New developments in battery energy storage systems and their impact on components

Batteries are key to the energy transition, without them, a renewable, electrified society is impossible. Ongoing improvements and cost reductions are driving new battery technologies, raising the question of what comes next. To keep pace, component manufacturers must act boldly and innovate through close collaboration with battery makers and users.

The shift toward an All Electric Society is accelerating, powered by clean, efficient technologies, from quiet electric buses and heating systems to intelligent buildings. All of this depends on reliable energy storage, largely through batteries. An electrified society based on climate‑neutral renewable energy simply cannot function without large numbers of batteries.

The evolution of battery technology

Each new battery generation alters electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties. Impacting not only the systems that use them but also related components such as sensors, controllers, monitoring systems, connections, and cables.

This is illustrated by the example of raw materials for battery production. Currently, the raw materials used are often scarce and expensive. In many cases, they are mined with a very negative impact on the environment. The search for alternatives is made more difficult by the fact that the material combinations used influence the electrical properties as well as stability and safety. The aim is to provide as much energy and power as possible in the smallest possible space, with the lowest possible weight, and at the lowest possible cost.

Lithium‑ion battery technology will remain dominant for years, with key variants such as NMC and LFP. These abbreviations refer to the materials used, for example LiNiMnCoO₂ and LiFePO₄.

NMC batteries deliver very high power and therefore need electrical connections that can handle high currents with minimal losses. LFP batteries offer lower power but support more charge–discharge cycles and better thermal tolerance. However, voltage measurement is more sensitive with LFP batteries because their voltage changes much less over the charge/discharge cycle than with NMC batteries.

These differences become stronger with entirely new materials. Alongside lithium‑ion batteries, lower‑cost sodium‑ion batteries are emerging, though with reduced performance. Meanwhile, manufacturers and start‑ups are developing solid‑state batteries with new internal designs. Promising higher performance, less weight and volume, longer life, and faster charging. Such advances require corresponding updates to components and systems.

Overcoming the limits of performance

New applications are also placing additional demands on batteries, often requiring higher electrical output, e‑mobility being a prime example.

To make fully electric driving viable, charging times must approach those of refueling combustion vehicles. This requires delivering more energy in less time. While new battery technologies support faster charging, simply increasing current would demand larger, heavier, and more expensive cables and connectors. As a result, charging voltages are rising, from under 100 V initially to 850 V in today’s vehicles, with 1,250 V expected for electric trucks.

Voltage is also crucial for boosting the power of stationary battery systems, with systems already reaching up to 1,500 V and currents of 500 A.

Connection technology manufacturers are keeping pace, offering suitable solutions such as Phoenix Contact’s BPC battery pole connectors, which are rated for 1,500 V DC and currently handle 350 A, with a future target of 500 A.

The Low Voltage Directive sets an upper limit of 1,500 V. Above this, additional regulations apply, such as stricter personnel training and component design changes significantly. Because many requirements are defined only for specific applications, development of battery systems with nominal voltages above 1,500 V has so far been cautious.

The Low Voltage Directive sets 1,500 V as the maximum voltage limit for component design.

The trend toward ever‑higher power makes such systems necessary, requiring appropriately designed components such as connectors, power electronics, and monitoring systems. Experts from Phoenix Contact support this development by contributing to international standardization committees that define technical principles and establish legal certainty.

Read more about battery storage systems.