Battery diagnosis via charging plug

Battery diagnosis via charging plug

In the future, Mahle Aftermarket will also use the charging plug for battery diagnosis of electric vehicles in addition to the existing OBD port. To achieve this, the service and spare parts division of the Stuttgart-based automotive supplier is working with volytica diagnostics, a software developer from Dresden. It evaluates the measured data in the cloud and provides valuable information about the condition of the vehicle battery. For example, any need for repairs can be predicted. The new diagnostic solution for cars has been being tested in practice since the beginning of 2022, together with TÜV Nord Mobility and a well-known European fleet operator. It is expected to be available from Mahle at the end of 2022. In the next step, both partners want to also offer battery diagnostics for battery-electric trucks and buses.

“We are making the battery a completely calculable quantity and thus creating future security for independent workshops in the face of mobility change,” says Olaf Henning, member of the Mahle Executive Board and head of the Aftermarket division. Testing companies, owners, fleet operators and workshop networks are still exposed to a massive lack of transparency when it comes to battery quality and therefore vehicle value. Until now, it has hardly been possible to reliably evaluate battery data and communicate the status quo of their batteries to owners of electric vehicles. “A test shouldn’t take long and must be affordable – this is exactly where our technology comes in,” says Claudius Jehle, CEO of volytica. A special combination of charging and diagnostic device is used for diagnosis. Within ten minutes, Mahle enables an initial diagnosis of the health status of the vehicle battery via the vehicle's charging socket. This measurement takes place regardless of what data the vehicle manufacturer provides via the OBD diagnostic port. The battery data is then comprehensively evaluated, interpreted and made available to the user in the volytica cloud.

With the new development, Mahle is opening up new, future-proof business areas beyond the combustion engine for independent workshops. With the TechPRO diagnostic device, basic diagnosis of batteries is already possible via the OBD port. With the help of battery diagnostics, up to two million tons of batteries with a value of more than 50 billion euros can be saved from premature disposal every year and thus given a second life. Through so-called second-life applications, battery life can be extended by an average of five years.