HELLA is to launch the company’s first 48-volt battery management system for series production in summer 2024.

Together with a Chinese cell producer, a premium German manufacturer is being supplied with battery packs consisting of battery cells and the associated battery management system from HELLA.

HELLA’s high level of expertise in high-voltage battery electronics lays the foundation for the development of the 48-volt battery management system.

This expertise has now been transferred specially to the requirements of mild hybrids.

HELLA’s 48-volt battery management system provides essential help in implementing vital mild hybrid functions that reduce CO2.

These include, in particular, energy recovery during braking (recuperation), stronger acceleration (boosting) and drifting in idle with the engine switched off (sailing).

“The future belongs to electromobility. Within just a few years, more than every second vehicle on the market will be partly or fully electrified,” says Björn Twiehaus, who is jointly responsible for the Electronics division on the HELLA Management Board.

“A vehicle’s batteries are the centrepiece of electromobility. It is our clear goal to support car manufacturers at all stages of developing electrification.

“We are making another important contribution with our new battery management systems, which we have designed specifically for low-voltage applications.”

HELLA is also developing a battery management system for 12-volt applications in the low voltage field. In this context, the company plans to work with another cell manufacturer to produce a battery pack as well.

The 12-volt battery management system can be used on electric vehicles. Here, as well as supplying quiescent current when stationary or parked, it also offers a redundant energy supply.

The system can also be installed in vehicles with classic internal combustion engines, where it can, for example, pave the way for a technical solution for the potential lead-acid battery ban.