors and balancers. Additionally, the family includes the BQ79600-Q1 SPI/UART communication bridge device, which enables reliable and fast daisy-chained communication using an isolated communication protocol.

This family adds to TI’s holistic offering for BMS, which also includes the CC2662R-Q1 wireless microcontroller (MCU) for wireless BMS, TPSI3050-Q1 isolated switch driver and TPSI2140-Q1 isolated switch device. TI also provides a BMS design suite that includes a reference board, emulator and Automotive Open System Architecture complex device driver.

TI remains committed to driving vehicle electrification forward by helping automakers optimize vehicle performance, accelerate development and create safer, more reliable and affordable EVs.

Package, availability and pricing

Automakers can jump-start their designs by purchasing the battery cell monitor BQ79718-Q1 evaluation module (BQ79718EVM-049), which is available for US $399. The 18-channel BQ79718-Q1 comes in a 10-mm-by-10-mm, 64-pin thermally enhanced thin quad flat package (HTQFP), and is priced at US$8.39 in 1,000-unit quantities. 

Also available is the battery pack monitor BQ79731-Q1 evaluation module (BQ79731Q1EVM-060), which is available for US$199. The battery pack monitor BQ79731-Q1 comes in a 7-mm-by-7-mm, 48-pin thermally enhanced thin quad flat package (HTQFP), and is priced at US$8.39 in 1,000-unit quantities. All products featured for BMS are immediately available for purchase here.