Chrysler’s parent company, Stellantis, has developed a new technology called the Intelligent Battery Integrated System (IBIS) that will make future electric vehicles (EVs) lighter, more efficient, and faster. This groundbreaking technology is now moving from concept to reality. Here are the details.
What is IBIS and How Does It Work?
Developed in partnership with Saft, Sherpa Engineering, Université Paris-Saclay, and Institut Lafayette, IBIS integrates charger and inverter functions directly into the battery pack. This integration reduces complex design processes, saves space inside the vehicle, and simplifies maintenance.
The biggest benefit of this innovative system is that it eliminates the frequent conversion of alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) and vice versa, a process often performed by electric vehicles. This conversion process causes energy loss both in home chargers and in the recovery of energy from regenerative braking. By eliminating this process and the associated hardware, IBIS offers significant weight and efficiency advantages.
Key Benefits of IBIS
Efficiency and Performance: Up to 10 percent energy efficiency improvement and 15 percent power gain (from 150 kW to 172 kW) in the WLTC cycle with the same battery size.
Weight and Space Savings: This reduces the vehicle’s weight by approximately 40 kg and adds up to 17 liters of volume, resulting in improved aerodynamics and design flexibility.
Faster Charging: Early tests show a 15 percent reduction in charging time (e.g., from 7 hours to 6 hours on a 7 kW AC charger) and a 10 percent energy savings.
Easy Maintenance: This simplifies the reuse of batteries in energy storage systems (BESS) during their second lifespan, reducing the need for costly and extensive repairs.
“This project reflects our belief that simplification is innovation. By rethinking and simplifying the electric powertrain architecture, we are making it lighter, more efficient, and more affordable,” said Ned Curic, Stellantis’s chief engineering and technology officer.
IBIS technology has been in development for several years, with the first proof of concept for stationary applications produced in 2022. Today, it was announced that the first fully functional battery electric vehicle (BEV) equipped with IBIS is ready to hit the road. This development is considered a significant milestone for electric vehicle technology.
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