Volvo Cars has partnered up with UK-based Breathe Battery Technologies (Breathe), as the first car company to get access to the latest version of its patented, algorithm-enabled charging software for use on its new generation fully electric cars.
The carmaker says that integrating Breathe’s software in its in-house developed battery management platform will help it to optimise and improve the performance of charging technology. This will allow Volvo customers to get even faster charging times and an enhanced overall driving and charging experience.
The luxury carmaker says it will implement the new technology in the new generation fully electric cars, where it expects to reduce the time it takes to charge a fully electric Volvo from 10 to 80 percent charging state by as much as 30 percent, while maintaining the same energy density and range. The charging time improvements will last across the full battery life cycle without impacting its health status.
The collaboration with Breathe is the result of a sourcing agreement for its flagship product, Breathe Charge, and represents the latest investment by the Volvo Cars Tech Fund, the corporate venture capital arm. Volvo Cars says this reflects its ambition to lead the development of premium electric cars and become a fully electric car maker by 2030.
Ann-Sofie Ekberg, CEO of the Volvo Cars Tech Fund said, “The investment and commercial partnership with Breathe helps us address a familiar pain point for electric car customers and makes our charging performance even more competitive. Faster charging times, in the range where customers typically fast charge, represent a major step in the right direction as we continue to boost electric mobility and make it available to more people.”
Software-defined batteries
Unlike traditional stepped charging which relies on pre-determined rules, Breathe’s software uses adaptive charging to dynamically control the battery in real-time, resulting in significantly shorter charging times.
Using algorithms, the software manages the charging process in line with the battery’s health to deliver the best driver experience while avoiding the risk of lithium plating, which can harm the battery’s performance and lifespan.
Since Breathe’s product is fully compatible with the hardware used in Volvo Cars’ new generation fully electric cars, scaling will be easy as it expects electric sales to increase significantly in coming years.
Dr Ian Campbell, CEO of Breathe Battery Technologies said, “Deploying our technology at scale on Volvo’s next generation EV platform opens doors to innovative car designs and performance improvements. We share a profound passion for electric mobility, and convenient, fast charging is one of the cornerstone enablers for the future we strive towards.”
