A new battery safety sensor has been released by Metis Engineering called Cell Guard. The sensor is designed to enhance the battery health monitoring of electric vehicles and energy storage systems (ESS) by providing accurate and detailed information.
By providing information on the health of a lithium-ion battery pack, owners of electric vehicles or ESSs can increase the service life of their batteries in addition to detecting cell venting before it occurs or causes thermal runaway.
In addition to measuring temperature and voltage like conventional battery management systems, Cell Guard is capable of monitoring several environmental parameters too, including VOCs, pressure change, humidity and dew point and has an optional accelerometer to measure and record shock loads up to 24g. The gathered data is then used to crosscheck with other inputs to identify cell venting.
The sensor then passes this data via a configurable CAN interface to a control unit – such as the vehicle’s ECU – to warn the driver (within seconds) that cell venting is occurring. Cell Guard can also trigger a process to cut the circuit to the battery pack, enabling it to cool down and reduce the risk of thermal runaway.
Metis Engineering’s sensor also benefits from a programable pin which can control a relay if a threshold is reached. The sensor has a low power mode that continues to monitor the pack silently, and if a threshold is reached, the sensor starts transmitting warnings via CAN.
“With Cell Guard, we are revolutionizing the way batteries are monitored and managed in EVs and energy storage systems,” explained Joe Holdsworth, managing director at Metis Engineering.
“As cells age, the chance of one in a pack of hundreds or thousands having a fault increases significantly. The early detection of cell venting is vital to the safety of the vehicle’s passengers and everything in the immediate proximity. Our sensor offers far greater accuracy and data than current battery cell monitoring equivalents, and at a much lower cost, up to 10 times cheaper than alternatives.
“Cell Guard not only greatly improves battery health and longevity it also provides consumers with valuable and detailed information on used EV battery condition, which is something that is currently lacking and would transform the market.”
