Vehicle electrification: Four key trends to watch in 2018

An article written by Majeed Ahmad, Automotive Contributor for Embedded Computing Design – Carmakers around the world are moving ahead in their efforts to develop clean vehicles at the nexus of more efficient battery management systems (BMS) and power electronics. According to market research firm Yole Développement, 1.2 million fully electric and hybrid vehicles were sold during 2017, a 52 percent increase compared to 2016. This column chronicles the most notable design trends in the vehicle electrification realm – and it inevitably starts with the battery.

1. It’s all about battery
Cost is the key stumbling block in the automotive industry’s bid to develop cleaner cars, and the battery is mostly responsible for that. Besides pricier batteries, what’s also required is faster charging technologies for vehicles operating at higher voltages. A recent study from Yole Développement claims that battery cell technologies are constantly improving while their costs are gradually coming down – that favors larger-capacity battery packs and longer range drives – though no big technology breakthrough is in sight, the report clarifies… Full article

Source: www.embedded-computing.com