Eckhard Karden
Bio
Eckhard Karden is a technology consultant, particularly for automotive technology application of lead batteries. He left Ford Motor Company in fall 2023, where he had been working as low-volt energy storage specialist in the European Research and Innovation Center for 21 years. He was involved in technology assessment, requirements specification and innovation projects for stop-start, micro / mild hybrid and auxiliary battery applications. Previously, he worked as Ph.D. candidate and senior engineer at RWTH Aachen University. He is a member of German, European and International battery standardization groups and technical chairman of the ALBA workshop series.
Lead batteries have been the predominant storage technology for low-voltage automotive power supply systems for more than a century. In the rapidly growing market segment of battery-electric vehicles, key requirements for the low-voltage distribution system and its battery are changing drastically: For example, engine cranking, which used to determine the CCA power sizing of batteries, is no longer required, and key-off loads may be powered, or the low-voltage battery replenished, from the high-voltage battery while the vehicle is parked safely. Simultaneously, quiescent loads are growing significantly due to customer comfort functions, over-the-air software updates, and several other factors. With electrified driver assistance systems and autonomous driving functions, 12 V power supply systems and their components will have to meet new requirements (Functional Safety) in addition to traditional reliability. While the automotive industry is undergoing disruptive change, the paper will snapshot technology trends for low-voltage power supply systems and derive challenges and opportunities for 12 V lead-based automotive battery systems. Action areas will be identified for technical optimization and standardization of batteries, battery monitoring systems and their system integration in modern vehicles. Examples for ongoing pre-competitive collaboration activities will be discussed as enablers for lead batteries being chosen as the preferred low-voltage storage technology in the next generation of mainstream passenger vehicles.
