PRODUCTS & SERVICES
FLASH BATTERY
THE CHOICE OF LITHIUM BATTERY MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE ARENA OF
ADVANCED ELECTRONICS
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iVTInternational.com June 2020 45
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Electric mobility is growing exponentially
worldwide and becoming a game-changer
in the mobility of the future. Electrification does
not only affect mobility, but all sectors of the
economy, including industry. There is no question
that decarbonising has become a necessity and
that the sensitivity of OEMs towards what many
refer to as the green solution is, and will be, a core
element of the future.
One of the main issues facing a technical
manager or engineer when
making the switch from
endothermic engines to electric
motors is the choice of the
battery. Lithium batteries are the
most widely used for electrifying
industrial machinery.
There are four main reasons
behind this: their high energy
density, i.e. they can store a lot of
energy while maintaining a low
weight (three-times lighter than lead
batteries); quick and partial charge acceptance;
zero routine maintenance; and very long life, in
most cases outlasting the machine in which they
are installed.
Lithium batteries are not all the same
Flash Battery is the best-selling lithium battery in
Italy. The Reggio Emilia-based company (turnover
of €14 million, 52 employees), which has been
making Li-Fe-Po4-chemistry lithium batteries
for major industrial players since 2012, produces
over 300 models. It started in a garage, when two
20-year-old friends with a passion for electronics
began studying the first lithium cells being offered
by the market at the time. The cells presented
some issues in terms of safety and reliability, and
their performance had to be enhanced, but overall
had the right characteristics to kick-start the
electric world.
With commitment and perseverance, Flash
Battery has established itself in the industrial
market in just under 10 years, forging important
partnerships and building a customer base
from a variety of sectors including automation,
construction, boating, agriculture, electric
vehicles, airport ground support equipment, aerial
platforms, industrial sweepers and logistics.
Active/passive balancing
In the Flash Battery balancing system, the
differentiating active and passive electronics offer
balancing power 20x higher than conventional
lithium batteries. This translates into a twentyfold
decrease in equalisation time and maintains the
cells balanced, even when the battery is well
into its life cycle.
Remote control of the more than 4,000 batteries
connected from 54 countries around the world
is completely automatic. Flash Data Centre, the
proprietary portal, runs self-diagnostics and
predictive maintenance on each battery daily,
sending automatic alerts to the Flash Battery
service centre.
Eight-step customisation
Making a customised battery pack tailored to the
customer means understanding the needs of the
industrial machinery or electric vehicle OEMs, and
designing ad-hoc solutions appropriate to the
specific use. Behind the making of a customised
battery, there’s a team of people – 20 engineers
and technicians – who design and make a battery
pack by following a well-established eight-step
industrial in-house process.
This innovative production flow has enabled
Flash Battery to reach the milestone of 8,000
batteries in just a few years, batteries which are
spread all over the world and with one of the
lowest failure rates in the sector.
Each of the eight customisation steps provides
clear actions down to the finest detail, and every
department within the company, from sales
and design to production, works alongside the
manufacturer in the development and making of
the battery pack. iVT
Author: Marco Righi, CEO and founder, Flash Battery
ABOVE: Three of Flash
Battery’s lithium batteries
for industrial machines
/pivt
/iVTInternational.com