The FutureTech Auto Blog

The requirements for charging longer range Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) has consistently escalated the need for higher power DC Fast Charging (DCFC) systems.  It wasn’t that long ago that 50kW charging was making its mark in the BEV charging space.  However, as Tesla (and others) have been making consistent inroads in the BEV market, the focus for higher power systems has pushed the DCFC power boundaries much further and faster than expected.  With companies such as, EVgo with a 350kW DCFC system or ChargePoint at 400kW DCFC systems, air conditioning systems will transition from a stand-alone cabin cooling system to a highly-integrated powertrain system cooling role to include removing battery pack cell/module heat that is generated during normal vehicle operation or during battery charging.  This now places significant performance requirements on the air conditioning system and heightens the need for air conditioning systems to be at optimal performance at all times…….even during the winter months. 
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Vehicle service businesses that include air conditioning service as part of their services menu will need to consider the air conditioning system as one of the reasons for vehicle reduced performance, range reduction, etc.  It’s time to welcome vehicle air conditioning systems into its new role of powertrain thermal management.   

Hybrid, Plug-In, and Electric vehicle technologies have implemented a multitude of battery technologies into a significant number of vehicle platforms.  From 2000 – 2010 Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) dominated hybrid vehicles and it continues to dominate the hybrid market today.  However, in 2009 Lithium technology began to make its mark in the hybrid market and this technology has continued to move steadily into the hybrid market with each passing model year.  Plug-In and full electric hybrids have been predominantly Lithium technology from the very beginning and these vehicles have been strictly Lithium for many model years. 

Every technology has iterations during its life cycle.  The frequency of these iterations becomes less frequent as the technology matures.  Battery technology is not maturing, but, it is iterating quickly due to the rapid cell technology changes.  When applying these changes to the repair industry where vehicles must be - it has a profound effect on the technicians that must perform the data analysis, diagnostics, and repair.  Unlike traditional vehicles that are far more mature and can be repaired by using pattern failure (pattern failure symptom recognition) analysis for a given vehicle manufacturer and model, advanced technology vehicles with electric drives and battery packs cannot be diagnosed using pattern failure recognition.  With changes in battery cell chemistry, sometimes by model year, pattern failure recognition is impossible.  Furthermore, when cell chemistries change, this means that the data and how it will react with various driving conditions is very different from year to year – even for the same vehicle model.
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To solve this dilemma, service technicians and their managers need to recognize that the necessary analysis and diagnostic treatment for the advanced technology vehicles is significantly different than a traditional vehicle.  Technicians will need to accept that they will need to learn the operation of the different battery technologies so they can determine how to interpret scan tool data and how to manipulate the vehicle system to force the diagnostic process into something less gray and more binary.  So, it’s time for technicians to go back to school; the train has already left the station.   

​Many times during a FutureTech hybrid training class, we’re asked by students if there is any easy method of determining whether a driveability problem is engine related or electric propulsion related.  Depending on which manufacturer and systems design this can be more or less difficult to determine.  However, there is one generic method of at least isolating whether the problem is engine or electric propulsion related and that is to use the Regenerative (Regen) Braking mode. As a short review, Regen converts the kinetic energy stored by the vehicle (in motion) into electricity by the 3-phase electric drive motor.  This converted energy is then transferred to the 3-phase power inverter and rectified using software controls from alternating current to direct current.  This direct current is transferred to the battery pack to store the energy.
 
To determine whether a hesitation, chuggle, fish bite, or other low power condition is engine or electric propulsion related, merely accelerate the vehicle at wide-open throttle for about 5-10 seconds.  You will likely feel the problem during this acceleration.  After the 5-10 second acceleration, immediately perform an aggressive braking event.  If you can still feel the problem during Regen braking, it’s a problem related to the electric propulsion system (drive motor or power inverter).  If the problem is no longer there during Regen, the problem resides in the traditional engine system.  I want to stress here that, this is a simple generic test to help narrow where the problem may be stemming, it is not meant to be an “all encompassing” test.  Notice that I didn’t mention the battery pack.  There is a separate test that can be performed on the battery pack (stress test), and this can be performed during the same test drive for the engine and electric propulsion system by using a scan tool.  The battery pack can also cause hesitations, chuggles, fish bites, etc.
 
In total, this is about a 20 minute test drive for the engine, electric propulsion, and battery pack.  It’s simple, effective, and will save a technician significant diagnostic time.   

​In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, hybrid bus systems were being developed at a feverish pace, based on low emission and higher fuel efficiency requirements from many major cities in the U.S. Market. However, as transportation technologies march forward, it appears that hybrid bus systems may experience serious competition from pure electric bus systems.  Many countries external of the U.S. are venturing into the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) market to improve air quality (i.e., China, Singapore, etc.) this is driving the need for bus fleets with ZEV systems.  Companies such as BYD and Proterra have quickly caught the eye of several U.S. cities that are shifting from traditional diesel powered buses directly to ZEV bus systems, eliminating the “in between step” of using hybrid technology.

The reason that ZEV buses can be utilized is that Lithium battery technology has superior specific energy and energy density that reduces the size and mass (weight) of the battery pack system.  Therefore, enormous battery systems are not necessary for a bus system due to the advantages of Lithium technology.  This alters the need for large battery packs which may no longer be necessary for bus systems.  If high power wireless charging technology is placed on bus routes and in depot sub-stations to permit fast charging of the battery pack, large battery packs will no longer be necessary.  Also, logistics would be significantly easier because, requiring the bus to return to the main depot for charging would not be necessary.   While this is occurring on a global scale, keep in mind there are and will continue to be other technologies that will be considered for charging batteries along a bus route.  Overhead wire systems located only at bus stops or sub-depot locations can also be used to rapidly charge the batteries.  This would eliminate the need for modifying streets or roads when installing wireless charging pads.    

​As with most of the technologies associated with Plug-In and Electric Vehicles, the battery pack charging technologies are changing with blazing speed.  Currently, the conductive (cable plug-in) systems are marching toward ever-higher charging rates.  With most SAE and CHAdeMO conductive Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) systems capable of 50kW – 100kW power, Wireless Charging is now beginning to gain traction in the vehicle battery charging market.  Wireless Charging systems have obvious advantages by not requiring a vehicle operator to make a direct connection between the charging station and the vehicle.  Electric vehicles can have a vehicle pad mounted under the vehicle so it can receive power after the vehicle is driven over the base pad to initialize Wireless Charging.  The vehicle or your smart phone will assist in positioning the vehicle pad with the base pad. However, currently Wireless systems are not capable of delivering the level of kW power when compared to conductive systems.  For example, the Qualcomm HALO system can currently provide 3.7kW, 7.4kW, 11kW, and 22kW Wireless Charging. 

​The Wireless Charging system has one significant advantage when compared to conductive charging systems – it can be located within a road or street to permit quick charging when a vehicle is within range.  As an example, Wireless Charging is perfect for electric buses.  When the bus has stopped to pick-up passengers at a bus stop location, the bus can charge while it is taking on passengers.  Also, the bus can charge when the driver is on a rest break.  Having Wireless Charging locations along a bus route, it eliminates the necessity of returning the bus to the depot to be charged at a conductive charging station which, is a significant advantage and convenience.

Automotive service businesses may be missing out on how the can market their services to a new generation of vehicle owners.  The new generation of Plug-In Hybrid, Extended Range Electric, and Battery Electric (Advanced Technology) vehicle owners are very “tech savvy” and are constantly scanning their local area for businesses that can maintain, analyze, diagnose, and repair their Advanced Technology vehicle.  Acquiring their business may be very simple and does not require more than a few minutes of your time with them.  By adding a plug-in Charging Station, you can easily begin to market your business as “friendly” to these Advanced Technology vehicle owners.  The marketing is very simple:  Most plug-in vehicle owners want to know where they can plug-in to charge their vehicle.  In fact, many owners use smart phone apps such as Charge Point to determine where the nearest charging station is located to receive a quick charge.  And, it would be very simple to add your business to the many smart phone apps that are available to vehicle owners.  If your business is already diagnosing and repairing Advanced Technology products then, this would be a simple and inexpensive strategy to market your business as a location for not only vehicle charging but, also vehicle repair.  Level 2 charging stations can be purchased for less than $750.00 and only need a dedicated 220V electrical circuit with 20 – 40 Amp capability. 
 
You may want to think about adding a charging station to your business.  It’s an inexpensive method for exposing your service business to Advanced Technology vehicle owners globally.  It’s also a method to acquire traditional service business from a customer.  Remember, most customers believe that, if a business can maintain and repair their Advanced Technology vehicle, certainly they can repair a traditional vehicle with “old” technology.

​How many customers could your charge station attract in your business' service area? FutureTech can develop a report that is unique to your business, showing how many Hybrid, EREV, Plug-In Hybrid, and Electric Vehicles are close to you. 

As an Advanced Electric Drive Vehicle Technologies (i.e., Hybrid, Plug-In Hybrid, Extended Range Electric, and Battery Electric vehicle) solutions provider, FutureTech is often asked by prospective clients about the wisdom of adding Advanced Technology vehicles to their service program portfolio.  The Aftermarket, in particular, has asked this question with increased frequency during the past 2-3 years.  This initial question often compels a deeper question of when they should add Advanced Technology service programs to their business model.  It’s obvious that electric drive vehicle technology and its derivatives are quickly becoming essential to most automotive OEM vehicle platforms.  The fuel economy and emission requirements for the OEMs have driven them to use the electric drive powertrains with efficiencies that are considerably higher than traditional vehicle powertrains.  With fuel economy requirements elevating quickly each year, and the 2025 mandate of 54.5 mpg looming in the background, OEMs are not waiting until the last minute to try meeting these elevating fuel economy requirements.  Additionally, Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Credits and Multiplier ratios from the federal government are decreasing as the fuel economy requirements increase.  This means that more electric propulsion vehicles will be required to meet the compliances. 
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The OEMs such as Honda and Toyota began to enter the market and offer hybrid vehicles for sale in model years 2000 and 2001, respectively.  From 2000 – 2013, there were approximately 2 million Advanced Technology vehicles sold in the US Market.  From Q2 2013 thru Q1 2016 there are more than 4 million in the US market.  Therefore, it had taken only 3 years to double the number of Advanced Technology vehicles in the US market from 2 million to 4 million units.  These significant exponential sales numbers cannot be ignored.  This is a volume that the Aftermarket, Fleets, and other related industries should consider when examining their business model for possible changes toward profitability.  The addition of Advanced Technology products and the rate of change in the adoption of these technologies follow a model developed by Everett Rogers in the early 1960’s.  Roger’s Model can be used (generally) to project how technologies will be adopted and the rate of change to the adoption.  Specifically, the Rogers Model provides a blueprint for how business opportunities intersect with profitability.  When considering this model, it can be seen that the majority of profitability occurs in the Early Adopter and at the beginning of the Early Majority phases.

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When comparing Advanced Technology vehicle deployment from 2000 – 2016 to the Rogers’ Model, it is FutureTech’s opinion that the Aftermarket is in the early stages of the Early Adopter phase.  The doubling of the Advanced Technology products from 2013 – 2016 was (in our opinion) the initiation of the Early Adopter phase.  Specifically, the Early Adopter stage offers the highest Profit Opportunity.  There are many business investors that acquired significant profit from companies such as Amazon, Apple, Dell, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, etc. when these companies were in the Early Adopter stage.  Unlike investment stocks, investing to service the Advanced Technology vehicles isn’t much of a risk because, the automotive industry has already made their commitment to move in this direction.  Therefore, since the market has already moved into this direction there is only one question for you:  Are you ready to enter the Early Adopter phase and profit from the era of Advanced Technology vehicles? 
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Advanced Technology electric drive systems will force disruptive technologies into the service space and these changes will be significant.  The OEMs will continue to escalate the utilization of electric drive systems well into the future, coupled with technologies such as Autonomous vehicles.  If you are a business owner in the automotive service space, you should consider entering the Advanced Technology service market now to enjoy the full benefits of profitability, and be known in the industry as a pioneering market leader – and FutureTech, as an experienced technology and innovation company with scalable solutions that are available NOW, is ready to work with you to make a smooth transition.    

Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) technology has been used in the automotive electric propulsion market since the early-1990’s, starting with Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) applications (ex: GM EV1).  It was a welcomed replacement to the Advanced Lead Acid battery technology with offering an Energy Density that was double that of the lead acid technology.  As NiMH continued to mature it was utilized in the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) market for products such as the GM Tahoe/Yukon, Honda Civic, Ford Escape, Lexus RX400h, and Toyota Prius – to name a few.  Therefore, as the NiMH products increased in volume, there was a natural interest in high voltage battery pack rebuilding or remanufacturing in the Aftermarket as the vehicles were exiting the warranty period.  This led to hobbyists, “weekend warriors” and, do-it-yourselfer technicians rushing into the market to stake their claim for a profitable business venture in the rebuilding of HEV battery packs. 

However, as many of the hobbyists and others eventually learned, there is more to rebuilding battery packs than meets the eye.  There is significantly more to rebuilding these packs than reading an article, blog, or other posting on the internet on how to “condition” battery modules.  Most individuals are unaware that there is much more to analyzing, diagnosing, and rebuilding a NiMH battery pack than conditioning or what some refer to as reconditioning.  Professionals must consider Screening and where the vehicle has spent its service life.  The experiences of our company engineers at FutureTech is that most hobbyists and other individuals simply do not have the training, equipment, or experience to properly screen, condition, and rebuild a battery pack.  Field quantitative and qualitative data support this these assertions.  So, let’s take a look at some of the areas that expand past the mere conditioning of NiMH modules.

Conditioning
Conditioning is another word for “cycling” the battery pack.  Cycling is defined as discharging the battery pack/modules to 0% State-of-Charge (SOC) and charging the pack to 100% SOC.  Cycling the NiMH modules will increase the capacity of healthy modules and provide data so battery pack capacity can be increased and balanced.

Screening
Screening battery modules requires appropriate equipment, and professionally trained technicians using the equipment to acquire battery energy, power data and, discharge (curve) signatures that permits a trained technician to review all testing data and review the performance of a battery module or cell.  Screening is a component of the conditioning process and serves as the essential diagnostic point of the entire rebuilding process.  Screening is one of the most crucial steps in determining what treatment a battery will need while being rebuilt, whether only conditioning is necessary or if module/cell replacement is necessary. 

Testing Procedures    
Battery packs (modules or cells) require both Power and Energy (capacity) testing to ensure optimal performance.  Power and Energy are not the same values/quantities.  Most hobbyists, do-it-yourselfers, and others typically do not understand this difference.  Energy is “how much” energy can be stored (capacity) by a module or cell. Power is the rate in which the energy can be delivered.  As an analogy, if a battery module is a 55 gallon drum that stores water then, the amount of water it can store/hold is Energy (capacity). Power is how fast (rate) that the water can be removed from the drum.  Therefore, both quantities must be tested because, one of the quantities may be functioning properly while the other is not.  Battery modules can be Energy limited but, not Power limited – and vice-versa.  Both must be tested.

Vehicle Service Life
One of the areas that FutureTech engineers have tracked for over a decade is how the geographical area, terrain, drive cycle, and calendar aging variables effect how a battery pack will perform.  Based on where a vehicle is located geographically provides a strongly correlated indicator for determining battery pack longevity and performance.  Ditto for the terrain, how the vehicle is used (drive cycle), and the age of the battery pack.  Each variable has a weighted value when analyzing the Power and Energy test data.  When FutureTech trains battery technicians, we use all of these variables to assist the technician in how to interpret battery testing data and arrive at the correct diagnosis and action plan before rebuilding the battery pack.
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So, What Does This All Mean?
If your business plans to rebuild NiMH battery packs, it is imperative that you properly vet your equipment and training supplier before taking the plunge.  In FutureTech’s experience, seldom do suppliers within the automotive Aftermarket make it through the vetting process.  The supplier should have at a minimum vehicle manufacturer experience in the areas of electric propulsion, and high voltage battery pack systems in particular.  If you plan to purchase battery packs from a supplier that rebuilds, it is essential that you properly vet them to learn about their capabilities in testing and rebuilding battery packs before you make any commitments.

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​If you are a technician that is or will be working on advanced technology vehicles (i.e., hybrid, plug-in hybrid, extended range electric, or battery electric vehicles) Lithium battery technology may be something that you need to devote some additional attention.  Service managers should also become comfortable with knowing the higher level aspects of vehicle Lithium systems technology to make it easier in conversing and recommending servicing options with the vehicle owner. 

As the advanced technology systems continue to penetrate the market in higher volumes, the Lithium family of battery products becomes the choice of manufacturers that have entered the market in the past 6 years, due to its superior energy storage capability.  Lithium products are manufactured with two basic formats – cylindrical and pouch.  The cylindrical battery (typically an 18650 cell) is slightly larger than a AA battery and the pouch style cell can be manufactured in many different size configurations, dependent upon application.   Unlike the current Nickel Metal Hydride (NIMH) that dominates the advanced technology market, Lithium technology has numerous chemistry and family categories.  Each of these categories offer varied capacity and power characteristics.  The primary families utilized in the automotive or medium/heavy duty market as of today are Lithium Cobalt Oxide, Lithium Manganese Oxide, Lithium Manganese Cobalt Oxide, Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt, Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum, Lithium Iron Phosphate, and Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum .

​Each of these Lithium family chemistries can have very different delivery of its capacity and power.  The electrolytes are/can be significantly different, although each uses Lithium Salt as a basic element.  Each may have different additives in the electrolyte that mitigate aging, reduce the possibility of a thermal event (fires) with fire retardants, and permit enhanced performance, etc. 

With six basic Lithium chemistries currently used in the market, it is essential that technicians understand the differences between the technologies and how each will react when testing the vehicle and how this relates to any associated diagnostic trouble codes and testing procedures.  When working with the Lithium families of battery chemistries and performing testing (such as) Stress Testing, battery pack rebuilding, or battery systems testing it is critical that technician’s know which Lithium technology that is being used in the vehicle and the associated voltage level.  For example, when working with the Lithium Manganese battery family, the associated diagnostics and any Stress Testing would result in data that (when viewed) is different when compared to a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery chemistry.  The difference between these two chemistry examples is, the Lithium Manganese families have a very linear discharge voltage data when compared to Lithium Iron Phosphate chemistry that has nearly flat discharge voltage data.  This means battery capacity may or may not be easily interpreted by using Scan Tool data unless a technician or service manager is aware of the differences between the Lithium families.  Therefore, knowing how specific battery chemistries behave is critical in knowing how to interpret Scan Tool or off-board discharging equipment data.
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The bottom line to all of the differences in Lithium chemistries is for the technician to know what to expect with viewing Scan Tool or off-board equipment data and how to interpret this data when testing the battery system, whether the battery pack is installed in a vehicle or it is on the bench.

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