TL;DR
Get business pricing on garage and car supplies
- Business-only prices and quantity discounts
- Tax-exempt purchasing
- Multiple users, one account, clear invoices
Infineon has introduced an orderable high-voltage battery management system reference design built around its AURIX TC4x microcontroller. The package includes battery management, pack and cell monitoring hardware, and development software; performance and battery-life benefits cited by Infineon are potential results, not reported outcomes from a specific vehicle.
Infineon Technologies has introduced an orderable reference design for a high-voltage battery management system (BMS) built around its AURIX TC4x microcontroller. The design brings together a battery management unit (BMU), pack and cell monitoring units, and development software, giving engineers a platform for building and evaluating BMS functions for electric-vehicle batteries.
The BMU uses the AURIX TC4x and its parallel processing unit (PPU). Infineon says the PPU can provide up to 30 times the processing performance of a standard CPU. The company says that added capacity can run computationally intensive battery models directly on the BMU, including machine-learning, hybrid, electrochemical and equivalent-circuit models, as well as digital twins.
The board supports several methods for estimating battery condition, including electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, open-circuit-voltage measurement, coulomb counting and Kalman filtering, alongside AI-based models. Infineon says these methods can estimate internal cell temperature, state of charge, state of health, state of power and state of safety, and identify indicators of lithium plating. The BMU includes Ethernet, CAN, USB-C and isoUART connections, vehicle and laboratory power inputs, MOTIX contactor drivers, EEPROM, a high-voltage interlock, and XENSIV pressure and gas sensors intended to detect signs of thermal runaway.
The other units handle pack- and cell-level monitoring. The pack monitoring unit uses Infineon’s PSOC 4 HVPA SPM 1.0 and is designed to meet ASIL D. Its functions include current sensing, voltage monitoring up to 1,000 volts, isolation-resistance measurement and coulomb counting. The cell monitoring unit uses the TLE9018DQK, an 18-channel lithium-ion monitoring and balancing IC designed for ASIL D and ISO 26262. Infineon says the IC can be powered from three to 18 cells, while hardware cascading supports as many as 62 boards in a daisy chain.
More Computation Inside the Battery Controller
The design addresses a growing engineering challenge: battery controllers must estimate battery condition and respond to changing operating conditions, while working within constraints on processing, wiring and safety. By providing more computing capacity at the BMU, Infineon’s platform is intended to let developers run more detailed models on the battery system itself rather than relying only on simpler estimation methods.
Infineon links that capability to potential improvements in battery use and vehicle performance. The company says optimized load profiles could extend battery lifetime by up to 30% in various application scenarios; its modeling could support designs with up to 20% fewer cells or more driving range with an unchanged battery configuration; and added processing performance may cut charging times by up to 20%. These are company-stated potential benefits, not independently verified results or guaranteed outcomes for vehicles using the design.
For engineers, the practical news is the availability of an integrated reference platform that includes monitoring hardware and software as well as the BMU. It can provide a starting point for evaluation and development, while the safety-related detection features are intended to help a BMS identify hazardous battery conditions earlier. Infineon says earlier detection of conditions associated with thermal runaway can give a system more time to take preventive or protective measures.
Products Worth Considering
DEWALT 20V MAX 1/4-Inch Impact Driver Kit with Battery and Charger (DCF787D1)
NOCO Boost GB50 1500A UltraSafe Jump Starter, 12V Lithium Battery Booster
Autel MaxiScope MP608 4-Channel Automotive Oscilloscope
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
How the Three BMS Units Fit Together
The reference design separates control and monitoring tasks across a BMU, a pack monitoring unit (PMU) and a cell monitoring unit (CMU). The BMU handles computation and battery-state modeling. The PMU collects pack-level measurements and protection signals, while the CMU monitors and balances individual cells. Together, these functions provide the basis for an engineer to develop and assess a high-voltage battery management system.
Infineon says the PMU connects to TLE9012 and TLE9018 devices through isoUART, provides an isolated CAN interface to the host microcontroller, and includes a pyro-fuse interface. For the CMU, the company’s error-compensation approach allows a 19-wire analog front-end connection, which Infineon says reduces cell-level wiring. These are design features described in the product information; the source does not provide independent test results or comparisons with other reference platforms.
“The AURIX TC4x PPU can deliver up to 30 times the processing performance of a standard CPU.”
— Infineon Technologies, as reported by Charged EVs
Performance Claims Await Application Data
The announcement does not report independent validation, vehicle trials or production deployments for the reference design. It also does not detail the benchmark behind the stated 30-times processing comparison, or specify the conditions, baseline and measurement method for the projected battery-life and charging improvements. Those figures should be read as Infineon’s claims about potential outcomes, not as results established across EVs.
The source material does not name a vehicle maker or battery developer using the design, give a price or shipping schedule, or state which development software tools are included. It also does not explain how the stated reductions in cell count or charging time would vary by battery chemistry, pack architecture or operating conditions. The precise certification status of the complete reference design is not given; the source describes the PMU and CMU as designed to meet ASIL D, and the cell-monitoring IC as designed to meet ASIL D and ISO 26262.
Engineers Can Order the Reference Design
Infineon says the reference design is available to order. The next step for battery and vehicle engineering teams is to assess the hardware and software against their own cell chemistry, pack layout, safety requirements and operating targets. Product testing and application-specific validation would be needed to establish whether the projected performance, lifetime or charging benefits apply to a particular design.
The announcement does not provide a timetable for vehicle deployment or identify a future product launch tied to the platform. Further details about availability, pricing, software contents, test conditions and customer use would clarify how quickly developers can move from evaluation to implementation.
Key Questions
What did Infineon announce?
Infineon introduced an orderable high-voltage BMS reference design built around the AURIX TC4x. It includes a BMU, pack and cell monitoring units, and software for BMS development.
What does the AURIX TC4x do in the design?
The AURIX TC4x microcontroller and its parallel processing unit power the BMU’s computing functions. Infineon says this capacity supports detailed battery models running directly on the unit.
Are the battery-life and charging figures proven results?
No such results are provided in the report. Infineon’s figures—including up to 30% longer battery life and up to 20% shorter charging times—are stated potential benefits, with no specific vehicle test conditions or independent validation described.
What do the pack and cell monitoring units measure?
The PMU handles pack-level functions such as current and high-voltage monitoring, isolation-resistance measurement and coulomb counting. The CMU uses an 18-channel IC to monitor and balance lithium-ion cells.
Is the reference design available?
Infineon says it is available to order. The source does not provide pricing, delivery timing or a list of customers using it.
Source: chargedevs.com
