14V lithium-ion battery pack to replace existing lead-acid batteries in automobiles

Freescale Semiconductor ( www.freescale.co.kr ) announced the MC33772, a 3- to 6-cell lithium-ion battery cell controller that reduces BOM costs and improves operational robustness.
This expands our portfolio of connectivity solutions that meet the safety requirements of next-generation automotive and industrial battery systems.

The MC33772 product provides a single-chip solution that can control the full range of 3 to 14 cells, and the two products are hardware and software compatible.

Freescale's comprehensive family of cell controllers supports a wide range of battery chemistries, including lithium iron phosphate, lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide, lithium titanate, and lithium polymer, enabling simple, scalable solutions to meet diverse battery management needs without new R&D investments. Additionally, Freescale battery cell controllers feature advanced diagnostics and verification capabilities that support ISO 26262 ASIL-C requirements on a single chip.

Lead-acid batteries in automobiles are being replaced by lithium-ion batteries to reduce weight, improve reliability, and increase energy efficiency in engine start-stop systems and energy recovery technologies. With recent improvements in low-temperature operation and cold-start capabilities of lithium-ion battery chemistries, lithium-ion batteries are now replacing lead-acid batteries for starter batteries as well.

As a result, essential challenges such as overcharging, overheating, and internal short-circuiting are increasingly being managed electronically. Freescale thus ensures system-wide battery control with reliable battery diagnostics and high-speed status communication. Using multiple Freescale battery cell controllers for redundancy also enables implementation of higher-level ASIL-D systems.



“Drivers face numerous challenges and concerns with lead-acid batteries, many of which are caused by external factors like difficult-to-control extreme temperatures, resulting in 100 million batteries being replaced each year in the U.S. alone,” said James Bates, executive vice president at Freescale. “By further expanding our broad portfolio of battery cell controllers, Freescale is helping to alleviate these challenges and make it easier for customers to offer an efficient lithium-ion alternative to lead-acid batteries, while meeting stringent performance and functional safety requirements across a wide range of battery sizes and types.”