Renesas Electronics has introduced a new multi-cell battery front end for high voltage systems

     Renesas Electronics Group has announced the launch of a new family of multi-cell complete Battery front end (BFE) ics for battery management systems (BMS), the RAA48920x series (RAA489204 and RAA489206). Designed for use in electric vehicles, energy storage, high-voltage power tools, and other high-voltage devices that use high-voltage battery packs, it provides fast, flexible cell balancing up to 200 mah or more -- a key feature that enables fast charging and efficient use in large battery packs up to 62V hot-swap tolerance.

     Andrew Cowell, vice president of Mobility, Infrastructure and iot Power at Renesas Electronics, said: "BMS are the brains of battery packs. As BMS become increasingly popular in applications such as UPS and data centers, the demand for high-performance ics that can support higher voltages and larger battery pack sizes is surging, and BFEs are key to BMS. "Our new RAA489206 and RAA489204 ics combine flexibility and high integration to make it easier for customers to streamline design processes and create robust, cost-effective battery systems for the growing electric vehicle, UPS and energy storage markets."

     The RAA489206 is designed for applications such as higher voltage electric vehicles, where a larger number of cells and temperature differences between cells are more likely to lead to cell imbalance. The RAA489206 provides comprehensive high-side battery protection and monitoring for 4S to 16S battery packs. The RAA489204 features optimized daisy-chain cascades, accelerated interdevice communication, enhanced diagnostics, and internal cell balancing options to support higher voltages and cell numbers required for UPS systems, grid backup, and other energy storage systems.

     The high integration of the new IC simplifies the design cycle and significantly reduces customer system BOM costs, shortening the design and BOM selection cycle from months to weeks. These ics also have built-in self-diagnostic capabilities that improve their security capabilities, reduce firmware effort, and reduce the design burden required to meet safety standards. The product is compatible with Renesas's existing BFE device pins, further simplifying the design cycle and providing customers with a fast and seamless way to migrate to a new BFE IC.