Month: April 2025

German startup PULSETRAIN has raised €6.1 million in seed financing to develop its powertrain technology.

The financing round was led by Vsquared Ventures and Planet A and joined by Climate Club. PULSETRAIN said it will use the funds to accelerate its product development as the company prepares to industrialize and scale.

PULSETRAIN takes a holistic approach, integrating the functions of the battery management system (BMS), the inverter and the charging electronics into a highly integrated “In-Battery” solution. The multilevel inverter is designed to enable more efficient energy utilization through a combination of hardware and software. A standardized electronic system enables the integration of the entire powertrain inside the battery housing, reducing the number of components.

The company is initially focusing on the electrification of two-wheelers and commercial vehicles before expanding the system to other sectors such as automotive, aviation, agriculture and shipping. PULSETRAIN is working on developing and implementing a test vehicle and production planning.

“Today’s powertrain technologies originate from traditional electrical engineering, while battery systems have their roots in chemistry. Additionally, a significant software component is required to control battery-powered vehicles. PULSETRAIN unites these three fields of expertise, developing a new, more powerful, software-driven architecture designed for e-mobility,” said Thomas Plaschko, co-founder of PULSETRAIN. “We reduce weight, increase battery lifespan, and simultaneously lower costs. This allows manufacturers to produce lighter, more efficient, and cost-optimized vehicles.”

Source: PULSETRAIN

Japanese semiconductor firm Renesas Electronics has introduced an all-in-one system for managing lithium-ion battery packs in consumer products, including e-bikes.

The Ready Battery Management System with Fixed Firmware (R-BMS F) comes with pre-validated firmware to reduce the learning curve for developers, enabling rapid designs of safe, power-efficient battery management systems.

Designed for lithium-ion batteries in 2-4 and 3-10 cell series, R-BMS F includes the company’s fuel gauge integrated circuits (FGICs), an integrated microcontroller (MCU) and an analog battery front end, pre-programmed firmware, software, development tools and full documentation.

Renesas’s FGIC solution combines an analog battery front end and an ultra-low-power RL78 MCU into a single, small package. The analog portion provides accurate measurements of cell voltage, current and temperature, as well as controlling the external MOSFETs and converting analog data to digital signals. The digital section includes the main CPU, clocks, timers and serial interfaces.

The R-BMS F includes built-in, pre-tested firmware designed to work with the onboard MCU. The firmware includes critical pre-programmed functions to maximize battery life and ensure safe operation, including cell balancing, current control and voltage and temperature monitoring. For added flexibility, the BMS lets developers set many parameters to meet specific requirements and adjust the system for different cell chemistries via a graphical user interface, without the need for a full integrated development environment.

“One of the biggest bottlenecks for designing advanced power management solutions is the complex task of firmware development and validation,” said Chris Allexandre, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Power at Renesas. “Not everyone has the expertise or in-house resources to write their own algorithms. Our all-in-one R-BMS F battery management system eliminates this process and provides market-ready power solutions that work without requiring specialized technical knowledge of MCU programming or advanced battery management design.”

The R-BMS F for 3 to 10S cell (~12-40 V) solutions runs on Renesas RAJ240100 and RAJ240090 lithium-ion battery FGICs for e-bikes and other e-mobility applications. Renesas has combined these FGICs with other devices from its portfolio to offer its Wall to Battery Low Power Energy Storage System and USB-PD All-in-One Battery and Charging Solution.

Source: Renesas Electronics

Swedish state-owned mining company LKAB is nearing completion of the first phase of testing the electric Scania Heavy Tipper truck above ground in Malmberget, Sweden after approximately 50,000 km driven.

The battery-powered trucks are part of LKAB’s goal to electrify the vehicle fleet throughout its value chain, from mine to finished product. LKAB brought the Heavy Tipper to Malmberget to be tested and developed on-site in collaboration with Scania.

Since December 2022, the truck has transported over 300,000 tons of material. Every load, every shift, has been logged to enable a thorough evaluation.

“One thing we encountered was problems with cold oil in the hydraulics of the tailgate, which occurred because we don’t get the excess heat that a diesel engine provides. No one had predicted that problem, but it was solved with an auxiliary heater on the hydraulic tank,” said Peter Gustavsson, Project Manager for the electrification of the Malmberget mine. “Another thing we learned was that you have to start exercising the truck’s brakes because they rarely need to be used, as you regenerate energy back to the battery instead of using the brake.”

“The next step is to evaluate the same truck underground as well,” Gustavsson added. “In the fall, a new, larger Heavy Tipper with four axles, approximately 40 tons of load capacity, twice the battery pack, and higher charging speed will arrive. Around the same time, two new electric tractor-trailers that can load 70-85 tons will also begin to be evaluated in the Malmberget mine.”

Source: LKAB