48-V mobility reference design uses modular approach for faster design

Renesas Electronics Corp. has launched a 48-V Mobility Solution that helps developers speed up the design of electric mobility (e-mobility) applications, such as e-scooters, e-bikes, UPS, and energy storage systems. The complete mobility reference design targets a variety of electric motor drive applications and voltage ranges, focusing on three types of solutions: low voltage and low cost, functionality and efficiency, or high power and torque.

By using a modular approach for both hardware and software, this reference design enables designers to select different functional blocks for a range of 24-V to 48-V applications, including lawn mowers, electric carts, robot cleaners, power tools, and power banks, reducing time to market and resources.

This reference design includes 15 Renesas ICs, including three key devices: the newly released advanced ISL94216 16-cell battery front end (BFE), HIP2211 100-V MOSFET drivers, and RX23T 32-bit microcontroller (MCU) for motor control. The 48-V mobility solution is powered from a 25 AHr Li-ion battery that drives a 1600 W inverter to attain speeds up to 5000 rpm.

For system control, the solution uses Renesas’ RX23T MCU with built-in floating point unit (FPU) and six high-performance timers designed for complex inverter control algorithms. Along with the modular design, Renesas said these features “greatly reduce the man-hours in software/hardware development and debug.”

What’s inside

When it comes to e-mobility applications, battery management capabilities and cell balancing are top of mind for recharging, which is addressed in the new mobility reference design with two boards that meet requirements for higher battery cell count and power levels.

• The BFE and charger board focuses on larger, higher voltage battery packs. The new ISL94216 16-cell BFE, which monitors system conditions to improve battery life and safety, supports up to 200 mA+ external cell balancing for fast recharging and high utilization in large battery packs with hot plug tolerance up to 62 V. It also provides full high-side, battery protection and monitoring for 4S to 16S cell battery packs. Also on the board are Renesas’ RX23T 32-bit MCU with built-in FPU for full control of the system, ISL28214 op amps, ISL81601 60-V bidirectional 4-switch synchronous buck-boost controller for charging efficiency, and ISL84501 multiplexer.
• The motor control and inverter board features synchronized current/voltage measurements and drivers that are pulse width modulated (PWM) to actuate the motor and monitor motor status, said Renesas. This board supports a 48-V battery pack and can reach up to 5000 RPM with a 1600-W inverter powertrain and motor control sensors. The board also includes a DC/DC converter, ISL28191 op-amp current sensors, ISL80410 LDO regulator, HIP2211 100-V half-bridge MOSFET drivers, and MOSFET bank. It connects to the BRE and charger board. The hardware algorithm is suited for driving brushless DC (BLDC) motors.
• Two optional boards are available: a wireless charging receiver board and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE 5.0) control board. In addition, a mobile phone application is available that controls ON/OFF power and motor start. The wireless charging receiver board uses two Renesas wireless receivers used in parallel to boost output as needed and connects to the BFE and charger board. The BLE control board with the RX23W MCU enables secure mobile phone connectivity via BLE for throttle control, battery status, GPS connection, and saved route history, and also connects to the BFE and charger board.

The new ISL94216 16-cell BFE is available in a 64-lead QFN package from authorized distributors. The device is priced at $2.99 in quantities of 1,000. The reference design is part of Renesas’ “winning combination” product combos designed to speed up time to market.