DENSO Corporation has developed a new generation battery-monitoring integrated circuit (IC) for lithium-ion batteries. The IC increases the efficiency with which electric and hybrid vehicles use their batteries, improves fuel efficiency and extends driving range.

The product is one of the first in the industry that can accurately detect battery voltage while monitoring multiple cells, a new capability compared to conventional ICs. This product is used in the Toyota Yaris, released in February 2020, and will be featured in future electric vehicles equipped with lithium-ion batteries.

The new IC can detect battery voltage three times more accurately, with detection error of within 3mV, and monitor 1.2 times more battery cells (25 ch/IC) than the conventional product DENSO developed in 2015.

Photo1: Battery ECU / A battery ECU is designed to safely control
the batteries in electric vehicles. Its key part is the battery
monitoring IC for lithium-ion batteries, which monitors the voltage
of lithium-ion batteries as power source of electric vehicles.


Photo 2: Battery monitoring IC for lithium-ion batteries

DENSO's development of a high-accuracy reference voltage device, a key component in the battery-monitoring IC, has made it possible to use batteries more efficiently, thus improving the fuel efficiency and driving range of vehicles. The company also has reduced the number of ICs and peripheral parts used for battery electronic-control units (ECUs). This, along with the company's development of deep sub-micron process technology and proprietary high breakdown voltage devices, allowed DENSO to minimize the size and cost of battery ECUs.

Accelerating the spread of electric vehicles, including hybrid vehicles and battery electric vehicles, is expected to address environment-related issues such as global warming, air pollution, among others. DENSO has worked for decades to improve vehicle fuel efficiency, increase the performance of hybrid and electric vehicles, and develop technologies and products that help make vehicles less expensive, particularly those that are cleaner and greener.