Application Specific Batteries from VARTA

When it comes to small and medium sized vehicles like AGV’s (Automated Guided Vehicles) for logistics and agricultural markets, battery-powered cleaning equipment and other light electric vehicles it is not unusual for the OEM to find itself developing batteries for themselves or to rely on 3rd parties with almost no experience in battery manufacturing in order to minimize their investment. Often, however, they end up with a product which is poor in design, not fit for purpose and hence finally too high when considering the cost over lifetime.

Consequently these “home-made” solutions have great difficulty when faced with stringent certification requirements before they can find their way to the end user. All of these costs can be eliminated by selecting a standard battery solution and it is no surprise therefore that due to the high costs and the necessary know-how the market is now demanding standard solutions for battery designs.

There are often different requirements for the battery depending on the application and the OEM. VARTA recognises the need for batteries in certain markets and for certain applications and will launch the new range “Application Specific Batteries” (ASB) aimed at niche but important markets starting with 24V and 48V battery modules. VARTA has 130 years of battery expertise and over 30 years of experience in lithium-Ion battery technology. The design and production is in Europe and guarantees the high quality for which VARTA is known.

To give the customers flexibility, VARTA will launch different kind of lithium-ion batteries, starting with the VARTA Easy Block and VARTA Easy Blade models in 24V and 48V. These batteries can be connected together in parallel up to 20 modules together for additional capacity and currents which allows customers to access huge portable power in a reliable way. The connection is easily made, with no additional external battery management system required to control the modules. The modules select their own “Master or Slave” status within the connected system automatically and communicate with each other, with the charger and with the application via CAN Bus (CANOpen).

VARTA lithium-ion batteries fulfill the demands of these special markets perfectly. They are designed for occasional and quicker charging with high charge and discharge rate capabilities and the high energy density is made for a long run-time. This allows a charging during breaks or across an AGV fleet, which leads to almost no downtime. Despite the frequent charging, they have a much longer cycle life than lead acid batteries from 1,000 cycles to 4,000 cycles with zero maintenance and zero emissions.

The design-in process will be as easy as possible with 3D models, documentation for compliance and shipping all accessible online. The IEC 62133 certification will already be included which helps customers bring their product safely to market faster. 

Applications

• Robotics: general
• Logistics: hand pallets, trucks, forklifts
• Logistics: Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV)
• Agriculture (AGV): seeding machines, greenhouse robotics, autonomous animal feeders
• Floor cleaning: automated and ride-on cleaners
• People movers: golf carts, passenger transport (airport vehicles)
• Transportation: aircraft handling robots and vehicles
• Mobile medical carts
• Medical hoists (people lifters)

If you require design support on VARTA batteries, get in touch with our team in your local language.