Intelligent Battery Management Drives EV Buyer Confidence

At the upper limit, EVs can travel 350-plus miles on a single battery charge. While this is exciting news for the automotive industry, it's also a source of anxiety for drivers. 'Range anxiety,' or the fear that a driver will run out of battery power while on the road - without access to a charging station when they need it - is real.

In fact, range anxiety is credited as a leading factor in why consumers are not gravitating toward EVs as quickly as automotive manufacturers had projected. Some potential EV owners also have concerns regarding the safety and reliability of EV batteries, which have been amplified by media stories of EV fires. Battery lifetime is another issue for consumers, with fears of batteries needing to be replaced within a few years at huge expense. All these factors are measured by the vehicle's battery management system (BMS), which monitors EV battery performance to maximize range and to ensure battery longevity, safety, and reliability.

The semiconductor automated test equipment (ATE) sector can help meet the challenge, with more effective testing of battery monitors to ensure their measurements are highly accurate. Accurate monitoring of EV battery cells is crucial for managing range anxiety and verifying the safety and reliability of Li-ion batteries.

As battery manufacturers face a widening array of cell chemistry options, determining a battery's state of charge is becoming more challenging. Multiple evolving technologies define this dynamic market, and BMS manufacturers require a flexible ATE test solution to handle the challenge and future-proof their BMS investments.

Increasing range, extending battery life, and ensuring the safety and reliability of lithium-ion batteries are the three key technical challenges that automotive systems engineers can address more comprehensibly through rigorous testing of BMS. For more insight, read our latest article in Battery & Electrification Technology Magazine.

Contact us to learn how Teradyne's comprehensive portfolio of automated test equipment can ease your anxiety as well.