BNG - Wireless Battery Management System

Battery Next Generation (BNG) – Investigating and testing a radio-based battery management system (wireless Battery Management System, wBMS) for battery systems in heavy utility vehicles.

The BNG joint project is funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy and is aimed at researching and developing new generations of battery systems for battery electric utility vehicles with a production start after 2030.

Besides the necessary and ongoing research and development measures relating to actual cell and battery structure, an essential aspect for further development and improvement of battery systems is the subsequent battery monitoring and control. Therefore, one section of the BNG project is focused on the investigation, testing, and implementation of a radio-based variant of a battery management system (wireless Battery Management System, wBMS). The radio communication that occurs between the cell monitoring controllers (CMC) and the battery management controller (BMC) is a special challenge in the field of heavy utility vehicles.

In automotive applications, the battery structure consists of several cell modules on one level, which are installed on the car chassis. The battery structure in utility vehicles, however, is designed over several superimposed levels. “Battery packs” are the result of this layering, which distributes the number of required cell modules over several layers, with several cell modules installed on each layer. These layers are mostly separated from each other, which means there are only narrow connection points for radio communication. This results in difficult operating conditions for a wBMS, which must fulfil high and new requirements related to data security and reliability.

To test the potential use of a wBMS and to gain information about the radio wave distribution within a battery pack, the high-frequency radio communication is being investigated and tested both in simulation and with technical measurements in a real system. The knowledge gained through this project will subsequently be incorporated into the wBMS concept and design and in the construction of the battery pack.

Project lead: Prof. Frank OpferkuchProf. Armin Dietz

Researchers: Andre Merx, M.Sc.

Project partners: MAN Truck & Bus SE, E-T-A GmbH

Funded by: Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy

Funding period: 1 July 2023 - 31 December 2025