NI’s Software-Defined Battery Lab is designed for continuous improvement

NI, formerly known as National Instruments, has launched a new testing solution for battery validation labs. NI’s So ware-De ned Battery Lab covers the entire battery lifecycle from research and development to validation, production, second life and remanufacturing.

e So ware-De ned Battery Lab is designed to support EV manufacturers and battery suppliers. It allows battery validation and data management and analysis of battery data, and it’s designed to be open and exible to scale for global validation testing and adapt to innovations in battery technologies.

e So ware-De ned Battery Lab draws parallels from the concept of So ware-de ned vehicles, which allows engineering teams to continuously improve performance. As battery technologies evolve and scale, companies can accelerate test system development, maximize reuse of battery testing investments, and connect battery data to improve performance through changes to so ware.

“We’re in the nascent stages of the battery revolution,” said Drita Roggenbuck, Senior VP of the Transportation Business Unit at NI. “Companies are faced with driving down battery costs, improving performance, innovating endlessly, and scaling. At a time when new vehicle programs are as short as ever, and battery validation and production must scale immediately and continuously through the end of the decade, NI’s So ware-De ned Battery Lab o ers the step function change needed to improve time to market and battery performance.” e newly announced NI SystemLink Enterprise so ware is a scalable enterprise solution for managing labs, improving test operations and analyzing test results. It o ers lab management functionality including:

NI’s Battery Test So ware provides battery testing capabilities out of the box, and also allows customization and extensibility through LabVIEW and other common test so ware.

• Test request tracking and scheduling

• Tester status, utilization and health monitoring

• Test so ware management and deployment

• Battery data aggregation, visualization and analytics e NI battery measurement and control hardware is built on NI’s soware-connected, modular hardware platforms. ese systems can be quickly recon gured and customized to meet rapidly changing test requirements, including integration with third-party components.

NI’s extensive battery cycler portfolio o ers solutions for every phase of battery development. NI’s newest cycler, HPS-17000, provides up to 150 kW of power. NI’s open so ware allows integration with third-party cyclers to increase development e ciency and enable reuse.

Vitesco Technologies presents new electric drive without rare earths

Vitesco Technologies has introduced an upgraded version of its electric axle drive platform for main and auxiliary drives that does not use rare earth elements. Vitesco’s fourth-generation Electronics Motor Reducer (EMR4) will be based on a non-permanent magnet rotor. is rotor powers an externally excited synchronous machine (EESM) without rare earths, which decreases rotor costs and eliminates the carbon footprint of mining and processing ores. e company claims that this machine saves a watt-hour of electricity per kilometer since there is no drag from a permanent magnet eld in the rotor, lowering the drive’s power requirements by up to 5% without a mechanical decoupling mechanism.

“ e EESM option requires an additional inverter module to control the coils. Nevertheless, we are really close to an EESM plug-and-play solution,” said Vitesco Technologies Innovation Head Dr. Gerd Rösel.

Piedmont Lithium and Sayona to provide lithium to LG Chem and Tesla from Québec mines

Piedmont Lithium’s joint venture partner, Sayona Mining, has released a de nitive feasibility study (DFS) for the jointly-owned North American Lithium (NAL) project, and has increased its forecast for the amount of lithium mineral resources at its Moblan Lithium Project. Both projects are located in the province of Québec. e NAL DFS contemplates increased annual spodumene concentrate production averaging 190,000 metric tons per year over a 20-year mine life. e revised production targets, combined with higher spodumene concentrate pricing, resulted in an increase to the net present value for the NAL project compared to the prefeasibility study completed in 2022.

Sayona undertook a strategic review of mineral resources and ore reserves in order to focus on higher-grade open-pit material. Based on the revised block model, certain indicated resources have been reclassi ed as inferred resources. e study contemplates a mine life of 20 years.

Piedmont has an o ake agreement with Sayona Québec to purchase the greater of 113,000 tpy or 50% of the joint venture’s spodumene concentrate production. Piedmont has agreements with LG Chem and Tesla to provide spodumene from NAL beginning in H2 2023. Sayona Québec is undertaking a prefeasibility study to explore downstream production at NAL, and expects results in Q2 2023.

Separately, Sayona has announced a signi cant increase in mineral resources at its 60%-owned Moblan project in northern Québec. Measured and indicated mineral resources at Moblan now total 41.1 million metric tons, making it one of North America’s most signicant spodumene ore bodies.