Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan said on September 29 that it will begin supplying samples of the KA85010UA in January 2027. The part is a battery monitoring integrated circuit that covers 26 cells and includes EIS functionality. The company also said it will supply EIS analysis algorithms to help customers integrate the device into their applications.
The chip combines battery monitoring with EIS-based impedance measurement in one device. EIS superimposes an alternating current on a battery and calculates impedance from the resulting voltage and current responses. Building that capability into the chip allows measurement inside the system, without the dedicated measurement equipment that was previously required, and allows internal battery conditions to be monitored and diagnosed continuously.
Nuvoton said EIS can assess internal battery conditions that are difficult to judge from voltage, current and temperature readings alone. It said the technique can estimate state of health and internal temperature, predict battery lifetime and detect early signs of cell abnormalities, contributing to battery safety in vehicles and energy storage systems.
The device uses the company's inductor method instead of the conventional resistor method, which Nuvoton said cuts energy loss. In the company's evaluations, power loss and the rise in PCB temperature were each reduced by approximately 93% against the resistor method. Nuvoton said those low-power and low-heat characteristics make it easier to put EIS into automotive batteries and energy storage systems, and allow measurement data to be acquired steadily while a battery is operating, charging or at rest.
The company said its support runs from setting up the EIS measurement environment through to implementing estimation and abnormality-detection functions and integrating them into applications, drawing on analysis experience from verification work with automakers and research institutions. It said this is intended to let customers new to EIS build battery diagnostic systems more easily and shorten development cycles.
