www.ti.com BATTERY POWER 17 www.power-mag.com Issue 2 2024 Power Electronics Europe How squib and contactor drivers help improve safety and efficiency in HEV/EV battery disconnect systems Jennifer Jordan – Product Marketing Engineer at Texas Instruments power distribution system, high voltage relays and disconnect fuses, face increasing design challenges from the growing demands of supporting higher voltages, currents, efficiency, and reliability. Figure 1 shows an overview of the high voltage relays and disconnect fuses. The non-resettable, battery disconnect fuse activates in emergency scenarios to break the connection between the battery and rest of the car. High voltage relays, otherwise know as contactors, connect and disconnect power-supply lines throughout an HEV or EV during normal operation. In this article, I’ll discuss emerging technologies in contactor and disconnect fuse drivers that are helping make BMS smarter, safer and more efficient. Enabling a fast and reliable battery disconnect system In the event of a collision, power needs to be shut off from downstream systems in order to prevent further complications or damage. The two common solutions today are melting fuses and pyro fuses. Melting fuses trigger based on thermal conditions of an overcurrent event and these fuses Power distribution in battery management systems (BMS) for hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and electric vehicles (EV) delivers power to core functions of the vehicle while also providing mechanisms to safely disconnect high voltage or high current events. Two core components of the Figure 1. Battery disconnect fuse and high voltage relays in BMW power distribution
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