april2023 - 23

Bania, Clarios managing director for heavy duty/
non-automotive global CBU. " Clarios has also
developed batteries with technology that enables
them to recover quickly from deep discharges,
providing uninterrupted power to the vehicle's
electrical system. "
Bania noted that Clarios has leveraged these
benefits within the Smart AGM solution, which
" allows fleet managers, technicians, and
to monitor battery
drivers
health in real time. "
As an active, real-time
monitoring system,
Smart AGM technology
identifies
weak
cells that
eventually drain
battery
provides a predictive
assessment,
and sends performance
alerts
to
fleet management
systems so fleets
can proactively
plan for replacement.
Smart AGM
batteries will enter
limited production
in 2023 and are currently
being tested by fleets. They will
be in full production in 2024.
The technology might also mean the end of
dead batteries, as the new communication gives
the system " the ability to predict when a replacement
needs to be made before a roadside failure
reduces downtime, " Bania explained.
Clarios is one of many battery OEs boosting
batteries' brain power.
" Battery intelligence is something we are
working hard on integrating, " said Bryce Gregory,
systems product manager for transportation and
specialty at EnerSys, which produces Odyssey
batteries. " Our Odyssey Connect solution helps
identify problems with batteries and battery
packs on trucks to help solve problems before
the vehicle goes back out on the road. We're also
working on making this solution more dynamic,
predictive, and easier to use to help reduce the
opportunity for field failures. "
This is exactly what fleets have been asking for.
" We're seeing customers expect more than just
plain batteries; they expect smart batteries that
can operate in a system and provide optimum
performance and reliability, " said Landon Self,
director, of administration, ZeroRPM at Mission
Critical Electronics.
MCE owns power solutions provider Xantrex,
a company which produces the Freedom eGEN
lithium-ion battery-based power system, and
has focused on new ways to optimize electrical
system controls.
" Xantrex / ZeroRPM APU batteries are intelligent
systems that can control other components
on a vehicle like the alternator for optimum
charging; an inverter, for powering tools and
equipment; a solar controller for charging without
shore power or the engine running, and vehicle
interfacing for safety and performance. "
l ife,
Advanced solutions for
more complex trucks
" As commercial trucks become more advanced
and the shift toward electric and autonomous
vehicles accelerates, we are continuing the development
of advanced low voltage energy storage
solutions to support those changes, " Bania
said. " And for non-Smart AGM batteries, we are
working on sensor-based solutions to identity
battery-related issues in the field and assist
technicians in their assessments. "
Non-spillable AGM batteries, manufactured
with Thin Plate Pure Lead (TPPL) technology, are
purpose-built for fleet use, noted Bryce Gregory.
" Odyssey batteries provide great cranking
power, even on the coldest of days, and the ability
to recover from deep discharges and cycle many
hundreds of times, " he said. " These batteries
also feature refined application battery chemistry
for fleet applications, as well as work in new
applications like auxiliary energy storage for
safety-critical applications in autonomous and
electric vehicles. "
Interstate Batteries, a provider of commercial
batteries, offers products for several vehicle
applications. The manufacturer's AGM batteries
provide high cranking and extreme deep-cycle
power needed in modern heavy-duty trucks. The
2-in-1 pure lead AGM technology, according to the
company, delivers a service life three times longer
than conventional flooded batteries and twice as
long as alloyed lead AGM batteries.
Interstate also offers starting batteries with a
range of low to high cranking power such as the
company's Group 31 batteries, which can produce
more than 300 medium-duty cycles. Additionally,
the company makes high-cycling batteries for
moderate cranking needs and power for liftgates,
lights, APUs, and other cab and sleeper accessories,
including 520-cycle Group 31 models.
MCE's Self pointed out that moving from
lead-acid or AGM to lithium-ion batteries offers
an immediate upgrade in energy density and
provides for reduced size and weight.
" Our Xantrex LiFeMnPO4, which is what
we call our lithium-iron battery chemistry, is
inherently safe and offers electromechanical
protection by automatically disconnecting if a
cell voltage or temperature exceeds specified
operating limits, " he related. " Each battery also
has a valve to help prevent an explosion in case
of puncture. "
Lithium-ion batteries offer nearly double the
usable energy capacity of other battery technologies
like lead-acid and AGM as they have a
deeper depth of discharge, Self said. For example,
AGM and flooded lead-acid batteries offer a 50%
depth of discharge and Li-Ion batteries offer an
80% depth of discharge. These batteries can also
be completely discharged without damage, so
a 600-amp hour lithium battery provides a full
600-amp hours of usable power.
You might assume more capacity means more
bulk, Self also noted, but the opposite is true. As
one of the world's lightest metal, lithium boasts a
60% to 80% weight advantage over lead. A typical
Group 31 battery weighs about 75 lbs. while a
similar Li-Ion battery only weighs 28 lbs.
» ODYSSEY Battery's ODXAGM31,
formerly 31-PC2150
Odyssey Battery
» Xantrex
12V 410Ah
Lithium-Ion Battery
Xantrex
» Clarios is improving its batteries' internal
sensing and communication, increasing reliability.
Clarios
" For common applications and use there is
more traction for AGM batteries among fleets, and
there are more options on the market, " said Larry
Rambeaux, sales application engineer at Purkeys,
a Mission Critical Electronics Brand. " At the same
time, lithium chemistry batteries are gaining interest
in the heavy-duty market. The technology is
used in everything from rechargeable hand tools
to electric vehicles, so it's only natural that interest
is growing. However, lithium-ion batteries are not a
drop-in solution. Many things will have to change
with the vehicle to make the technology work. "
April 2023 | FleetMaintenance.com
23
http://www.FleetMaintenance.com
april2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of april2023
