Battery technology for electric cars has improved rapidly, and the packs are getting cheaper every year. But getting the most out of an electric vehicle’s energy storage isn’t just about basic chemistry. According to “battery intelligence” company Elysia, there is a lot of untapped potential in the cells that could be unleashed with more sophisticated software control.

Elysia may not be a name you are familiar with. However, it used to be Williams Advanced Engineering and changed its name after being acquired by mining giant Fortescue. It might seem like an odd acquisition choice, but on closer inspection it fits the Australian iron ore giant’s overall business strategy.

Elysia: Decarbonizing the Mining Industry

“We have a very ambitious decarbonisation mission,” says James Wallace, head of product at Elysia. “Fortescue is traditionally a mining company based in Western Australia. Our founder, Dr. Andrew Forrest, realized that the mining industry was causing environmental destruction and we needed to do something about it. He set out on an ambitious mission to decarbonize ourselves and then help the rest of the industry decarbonize after that.”

“It started with the massive 264-tonne haul trucks used in mining,” Wallace continues. These vehicles consume enormous amounts of diesel. Fortescue looked for decarbonized alternatives and found that there were none on the market. “We had to do that and also build the batteries for the trucks.” That’s how Fortescue ended up acquiring Williams Advanced Engineering, which built battery packs for high-performance applications such as Formula E and It’s extremeWITH electric hypercars.

“Since then, Williams Advanced Engineering has continued to develop motorsport and high-performance solutions, but now also builds battery packs for incredibly intense mining truck applications, where the battery could be rapidly charged 6 or 7 times per day,” says Wallace. “Charging speeds could be up to 6MW on mining sites. Run time is critical in these applications and the ambient temperature can be as low as 40C. Conditions are rough and dusty.” Fortescue recently announced a Fully electric T264 truck created in collaboration with Liebherrwhich incorporates an amazing 1.8 MWh battery – 18 times larger than the one in a current Tesla Model S.

“We will design and build the battery packs for Liebherr trucks which will then be sold around the world to decarbonise mining,” says Wallace. “We don’t just build the truck. We need to build everything upstream of the truck and change mining operations, which is incredibly complex, including generating carbon-free electricity and managing mine site electricity.” The work that Elysia did Formula E in-race fast charging, which has not yet been implemented will contribute to the 6 MW speed that is planned for the T264 truck.

Elysia: From mining to battery intelligence for consumer electric vehicles

This is where Elysia’s work with the software comes in, which will be applicable to more consumer-oriented vehicles than the T264. “Part of the challenge with fast charging is not just delivering power, but delivering that power in a way that doesn’t damage the battery,” says Wallace. “Don’t just give a flat profile against this charge. You’ll often see manufacturers use a stepped profile so the pack doesn’t reach a high temperature during this charge. We’re trying to do smarter things by looking at the pack temperature to protect against chilling during that fast charge because that’s the main safety risk. Lithium plating is when you charge too fast. The lithium ions accumulate on the negative electrode of the battery and start to plate each other. It’s especially a risk when you’re trying to fast charge in very cold temperatures.”

“Over the past 15 years of developing high-performance applications, we’ve gotten really good at modeling and monitoring batteries, using software to make smarter use of that battery,” says Wallace. This includes both algorithms that run locally on battery and remote monitoring in the cloud, which Elysia provides to customers. The goal is to prioritize safety, but also make the most efficient use of batteries, including longevity. “With the intelligence we have with Elysia, we know we can safely stretch batteries beyond their typical end-of-life. We can also make them charge faster or slower to rebalance the elements in the system.”

Elysia’s battery intelligence involves on-battery algorithms for “status estimation”. This provides “understanding of what energy is available with that battery at any given time,” according to Wallace, including its current health. The true value for this can vary widely from what the in-vehicle system reports. “We have seen mass market vehicles where the actual battery health is 10% worse than the system reports. The battery tells you it is at 95% health, but the true health of the battery is 85%.

Applying Elysia physical models to the cloud

Cars now transmit a huge amount of data to the cloud. Instead of sticking with the manufacturer, Elysia combines it with battery models to provide more information. “That’s exactly what we’re doing with Jaguar Land Rover, providing deeper insights into where degradation varies,” says Wallace. This could be because a taxi driver travels a lot of kilometers every day, or frequently uses fast charging, or it could be because they are in a warmer climate. “JLR receives over 50 billion diagnostic data points from its existing vehicle fleet every month. We apply a battery model to this data, which we call “physically informed.” This goes beyond just machine learning, which reveals patterns but doesn’t explain the cause of the behavior it discovers.

Elysia hopes to apply its experience to improve the way vehicle manufacturers use batteries in their electric vehicles. “One of the problems we have now is that the batteries are oversized,” says Wallace. “Because we can’t see what the current state of a particular battery is and reliably predict how that battery will age, the approach OEMs take is to oversize that battery pack, adding a few extra kWh to their give room to move. Oversized batteries mean heavier systems that are more expensive. Elysia gives engineers transparency not only into the life phase, but also when they come to design the next battery, so they’re able to predict how that degradation will happen. This means they can reduce battery oversizing, which will help with costs.”

“Our goal is to connect these systems and give you a battery that is uniquely suited to your use case,” continues Wallace. “For example, if we notice that your battery is degrading at a lower rate, we could unlock more functionality without changing any of that system’s hardware. We could unlock faster charging or more usable power so you get more battery life. Battery degradation depends on the path.” Two batteries with the same state of health now may degrade at different rates afterward, depending on usage patterns. “You need that full battery history.”

Better knowledge in this area could lead to improved extended warranties for used EV batteries as well. “OEMs have been too conservative in terms of battery degradation expectations,” says Wallace. They could offer better warranties on those batteries than they currently do. But manufacturers who have invested in collecting the necessary historical information will be better placed to do so than those who have not.

Unleash new battery performance with Elysia’s intelligent software

Elysia’s main role in enabling this will be largely based on its experience in electrifying mining trucks. “Mining is an incredible quicksand for us to innovate in electrification,” says Wallace. “These systems are heavily cycled, so we see accelerated decay profiles. But there’s also a lot of leverage to optimize that battery because it’s Fortescue’s sandbox, and we’re able to tailor these applications directly to our business outcomes. This allows us to optimize not only the software, but also the battery design, maintenance, charging and surrounding operations. Our history in motorsports provides another incredible playground to innovate, advance technologies and leverage data.”

“Elysia’s battery intelligence is about using software to unlock new battery life, safety and performance,” concludes Wallace. “We’re using this incredible test bed that we have within Fortescue and our own batteries to drive our understanding. We are already operating at scale with JLR, helping their engineers on the ground to identify quality issues before they affect customer use, but also looking at opportunities for how we can unlock performance on existing vehicles.” The results could be longer battery life, faster charging, and longer warranties that provide insurance as a vehicle goes through more owners—all derived from more sophisticated software.