Features & Exclusives | Engine + Powertrain Technology

“Interest alone doesn’t guarantee adoption” – what next for BEVs?

Zahra Awan — Thu, 14 May 2026 14:14:43 +0000

Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) account for the largest share of consumer interest in the UK market, leading Europe’s shift toward electrified mobility, according to new data from Imagin.Studio’s European EV Pulse Report

Ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have contributed to renewed volatility in global oil markets, pushing fuel prices higher and accelerating consumer interest in electric vehicles.

Imagin.Studio’s report shows that BEVs made up 45% of all vehicle searches in April 2026, overtaking combustion vehicles (35%). This is a significant increase from the same period in 2025, when BEVs accounted for 33% of searches and combustion vehicles made up 43% of total market searches.

Martijn Versteegen, CEO at Imagin.Studio

Electric demand surges past gasoline

Across Europe, BEVs have only just edged ahead of gasoline. The UK, by contrast, is already ahead of the curve, positioning itself as one of the most advanced EV markets, at least in interest. Combined, electrified vehicles now represent 65% of all UK searches, firmly aligning with the wider European shift. As BEV interest rises sharply year-on-year, searches for hybrid vehicles remain steady at 21%.

The report, based on 300 million image views across the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, shows that in April 2026, there was an average 9% increase in the overall share of searches for electric and hybrid vehicles across all the major European markets compared with April 2025. Taken together, electrified powertrains now dominate consumer attention.

Fuel-price volatility and uncertainty reshape buyer priorities

The rise in EV interest comes against a backdrop of increasing geopolitical uncertainty and rising fuel costs, which have placed additional pressure on household budgets across Europe.

As fuel prices increase, many consumers appear to be reassessing the long-term cost of ownership, with electric vehicles increasingly viewed as a more stable and predictable alternative. While multiple factors influence purchasing decisions, the data suggests that external economic pressures, particularly fuel-price sensitivity, are accelerating the shift toward electrification.

EV interest varies across European markets

While the UK shows strong growth in EV interest, search levels vary significantly by country. These regional differences highlight how infrastructure, incentives and affordability continue to shape the pace of EV adoption across Europe.

Despite BEVs leading in search demand in the UK, adoption still lags behind interest. In 2026, electric vehicles accounted for 23.4% of total car sales, highlighting a significant gap between what consumers explore and what they ultimately purchase.

This suggests that although interest is strong, barriers such as cost, charging access and clarity around options continue to influence final decisions.

Commenting on the findings, Imagin.Studio CEO Martijn Versteegen said, “Crossing the point where electric vehicles generate more consumer interest than combustion engines is a significant milestone for the European market. It shows that electrification is no longer a future ambition but a present reality in the minds of car buyers. However, interest alone does not guarantee adoption.

“Consumers are becoming more engaged with EVs, but they are also more discerning. Economic uncertainty and rising fuel costs are clearly influencing behavior, but buyers still need confidence in what they are choosing.

“What’s particularly encouraging is that this growth is being driven from two directions. Many existing BEV drivers are choosing to stay electric when replacing their vehicles. This shows high satisfaction with the technology. At the same time, we’re seeing fresh interest from drivers who are moving away from petrol and diesel, exploring electric options for the first time.

“As the number of available electric models continues to grow, the challenge for the industry is to present these vehicles in a way that is clear, transparent and easy to understand. Helping consumers compare options, visualize specifications and explore features digitally will be critical in turning this growing interest into meaningful action.”

Real-world validation in high-pressure motorsport sealing applications

Andrew Clarke, senior engineer, design and analysis, Greene Tweed — Wed, 13 May 2026 08:57:22 +0000

In Formula 1, engineering, reliability and performance are inseparable. Even relatively small components can determine whether a car finishes a race. In some cases, a single component failure can end a race instantly. One such example is the sealing system in the hydraulic actuator of the limited-slip differential used in modern F1 drivetrains.

The limited-slip differential clutch pack plays a central role in torque distribution across the rear axle. By controlling the difference in wheel speed between the rear wheels, the system maximizes traction and stability through cornering. The hydraulic actuator responsible for this function must operate precisely under rapidly changing loads.

In this actuator, sealing integrity is critical. Any significant leakage can lead to a loss of hydraulic pressure, preventing the clutch from functioning as intended and potentially forcing the car to retire from the race.

Operating conditions inside the actuator are demanding. Temperatures can reach approximately 150°C, while system pressures range from 5 to 250 bar. At the same time, the seal must tolerate aggressive transmission fluids and repeated mechanical loading throughout race distances. Components must maintain dimensional stability, resist wear and sustain sealing force despite thermal cycling, pressure variation and chemical exposure.

It is this challenge that the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team sought to address when partnering with Greene Tweed on advanced sealing solutions for its limited-slip differential clutch pack.

Engineering limits in real track conditions

Motorsport environments often expose the limits of theoretical design assumptions. While simulation and material data can provide valuable guidance, component behavior may differ when operating within a complete system. This is due to the complex interaction of thermal, mechanical and chemical conditions, which directly influence stresses and material behavior.

In a Formula 1 drivetrain, thermal loads, hydraulic pressure, mechanical motion and fluid interaction occur simultaneously within tightly packaged assemblies. These factors influence friction, wear patterns and long-term dimensional stability, particularly for sealing components.

As a result, validation under representative operating conditions becomes essential. Dynamic testing allows engineers to observe how materials respond over time, identify potential failure modes and refine designs before deployment on track.

Development of the sealing solution

Addressing the demands of the differential actuator requires a sealing architecture capable of consistent performance across wide ranges of pressures, temperatures and dynamic conditions.

For this application, engineers selected a metal spring-energized sealing design. The configuration combines a C-shaped polymer jacket with an internal corrosion-resistant metal spring, ensuring consistent sealing force regardless of system pressure. This architecture helps sustain contact between the seal and the mating surface as pressure and temperature fluctuate.

The sealing jacket is manufactured from a specialized PTFE-based material engineered to balance several performance requirements. Improved material strength supports dimensional stability under pressure, while wear resistance contributes to long operational life. Low creep relaxation helps preserve sealing force over time, and low friction properties support smooth actuator movement.

Together, these characteristics allow the sealing assembly to operate effectively within the actuator’s demanding environment. The spring-energized seal maintains an effective sealing force under conditions where system pressure is low, while the polymer jacket provides chemical compatibility, low friction and durability.

Dynamic testing and design refinement

Although seal pedigree, modeling, and material data can help guide early design decisions, physical validation ultimately determines whether a component is suitable for high-performance applications.

To replicate operational conditions as closely as possible, engineers conducted validation testing on a dynamic transmission test rig. This environment reproduced realistic pressure cycling, temperature exposure and mechanical loading similar to those experienced in a working drivetrain.

Testing provided insights into how the sealing assembly behaved under sustained dynamic loads, particularly the effects of pressure fluctuations and thermal cycling on deformation and long-term stability. These conditions could not be fully captured through static testing alone.

Engineers adjusted the sealing configuration to improve resistance to deformation under high pressure and elevated temperature conditions. Through this iterative testing and design refinement, the team qualified the sealing system for use in demanding motorsport conditions.

Enabling system evolution and packaging

Reliable sealing performance can influence broader system design decisions. In high-performance vehicles, engineers continuously seek opportunities to improve packaging efficiency while maintaining reliability.

By delivering consistent sealing performance under extreme thermal, pressure and fluid conditions, the solution increased confidence in system reliability. This enabled engineers to develop a more compact differential architecture without compromising performance.

Improved reliability margins supported packaging optimization and weight reduction – both critical factors in Formula 1 performance.

The sealing solution has been successfully deployed in McLaren’s Formula 1 cars since the 2022 season, demonstrating sustained reliability under real race conditions. Ongoing refinements have strengthened system performance and supported continued drivetrain development, culminating in a next-generation system and seal assembly qualified for the 2026 season.

Engineering considerations for high-pressure motorsport systems

The development of sealing solutions for high-performance motorsport applications highlights several broader engineering principles.

First, sealing performance directly influences system reliability. In hydraulic control systems, even small leaks can disrupt pressure regulation and compromise overall functionality. Seal integrity and efficiency must therefore be treated as a primary design parameter.

Second, validation under combined operating stressors is essential. Factors such as thermal loads, pressure variation, mechanical movement and chemical exposure interact in ways that cannot always be predicted through simulation alone. Dynamic testing provides critical insight into how a seal assembly behaves within realistic system environments.

Finally, close collaboration between system engineers and seal design engineers can significantly accelerate development. Early engagement allows sealing technology to be effectively integrated into the system architecture rather than treated as a late-stage component selection.

In high-performance environments such as Formula 1, where marginal gains and reliability determine race outcomes, these collaborative engineering approaches between Greene Tweed and the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team help ensure that every component performs. Crucially, the lessons learned extend beyond motorsport, informing sealing design strategies in industries such as aerospace, energy and advanced manufacturing, where reliability under extreme conditions is critical.

Study reveals what EV buyers really ask about batteries

Zahra Awan — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 10:00:25 +0000

Barbuck, an AI-powered platform that extracts customer insight from sales conversations, and Generational have released their latest insights, revealing what EV buyers really want to know when they call about buying their next car.

Using advanced, data-secure voice analytics, Barbuck recently analyzed approximately 500 real used-EV sales calls from automotive retailers across the UK to understand the questions customers ask most often.

The analysis reveals that among these EV-focused calls, 31% of callers asked about vehicle performance, health or maintenance; that 49% asked about warranty coverage; and that 34% of calls contained questions focused specifically on battery health, range or mileage.

The data highlights the growing demand for clarity and transparency among EV buyers, particularly regarding the long-term reliability of batteries, which remain the most valuable yet least understood component.

In the used EV market, as consumers become more aware of the importance of testing, battery health analysis and transparent reporting are emerging as critical trust signals that help drive faster and more confident sales.

Oliver Phillpott, CEO of Generational, said, “These findings from Barbuck underline how EV buyers are asking the right questions – and given we’re seeing this consistently across the market, the industry must be ready with the right answers.

“At its core, battery health transparency is about data driving confidence. When customers understand the true condition of an EV, they can buy with certainty and dealers can sell faster. Together with Barbuck, we’re helping the industry turn every question into an opportunity to build trust and momentum in the used EV market.”

Elly Harron, managing director of Barbuck, added, “Every call tells a story not just about who’s calling, but why. Our platform analyses the language of thousands of conversations to uncover the real questions buyers ask, the FAQs sales teams need to answer better, and the marketing messages that actually drive conversions. We’re helping dealers spot lost sales, improve consistency and give customers the clarity they’re already asking for.”

New self-assembling material could be the key to recyclable EV batteries

Zach Winn — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 15:23:12 +0000

Originally published by MIT News

Today’s electric vehicle boom is tomorrow’s mountain of electronic waste. And while myriad efforts are underway to improve battery recycling, many EV batteries still end up in landfills.

A research team from MIT wants to help change that with a new kind of self-assembling battery material that quickly breaks apart when submerged in a simple organic liquid. In a paper published in Nature Chemistry, the researchers showed the material can work as the electrolyte in a functioning, solid-state battery cell and then revert to its original molecular components in minutes.

The approach offers an alternative to shredding the battery into a mixed, hard-to-recycle mass. Instead, because the electrolyte serves as the battery’s connecting layer, when the alternative material returns to its original molecular form, the entire battery disassembles to accelerate the recycling process.

“So far in the battery industry, we’ve focused on high-performing materials and designs, and only later tried to figure out how to recycle batteries made with complex structures and hard-to-recycle materials,” says the paper’s first author, Yukio Cho PhD. “Our approach is to start with easily recyclable materials and figure out how to make them battery-compatible. Designing batteries for recyclability from the beginning is a new approach.”

Joining Cho on the paper are PhD candidate Cole Fincher, Ty Christoff-Tempesta PhD, Kyocera professor of ceramics Yet-Ming Chiang, visiting associate professor Julia Ortony, Xiaobing Zuo and Guillaume Lamour.

Better batteries

There’s a scene in one of the Harry Potter films where Professor Dumbledore cleans a dilapidated home with the flick of the wrist and a spell. Cho says that the image stuck with him as a kid. When he saw a talk by Ortony on engineering molecules so that they could assemble into complex structures and then revert to their original form, he wondered if this technique could be used to make battery recycling work like magic.

That would be a paradigm shift for the battery industry. Today, battery recycling requires harsh chemicals, high heat and complex processing . There are three main parts of a battery: the positively charged cathode, the negatively charged electrode and the electrolyte that shuttles lithium ions between them. The electrolytes in most lithium-ion batteries are highly flammable and degrade over time into toxic byproducts that require specialized handling.

A rendering shows (left) the mPEGAA molecule designed by researchers, (middle) how the molecules self-assemble into nanoribbons, and (right) how the molecules are used for the battery electrolyte. Credit: MIT News

To simplify the recycling process, the researchers decided to make a more sustainable electrolyte. For that, they turned to a class of molecules that self-assemble in water, named aramid amphiphiles (AAs), whose chemical structures and stability mimic that of Kevlar. The researchers further designed the AAs to contain polyethylene glycol (PEG), which can conduct lithium ions, on one end of each molecule. When the molecules are exposed to water, they spontaneously form nanoribbons with ion-conducting PEG surfaces and bases that imitate the robustness of Kevlar through tight hydrogen bonding. The result is a mechanically stable nanoribbon structure that conducts ions across its surface.

“The material is composed of two parts,” Cho explains. “The first part is this flexible chain that gives us a nest, or host, for lithium ions to jump around. The second part is this strong organic material component that is used in the Kevlar, which is a bulletproof material. Those make the whole structure stable.”

When added to water, the nanoribbons self-assemble to form millions of nanoribbons that can be hot-pressed into a solid-state material.

“Within five minutes of being added to water, the solution becomes gel-like, indicating there are so many nanofibers formed in the liquid that they start to entangle each other,” Cho says. “What’s exciting is we can make this material at scale because of the self-assembly behavior.”

The team tested the material’s strength and toughness, finding it could endure the stresses associated with making and running the battery. They also constructed a solid-state battery cell that used lithium iron phosphate for the cathode and lithium titanium oxide as the anode, both common materials in today’s batteries. The nanoribbons moved lithium ions successfully between the electrodes, but a side-effect known as polarization limited the movement of lithium ions into the battery’s electrodes during fast bouts of charging and discharging, hampering its performance compared with today’s gold-standard commercial batteries.

“The lithium ions moved along the nanofiber all right, but getting the lithium ion from the nanofibers to the metal oxide seems to be the most sluggish point of the process,” Cho says.

When they immersed the battery cell in organic solvents, the material immediately dissolved, with each part of the battery falling away for easier recycling. Cho compared the materials’ reaction to cotton candy being submerged in water.

“The electrolyte holds the two battery electrodes together and provides the lithium-ion pathways,” Cho says. “So, when you want to recycle the battery, the entire electrolyte layer can fall off naturally and you can recycle the electrodes separately.”

Validating a new approach

Cho says the material is a proof of concept that demonstrates the recycle-first approach.

“We don’t want to say we solved all the problems with this material,” Cho says. “Our battery performance was not fantastic because we used only this material as the entire electrolyte for the paper, but what we’re picturing is using this material as one layer in the battery electrolyte. It doesn’t have to be the entire electrolyte to kick off the recycling process.”

Cho also sees a lot of room for optimizing the material’s performance with further experiments.

Now, the researchers are exploring ways to integrate these kinds of materials into existing battery designs, and implementing the ideas into new battery chemistries.

“It’s very challenging to convince existing vendors to do something very differently,” Cho says. “But with new battery materials that may come out in five or 10 years, it could be easier to integrate this into new designs in the beginning.”

Cho also believes the approach could help reshore lithium supplies by reusing materials from batteries that are already in the US.

“People are starting to realize how important this is,” Cho says. “If we can start to recycle lithium-ion batteries from battery waste at scale, it’ll have the same effect as opening lithium mines in the US. Also, each battery requires a certain amount of lithium, so extrapolating out the growth of electric vehicles, we need to reuse this material to avoid massive lithium price spikes.”

The work was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Energy. It was performed, in part, using the MIT Characterization.nano facilities.

Hyundai/GM alliance powers forward with five all-new vehicles

Zahra Awan — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 16:32:03 +0000

Hyundai Motor Company and General Motors have announced the next big step in their growing alliance: the co-development of five all-new vehicles, building on their framework agreement signed in September 2024

The partnership

Production of these models is scheduled to begin in 2028, with combined annual sales projected to exceed 800,000 units once fully ramped up. GM will lead the development of the mid-size truck platform, while Hyundai will spearhead work on the compact vehicles and the electric van. Both companies will share platforms but design unique interiors and exteriors to reflect their own brand identities.

Hyundai Motor Group’s advanced next-generation hybrid system

“Hyundai’s strategic collaboration with GM will help us continue to deliver value and choice to our customers across multiple vehicle segments and markets,” said José Muñoz, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company. “Our combined scale in North and South America helps us to more efficiently provide our customers with more of what they want – beautifully designed, high-quality, safety-focused vehicles with technology they appreciate.”

Shilpan Amin, GM senior VP and global chief procurement and supply chain officer, added, “By partnering together, GM and Hyundai will bring more choice to our customers faster, and at lower cost. These first co-developed vehicles clearly demonstrate how GM and Hyundai will leverage our complementary strengths and combined scale. No matter the badge, everything we build will carry the stamp of both GM and Hyundai.”

Why GM is partnering with Hyundai: manufacturing

Amin spoke separately on the development. He noted that the partnership is not only about the five new vehicles but also about how both companies design, source and manufacture.

By teaming up, GM aims to reduce costs, streamline manufacturing and bring new models to market faster. Joint efforts in sourcing and logistics are expected to boost efficiency, deliver savings and create opportunities to scale further across raw materials and complex systems. The companies are also exploring future propulsion technologies, including fuel cells.

Mary Barra, General Motors chair and chief executive officer, unveiling the all-electric 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ

“General Motors and Hyundai together make more vehicles than any other single auto maker in the world,” explained Amin. “Between us, we run nearly two dozen assembly plants, building cars, trucks and SUVs spread across key markets worldwide. And we’re both in the top 50 for US patents – a clear sign that innovation drives what we do.”

The first of these vehicles are scheduled to roll out in 2028; GM has said it expects production to reach more than 800,000 vehicles a year.

“By joining forces with Hyundai, we can broaden our line-up while making our R&D, logistics, design and manufacturing teams even more effective. Put simply: together, we’re more than the sum of our parts,” Amin concluded.

When GM CEO Mary Barra signed the agreement with Hyundai a year ago, she said, “GM and Hyundai have complementary strengths and talented teams. Our goal is to unlock the scale and creativity of both companies to deliver even more competitive vehicles to customers faster and more efficiently.”

Interview: ZeBeyond powertrain optimization

Lawrence Butcher — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 09:45:10 +0000

Being able to quickly find the ideal powertrain solution for a given project is a boon for any manufacturer, be it in automotive or other sectors such as off-highway. Virtual tools have already revolutionized the development process, reducing the number of prototypes required and pushing the need for physical parts further down the line. However, many of the processes used are somewhat disjointed, making it difficult to efficiently find the optimum combination of components from an overall system perspective, taking into account performance as well as factors such as costs and, ever more importantly, sustainability. ZeBeyond, a UK-based software company, is looking to streamline the process and give engineers an all-in-one tool to quickly arrive at the optimum propulsion package for their specific applications.

Over the past five years, ZeBeyond has been honing its ePOP tool in automotive. However, as CTO Bence Falvy explains, the off-highway sector has shown potential for even greater relative gains. “In the automotive industry, high production volumes justify the investment in high-fidelity, multidimensional simulations for each new product iteration,” he says. “These detailed analyses are supported by extensive data availability and standardized load cases.

“In contrast, the off-highway sector operates with significantly lower volumes and far greater application diversity. Here, the lack of accurate load cycle data and the sheer number of possible powertrain configurations often make such detailed analysis impractical (or economically unviable) without better simulation frameworks and data acquisition strategies.”

Simplifying the complex

The concept of ePOP is simple, even if its implementation is anything but. The tool enables engineers to input their end requirements for a powertrain and outputs a variety of options for how best to meet those requirements. For example, given a particular drive cycle and package requirement, would an axial or radial flux motor be preferred, or an ASM or PSM? Compared with passenger cars, the level of system complexity in the off-highway market can be very high, but the starting point from an efficiency perspective is often lower, making it possible to achieve impressive improvements over existing solutions.

“Traditional powertrain sizing in the off-highway industry has largely been driven by peak power requirements, with internal combustion engines serving as the default solution,” explains Falvy. “However, many of these applications exhibit high peak-to-average power ratios — a characteristic that opens significant opportunities for hybridization or even full electrification, depending on the operational profile. By matching energy sources more intelligently to the actual demand patterns, it’s possible to achieve substantial gains in efficiency.

“Designing and sizing hybrid powertrains is inherently complex, as it extends beyond traditional power-based considerations to include energy management and time-domain dynamics. This multidimensional design challenge requires advanced tools and methodologies. The off-highway industry has a unique opportunity to accelerate hybrid system integration by adopting best practices from the automotive sector, where high- dimensional analysis techniques have matured over years of intensive development and high-volume deployment.”

Controlling powertrain costs

While efficiency is an important selling point in automotive, total cost of ownership (TCO) is king in the off-highway and commercial vehicle arena. Because ZeBeyond’s tools encompass the entire product lifecycle, they offer the opportunity to dramatically affect this metric.

It is this aspect that has enthused CEO Wiktor Dotter. “That’s where I’m so excited about off- highway,” he says. “With passenger cars, you’re not selling to a fleet, you’re selling to households. If you’re selling to a fleet and you can deliver improved efficiency, you’re saving dollars, you’re saving gallons of fuel and you’re selling uptime. If you can size a portfolio of machines to a mine, and say, ‘Okay, it is five times the cost per component, but you will double your uptime,’ it’s a no-brainer.”

Central to these potential improvements is a proper understanding of the end use environment for the powertrain, be it an excavator or even a stationary generator unit. “In hybrid powertrains, the optimal balance between battery capacity, internal combustion engine size and electric motor power is critical to maximizing energy savings,” says Falvy. “When correctly sized and integrated, these systems can significantly reduce fuel consumption and operating costs, directly contributing to a lower total cost of ownership.”

Notably, ZeBeyond’s off-highway toolset allows not only for the main powertrain to be defined and refined but also for the myriad auxiliary drives, such as hydraulics, to be optimized. “You could be talking about a hydraulic load, or a fan that needs to run for a cooling system,” highlights Falvy. “You can end up with a large list of various power types, hydraulic, electric, mechanical, rotational and so on. Compared with the automotive solution, where we are just looking to drive the wheels, in the off-highway industry, while the fidelity of the individual components is reduced, the fidelity and complexity of the overall solution explodes. You have a very large number of options to consider, and we are developing various ways of addressing that, allowing customers to understand the hundreds or even thousands of options available, ascertain which is best and arrive at a package with the best TCO, or the lightest solution, of any other KPI they choose.”

ZeBeyond tends to work with system integrators and engineers to ascertain their high-level requirements for a particular project. These are then used to create measurable output metrics, such as power requirement versus time. Unlike automotive, where there are already established test cycles such as WLTP, very few such cycles exist in off-highway, particularly where a piece of plant may be produced in very low numbers or even be unique. In such cases, Falvy says the company will work with clients to establish baseline use cycles from scratch, with the tool enabling users to create individual cycles across a workday for each power output requirement.

ZeBeyond is constantly working to broaden the data to which its tools have access. “We are collaborating with suppliers of components, for example internal combustion engines and battery suppliers, and integrating their catalogs into our tool,” notes Falvy. “From there, we can go into the real world and say, ‘Okay, I know you would like a 25kW ICE engine, for example, but you may only have a 30kW and 20kW available.’ We can then ask the tool which of those would be the best pick as it is possible one will be better than another.”

With relentless pressure on development timelines and industry-wide hesitation to commit to major electrification projects, manufacturers are increasingly seeing ZeBeyond’s software as essential. By drastically lowering barriers through software simulation, its tools quickly reveal where electrification makes business sense and where it doesn’t, enabling faster decisions and freeing resources to refine final products aligned closely with customer needs.

For more information visit ZeBeyond’s website

Porsche embraces AI for innovative data analysis in vehicle development

Zahra Awan — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 11:16:42 +0000

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an indispensable tool, especially for complex systems in a network, such as the battery-electric energy storage system.

The increasing number of highly developed sensors provides a volume of data that can no longer be processed with conventional software. For Porsche, using machine learning and AI for data analysis helps understand huge amounts of information and varying contexts, and provides reliable insights into component behavior and interaction.

AI in battery development

A high-voltage battery is a complex system that is exposed to a wide range of external and internal influences. Porsche’s engineers use data analysis and AI to establish these influences and their effects on the energy system.

AI supports developers in detecting implausible behavior within a battery. This allows the algorithms to analyze the balancing behavior of individual cells and the entire battery as early as the development stage. Balancing refers to the charge balance between the cells of a battery module. If the values deviate from the expected state, the data allows faster conclusions to be drawn about the causes and underlying processes. At the same time, the data quality in the development process is improved, so that later findings from customer vehicles are even more reliable.

In addition to the known main drivers of battery aging, modern analysis methods can also be used to identify other influences. Through the coupled application of state-of-the-art data-analysis methods and physicochemical models, forecasts and analyses of the aging of high-voltage batteries in the customer fleet can be created. Optimization criteria such as range, charging time, system performance, weight, durability and consumption are worked out.

Analyses based on AI must be understandable and explainable to provide a reliable foundation for development-related decision-making. Therefore, explainable AI methods are used. Porsche says that AI is a tool that helps the team to understand complex relationships and take all relevant aspects into account. In combination with the expertise of the sports car manufacturer’s development engineers, this enables a precise classification of the situation at the end of the analysis.

Through an intelligent and adapted system design, the aging influences identified by AI can be reduced in a targeted manner.

Preventative anomaly detection

A particularly innovative data analysis method, which is being used on data from the battery of the Porsche Macan, is preventive anomaly exploration. This assesses the technical cause and relevance should any anomalies be detected in the data.

Preventive anomaly detection uses detectors that use intelligent algorithms to extract, for example, a change in the behavior of the battery from the online data. The detected anomalies are analyzed, deciphered and evaluated in the cloud.

However, if a relevant anomaly should occur, Porsche proactively informs the driver with specific instructions via the MyPorsche app. This method can evaluate the data of each cell of the battery individually.

Preventive anomaly detection aims to use data-analysis methods to ensure the reliability and performance of vehicles, and to predict potential limitations.

In related news, Porsche Engineering has developed what it is calling a concept for an ‘AC battery’ which integrates the normally separate functions of the battery management system, inverter, low-voltage DCDC and onboard charger into one single component, controlled by a standardized control unit concept with a particularly powerful and real-time-capable computing platform. Read the full story here

How modeling and simulation drive safer battery management systems in EVs

Zahra Awan — Tue, 06 May 2025 16:09:10 +0000

Globally, battery demand grew by 70% in 2023 compared with 2022, driven by rising electric vehicle (EV) sales. Safety has remained a top priority, as the high energy density of lithium-ion batteries poses a risk of failure if operating conditions stray from their design parameters. As EV battery use has increased, effective battery management systems (BMS) have become critical to prevent thermal runaway and other adverse outcomes. MathWorks senior product marketing manager Danielle Chu discusses the process of developing a BMS using modeling and simulation.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has announced that mandatory safety standards for electric vehicle (EV) batteries will come into effect on July 1, 2026. The new regulation is the world’s first standard that requires batteries to prevent fire and explosion, even after internal thermal runaway occurs. Safety is a critical concern in EVs. The high energy density of lithium-ion batteries, a typical choice in EVs, poses risks of failure if the operating conditions deviate from those for which the battery has been designed. A battery management system (BMS) is critical in preventing negative outcomes, including thermal runaway – an uncontrollable exothermal reaction leading to the destruction of the battery.

The primary functions of a BMS include monitoring current, voltage and temperature to prevent overcharge and over-discharge; balancing the charge across the cells; estimating the battery’s state of charge (SOC) and state of health (SOH); and controlling the temperature of the battery pack. These functions are critical, as they affect the performance, safety, battery lifetime and user experience of the electric vehicle. For example, by preventing overcharge and discharge beyond voltage limits, the BMS prevents premature aging of the battery, ensuring that the vehicle remains performant over its operational life.

The advantages of using simulation in BMS development

Engineers simulate the battery plant model, environment and BMS algorithms on a desktop computer using behavioral models. They use desktop simulation to explore new design ideas and test multiple system architectures before committing to a hardware prototype. Desktop simulation enables engineers to verify functional aspects of the BMS design. For example, they can explore different balancing configurations to evaluate suitability and trade-offs between them. Simulation is also instrumental in requirement testing; for example, engineers can verify correct contactor behavior in the presence of an isolation fault. Evaluating the system’s behavior during a fault is another clear example of the use of simulation to replace hardware testing.

Once the design is validated using desktop simulation, engineers can automatically generate C or HDL code for rapid prototyping (RP) or hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing to validate the BMS algorithms running as code in real time. With RP, code is generated from the BMS algorithms model and deployed to a real-time computer that performs the functions of the production microcontroller. With automatic code generation, algorithm changes made in the model can be tested on real-time hardware in hours rather than days. In the case of HIL testing, code is generated from the battery plant models rather than the BMS algorithm models, providing a virtual real-time environment that represents the battery pack, active and passive circuit elements, loads, charger and other system components. This virtual environment enables engineers to validate the functionality of the BMS controller in real time before developing a hardware prototype.

Simulation enables engineers to dramatically reduce the time from design to code generation, allowing for rapid modeling of various techniques with enhanced speed and efficiency. Altigreen Propulsion Labs engineers used a simulation-based approach to model and iteratively test different techniques for SOC estimation, such as Kalman filtering and Coulomb counting, and designed a comprehensive one for their SOC estimation. Prathamesh Patki, principal engineer and control systems head at Altigreen, says, “Embedded Coder has cut development time in half. Whatever we conceptualize, we can get it running in the shortest amount of time on the real hardware.”

BMS development use cases

Cell characterization is the process of fitting a battery model to experimental data. Accurate cell characterization is essential because the BMS algorithm uses the battery model to set control parameters such as those of a Kalman filter for SOC estimation or power limits based on SOC and temperature to avoid undervoltage or overvoltage conditions. Later in the BMS development cycle, engineers can use the same battery model for system-level closed-loop desktop and real-time system simulations. Tools such as Simscape Battery provide multiple approaches to battery modeling, including equivalent circuit, electrochemical and reduced order modeling using neural networks.

Charging speed is a key performance indicator in EV design and adoption. The high power levels of fast charging stress the battery materials and reduce its lifetime. Therefore, it is essential to optimize the power profile during fast charging to ensure maximum charging rate and minimal stress on the battery. This is achieved with a combination of simulation and optimization. The charging time is minimized while stress factors are kept within acceptable ranges.

Production code generation complements BMS design workflows compliant with formal certification standards in the automotive industry. For example, when LG Chem (now LG Energy Solution) developed the BMS for the Volvo XC90 plug-in hybrid, Autosar was a requirement standard. LG Chem chose to model and simulate the BMS algorithms and behaviors as an integral part of their design workflow. The number of software issues identified in each software release dropped from about 22 to fewer than nine – well below the target for the project. The BMS LG Chem developed for Volvo using Autosar has achieved ISO 26262 functional safety-based certification for Automotive Safety Integrity Level C (ASIL C).

Conclusion

Using modeling and simulation in BMS design accelerates development, lowers costs and leads to safer, more efficient electric vehicles. By thoroughly testing BMS algorithms across a wide range of operating and fault scenarios, engineers can be more confident that the software will perform reliably in real-world conditions, minimizing the need for expensive physical testing. This approach ultimately helps ensure the final product not only meets but also surpasses industry standards and customer expectations.

GaN: The next frontier

Chris Pickering — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 14:14:43 +0000

The importance of silicon carbide (SiC) inverters in the rise of electric vehicles is hard to overstate. SiC technology has played a key role in enabling 800V architectures and the improved charging speeds these offer. Faster switching speeds, higher current capacities and a wider temperature range than traditional silicon semiconductors have also helped to send SiC inverters to the top of every manufacturer’s wish list.

But what if there were something better? Something that could take the advantages of SiC devices and push them further?

That’s precisely what gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors have the potential to do. Compared with SiC, they promise even faster switching speeds, smaller and lighter devices, and lower conduction losses. In the long run, they could even prove cheaper.

Predictably, there’s a catch. Although GaN’s theoretical benefits have already been realized in lower-power devices such as cell phone chargers and laptop power supplies, the technology currently struggles with the higher voltages and power levels required for automotive traction inverters.

“GaN is simply a much better semiconductor,” says Rupert Baines, CEO of UK-based startup QPT. “It has far lower losses, it’s easier to charge and discharge, it doesn’t have a body diode, so there are no recovery losses. Instead of using conduction, it’s based on an electron gas, so the electrons just float through the device with no resistance, which generates a fraction of the heat. Physicists have known all this for 40 years; they just couldn’t make GaN transistors in any sort of volume.”

One of the challenges is that GaN is a lot more fragile than the more common semiconductor materials. There have been improvements in substrate technology and device topology within the transistors themselves, but GaN is still marginal on voltage capability for automotive applications, and clever system-level design is needed to make inverters work reliably.

“In order to switch very quickly without failure, the delivery of energy into the transistor has to be governed very carefully,” notes Baines. “You also need to make sure that if there’s a short circuit for any reason, it remains safe.”

The second challenge is thermal design. GaN is prone to thermal runaway, where heat causes an increase in resistance, which increases the temperature, leading to a chain reaction. Baines says that with careful thermal design it’s possible to remove heat effectively enough to eliminate this danger, as QPT has succeeded in doing with its mid-power devices.

“We can move into the 10kW class today because we’ve solved those issues,” he says. “The reason we can’t yet move into the 100kW range is mainly because of the voltage limit. Cars are rapidly moving from 400V up to 800V. We could produce a 400V design but nobody really wants those anymore. Once GaN transistors are available that will work at that sort of voltage, we will see GaN traction inverters in EVs.”

High-voltage GaN transistors have been produced in the past. Experimental devices on a silicon carbide substrate have been proved to operate at over 3,000V, but most experts agree that the business case for GaN devices relies on the use of a more affordable silicon base.

Inspirit Ventures CEO Geoff Haynes is a semiconductor industry stalwart with more than 50 years’ experience. He was the co-founder of GaN Systems and worked on the 3,000V GaN transistors developed by Taransys.

“The challenge with using a silicon substrate is that it’s a conductor, and the channel that carries the current in the device breaks down to that substrate at typically 1,100 or 1,200V,” he explains. “By the time you’ve put some safety margin on top of that, it limits the present technology to around 650V. There is a lot of work going on among the semiconductor manufacturers to increase the depth of the AlGaN insulator, so the channel is farther away from that breakdown surface of the substrate. As soon as we can get GaN devices up to a safe operating range of 1,200V, we’ll start to see them in automotive.”

Fast switching

The key to the advantages of GaN devices is the speed at which they can switch. No transistor switches on and off instantaneously. Instead, there’s a brief transition period as the power level ramps up (or down), during which time its power losses increase dramatically. This period lasts for around 30 to 60 nanoseconds on a traditional silicon IGBT. SiC slashes that to somewhere between six and 15 nanoseconds, but the fastest GaN devices can get down to around one nanosecond.

These periods of time might seem infinitesimally small, but when the device is switching 10,000 to 20,000 times a second, they soon add up. As Haynes notes, “A transistor that switches in one-tenth of the time wastes one-tenth of the energy.”

Switching faster wastes less heat, which means that the devices themselves can be smaller and lighter. And as Baines points out, it can also set off a virtuous circle throughout the vehicle. “On a WLTP cycle you might be getting 85% efficiency, between the losses in the motor and the losses in the inverter. Going to the best SiC devices, you might get 90%. That 5% increase means you might be able to run a 5% smaller battery for the same range. That improvement has also reduced your heat rejection by a third, which means a third less heat sink and a smaller cooling system.

“But with GaN, the increase might be from 90-95%, so you’re not reducing your waste heat by one-third, you’re reducing it by two-thirds [compared with silicon]. What could that mean? It has been suggested that we’re not far away from the point where lower-powered city cars could replace liquid cooling with air cooling, like Volkswagen did with the original Beetle. At that point, you’re not wasting energy in the cooling, you’re making everything smaller, you’re making everything lighter and you’re making everything simpler.”

Packaging options

The compact size of GaN inverters could make it easier to package the drive system inside the motor itself, aiding integration. It could even assist with the move toward greater recyclability. “People are starting to ask, ‘Can we use aluminum windings in the motors, and make those flat so they’re easier to wind?’,” Haynes notes. “By moving to aluminum, you have the advantage that you could melt everything down at the end of life. And if you can make them square, you might actually be able to mount the transistors directly onto those as heat sinks. So there’s a tremendous amount of work going on into ways to simplify, reduce the heat production and integrate the whole of the motor and its drive system. Switching to GaN makes the components so much smaller – tiny little coils rather than large inductors – which could help to enable this change.”

There’s no doubt that GaN technology would cause the Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers some headaches. The mechanical, thermal and electrical design within the inverter would have to be revised to support the new technology – in contrast to SiC, which is pretty much a drop-in substitute for silicon. For vehicle manufacturers the benefits would be much simpler to unlock, says Baines: “The inputs, the outputs and the control signals will all be much the same; it’s just that the inverter will get a lot smaller and the cooling system requirements will go down.”

Delivering these benefits is a work in progress, but Haynes and Baines both believe it should be realistic within the next couple of years. Perhaps what’s most surprising for a new technology backed by such ambitious claims is that they also believe that it could be cheaper than SiC.

“High-power GaN transistors are more expensive than SiC at the moment, but that’s largely because the market isn’t there for them yet,” says Haynes. “The GaN transistor is actually a very simple structure; there are far more processing steps involved in SiC. If the industry can tip the supply and demand for GaN, it will knock SiC out of the park.”

The key to all of this is context. Haynes emphasizes that it isn’t a question of outright superiority, but rather picking the best material for the requirements, with silicon and SiC still having major roles to play in different applications. For automotive traction inverters, however, the case for GaN appears compelling, providing the challenges around voltage and power capability can be solved.