New Industry Products

Nuvation Engineering Designs Advanced Battery Management System for Electric Vehicles

January 09, 2011 by Jeff Shepard

Nuvation Engineering has developed a custom battery management system, fuel gauge and driver interface for electric vehicles. The innovative system is currently featured on the OptaMotive ’E. Rex’.

Through a close partnership with Maxim, Nuvation engineers designed the next generation battery management system around the MAX11068 to provide voltage monitoring, temperature monitoring, and balancing for the high capacity and high-density battery pack in the OptaMotive E. Rex. Fuel gauging was implemented through Nuvation’s advanced engineering methodology, using the Maxim ModelGauge, which combines voltage measurement with coulomb counting to achieve continuous automatic calibration.

Featuring a battery pack that utilizes 106 lithiumiron phosphate cells, the E. Rex’s 35kW-hour pack has a driving range of 200 miles and a recharge time of four hours at 220V/40A. The E. Rex is capable of 0-to-60 mph in five seconds and a top speed of well over 100 mph.

"The advanced battery management system monitors each cell’s voltage and temperature to ensure safety, balanced cells for long range and long battery life, and to optimize vehicle performance," said Michael Worry, CEO of Nuvation. "The advanced E. Rex three-wheeled electric car has six times the efficiency of a Prius, yet more torque per pound than a Porsche 911 Turbo. The E. Rex proves going green can be fun and efficient."