[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] LG Energy Solution is embarking on full-scale commercialization of a new battery management system (BMS) diagnostic solution based on SoC (System-on-Chip).

LG Energy Solution announced on the 23rd that it has signed a formal joint promotion agreement with Qualcomm Technologies Inc. for commercialization of SoC-based BMS diagnostic solutions.

LG Energy Solution’s new advanced BMS software will be available on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon® Digital Chassis™ and will also be embedded in the Snapdragon® Car-to-Cloud Connected Services Platform, enabling automakers to use diagnostic solutions for human-machine interfaces (HMIs) and cloud services.

Earlier this year, LG Energy Solution announced a plan to collaborate with Qualcomm on the development of a next-generation BMS diagnostic solution to be installed in electric vehicles, and formed a technology consultative body to conduct related research.

An official from LG Energy Solution explained, “Through the technology sharing and verification process between the two companies, the excellence of our BMS technology and the synergy of our collaboration with Qualcomm were proven, and we decided to proceed with official commercialization this time.”

■ The first BMS solution with safety and degeneration diagnostic functions built into a high-performance SoC

LG Energy Solution, in collaboration with Qualcomm, developed BMS software to be installed on the Snapdragon Digital Chassis. Unlike existing BMSs that were driven by low-spec hardware, this is the industry’s first BMS solution that utilizes high-performance SoC computing performance.

LG Energy Solution's exclusive safety diagnosis and deterioration/life prediction software will be installed on the Snapdragon Digital Chassis, enabling the use of more sophisticated and differentiated BMS solutions.

First, the safety diagnosis function, which is the core of the BMS solution, is greatly improved. By utilizing the high-capacity computing performance of the SoC of the Snapdragon Digital Chassis Solution, more data can be collected compared to the existing BMS, allowing for faster and more accurate diagnosis of abnormal signs such as the possibility of fire.

The deterioration diagnosis function is also expected to become more sophisticated with an 80-fold increase in computational power. This is because it applies an algorithm that could not be applied in existing BMSs that were only capable of simple computational processing. New functions such as predicting the remaining battery capacity after a certain period of time and checking the deterioration performance indicators for detailed battery components such as the positive and negative electrodes are expected to be added.

This cutting-edge BMS diagnostic software can run in real time without a separate server connection, allowing vehicle data such as driving information to be analyzed and diagnosed within the vehicle.

■ LG Energy Solution Expands Business into Software and Service Areas

LG Energy Solution held a vision sharing meeting last October and selected business expansion into the software and service sectors as one of its four mid- to long-term strategies. In relation to this, it recently launched a new brand, ‘B.around’, and is actively pursuing the BMTS (Battery Management Total Solution) business.

B.around is LG Energy Solution's unique solution that comprehensively applies various functions, from safety diagnosis, deterioration/life prediction software that combines cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies beyond the functions of existing BMS, to solutions for platforms for software-defined vehicles (SDVs).

LG Energy Solution holds over 8,000 BMS-related patents based on BMS design capabilities and analysis technology based on empirical data accumulated for over 20 years. The safety diagnosis detection rate is over 90%, and the deterioration diagnosis error rate is in the 1% range, the highest level in the industry.

LG Energy Solution CEO Kim Dong-myung said, “It is very meaningful that we have opened the market for the industry’s first SoC-based BMS, which will be key to the future electric vehicle era, together with semiconductor leader Qualcomm.” He added, “Many electric vehicles will soon be able to experience differentiated customer value through B.around.”

“We are excited to collaborate with LG Energy Solution on the commercialization of BMS diagnostic solutions for next-generation electric vehicles, leveraging the technology of our Snapdragon Digital Chassis,” said Ohhyung Kwon, senior vice president and president, APAC, Qualcomm Incorporated. “Qualcomm is committed to accelerating the digital transformation of the automotive industry, and through this collaboration, we will revolutionize how electric vehicles utilize and manage energy to achieve optimal safety.”