New BMS for EV Batteries in the Works

Or should we have said “better BMS”? Either way, a Korean company called Leo Motors, which deals with manufacturing electric vehicles and components for them announced yesterday it has developed a new breed of Battery Management System (BMS) to be used in the EV world.

The new BMS, Leo says, can charge at a current of up to 4 times the rated capacity of the battery per hour (4C). That's a fancy way of saying that by using Leo's BMS, the charging time of the battery will be drastically reduced.

Leo even gives us an example: a 30 kW battery is unable to charge more than 15kW per hour using existing BMS, because they simply can't manage more than half of the electric power per hour. Leo’s BMS however is a step ahead and allows for the battery pack to become fully charged in about 15 minutes. Using a quick charging mode, of course.

The new BMS has another neat feature which might make it the manufacturers' favorite: is some 70 percent smaller than existing units. For now, that is, as Leo plans to shrink and boost it even further, by making major parts of the system into silicon chip and making it capable of charging at a current of up to 12C (that's about 5 minutes charging time for a 30 kW battery).

“Our BMS technology is the key to our Company’s continuing development, as it is the most crucial part in EV battery power packs, and is one of the most expensive parts in the entire vehicle,” Robert Kang, Leo CEO said about the unit.