Performance Assessment of Wireless Architectures for Automotive Battery Management Systems

The swift proliferation of electric vehicles (EVs) escalates the necessity for sophisticated battery management systems (BMS) that guarantee safety, reliability, and efficiency. Traditional wired BMS architectures encounter considerable difficulties concerning wiring harness intricacy, weight, scalability, and long-term dependability. This study examines the evaluation of wireless communication methods for Battery Management Systems (BMS), regarded as a viable alternative to mitigate the constraints of wired systems. The methodology integrates a systematic examination of wireless technologies and communication protocols with the execution of a practical case study centered on a wireless cell supervisory circuit demonstrator. The findings indicate that protocols like ZigBee and BLE are appropriate for low-power, short-range applications, but Wi-Fi and UWB provide greater throughput but necessitate optimization for automotive-grade reliability. The demonstrator confirms the viability of integrating a wireless Battery Management System (BMS), thereby diminishing wiring complexity and facilitating modular pack design, while also emphasizing significant issues such electromagnetic interference, synchronization, and security. This work's originality stems from its integrated methodology of literature-based analysis and experimental validation, surpassing prior research that concentrated solely on simulation or protocol-level evaluation. This paper offers academic insights and practical directions for the implementation of wireless Battery Management Systems in next-generation electric vehicle architectures. Unlike previous works which evaluated wireless BMS only at simulation level or via proprietary EVK demonstrations, this study presents a dual experimental approach: USB+GUI validation and SPI+BMC integration. Up to 8 CMUs were successfully networked, average consumption per CMU was 0.09 A, and balancing func-tionality was validated. The novelty lies in the end-to-end integration of Dukosi chip-on-cell CMUs with an automotive BMC through SPI, a step not reported in prior literature.