Upcoming foxBMS feature highlights in early 2025 for foxBMS 2!

New foxBMS BMS-Master hardware

Design preview of the upcoming foxBMS BMS-Master hardware with streamlined power supply architecture

The foxBMS development team at Fraunhofer IISB is currently working on some exciting new features related to hardware, software and the foxBMS ecosystem. Let’s have a look at the upcoming foxBMS feature highlights in early 2025!

Supply Architecture

Based on customer and community feedback and our experience across different projects, we’ve streamlined the power supply architecture of the foxBMS 2 BMS-Master. The new, optimized design removes the second SBC (peripheral SPC), now featuring only a single SBC. The upcoming hardware release will include these changes, while maintaining software backward compatibility with the current version (v1.x.x) of the foxBMS 2 BMS-Master. This release is scheduled for Q4 2024.

Ethernet Support

Get ready for extended connectivity! We will release the newly developed software driver for the Ethernet PHY (TI DP83869HM). In addition, a fix in the hardware design related to the Ethernet PHY is currently being validated. The initial ethernet support will be released in Q1 2025, while the hardware design fix will be part of the upcoming hardware release in 2024.

Bootloader and Remote Firmware Updates

To enable firmware updates in conditions without physical access to the debug interface, a bootloader for the MCU and the accompanying host software with firmware update features will be released. The remote flashing procedure has been developed with enhanced flash partitioning and verification in mind. The first version will support firmware updates over CAN. The bootloader will be released in Q1 2025.

foxBMS powered by AI

Unleash massive computational power for data or AI-driven applications and battery state estimators! We will introduce a foxBMS extension board for NVIDIA Jetson NX edge devices. Raw battery sensing data can be exchanged through a high-speed low-level communication interface (SPI) between the foxBMS MCU and the NVIDIA Jetson NX edge device to enable the utilization of AI technologies by the foxBMS ecosystem. The hardware design will be released in Q2 2025.

Battery System Architectures

To stay ahead with foxBMS we continuously evaluate new trends and products to enhance battery systems through support for novel architectures and sensing methods from cell to pack level. Currently we’re working on the support for additional functionality enabled by next generation AFEs, ensuring your battery systems are future ready.

We welcome you to explore the upcoming foxBMS feature highlights!

foxBMS® is a free, open and flexible research and development battery management system platform. foxBMS® aims to control modern and complex electrical energy storage systems, like lithium-ion battery systems and hybrid systems (e.g., fuel cell systems). It is perfectly suited to accelerate the research, development and test processes used in the mobile domains (e.g., automotive, aviation, maritime) by using seamless development processes and integration.

foxBMS® is suitable and adaptable to current and future rechargeable energy storage systems based on lithium-ion batteries (LIB). Further, it was also developed to control other kind of rechargeable batteries and electrochemical storage systems:

  • Lithium-Ion and Solid State Batteries
  • Lithium-Sulfur Batteries
  • Sodium-Ion Batteries
  • Lithium-Ion Capacitors (LIC)
  • Electric Double-Layer Capacitors (EDLC, supercapacitors or ultracaps)
  • Redox-Flow Batteries (RFB) (e.g., Vanadium Redox-Flow)
  • Fuel Cells (FC)

If you have questions about foxBMS 2, please contact us.

The Fraunhofer IISB foxBMS Team