Dukosi FAQ

Dukosi is a technology company developing revolutionary semiconductor solutions that dramatically improve the performance, safety, and reliability of battery systems, and enable a more sustainable battery value chain. We are a market leader in cell monitoring solutions for high power batteries powering applications such as electric vehicles (xEV), battery energy storage systems (BESS), and industrial transportation. The Dukosi Cell Monitoring System (DKCMS^®) with C-SynQ^® communication protocol is the industry-first smart cell monitoring solution that puts intelligence on every cell, providing on-cell data traceability throughout the value chain.

Dukosi’s corporate and R&D headquarters is in Edinburgh, UK, and sales and support locations in Asia, Europe, and USA. Our manufacturing partners are Global Foundries and Amkor.

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Because our smart cell monitoring IC is mounted directly on each cell, we can measure voltage and temperature with very high accuracy. By providing more detailed and reliable data, we give the battery management host processor greater confidence to extract more available energy. This enables it to relax safety margins and optimize performance, while maintaining strict safety and reliability standards.

Another advantage is that long cables found in conventional wired battery designs are no longer required, which helps avoid interference from high voltage sources such as busbars.

Ultimately, this higher measurement accuracy enables algorithms to calculate more accurate State of Charge, Power, and Health (SoC, SoP, SoH) estimates, resulting in more usable energy per cell, improved safety, and longer battery life.

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The idea of placing electronics directly on the cell has existed for many years. The real challenge has always been effective communication. In a large battery pack containing hundreds of cells, each cell monitor must reliably and efficiently transmit data to the BMS processor.

Dukosi’s technology approach is built on three pillars: measurements made directly at the cell, reliable, deterministic communication, and local data storage.

For communication, we developed our own protocol, C-SynQ^®. It synchronizes data capture across every cell before transferring the information over near field RF using a single bus antenna.

This eliminates failure-prone components such as connectors and IsoSPI based wiring used in conventional battery management systems. Customers often describe our solution as wireless with the reliability of a wired connection.

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Traditional battery management systems often use a daisy chain architecture, where data is passed sequentially from one unit to the next until it reaches the battery management processor. This introduces delays and communication behavior that is not fully deterministic, or the worst case is that it loses connectivity if one link or device fails. The battery management processor requires reliable, timely data delivery to perform effectively.

Dukosi takes a different, smarter approach by using a star network architecture capable of synchronous measurements from every cell, with deterministic communication to the BMS host, providing a highly reliable system. Every Cell Monitor IC communicates via the single bus antenna to the Dukosi System Hub, which is directly attached to the BMS host processor, often on the same PCB. This ensures that even in the unlikely event one Cell Monitor fails, the communication network continues operating seamlessly, and the missing cell can be identified immediately.

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As electrochemical devices, no two cells behave identically. During dynamic operating conditions, such as vehicle acceleration, each individual cell responds slightly differently. If cell measurements are captured at slightly different times, the BMS host processor will be comparing the operating states of cells that are not directly comparable. That effect compounds errors as the battery management system continues to process the data.

By measuring every cell simultaneously, DKCMS® with C-SynQ® obtains a consistent view of the entire battery pack on every measurement. This significantly improves the accuracy State of Charge (SoC) and State of Health (SoH) because they are based on highly accurate and truly comparable measurements. Our white paper, Sensitivity of Lithium-Ion Battery SoC and SoH Estimates to Sensor Measurement Error and Latency provides empirical details that reinforce these arguments.

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Every cell operates within defined limits, this is expressed by its allowable SoC range. If those values cannot be determined accurately, larger safety margins are required. Those margins reduce the amount of usable energy available.

When the battery management system has greater confidence in consistently accurate measurements, those margins can be reduced. As a result, you can either extract more usable energy from the same battery or achieve the same performance with a smaller, lower cost battery pack.

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Yes, because our cell monitoring IC sits directly on the cell, it can control local switches. This makes it possible to isolate individual cells when required and bring them back online when appropriate. That creates new possibilities for battery management, including fault handling and cell balancing.

Today, passive balancing is widely used because it is inexpensive. From an efficiency perspective, however, it is far from ideal. With our approach, cells can be controlled much more precisely, enabling more efficient balancing strategies. This is particularly valuable in applications where maximizing energy utilization and extending battery service life are critical.

The battery management system still makes the decisions, but DKCMS® provides the technical foundation that enables those actions to be carried out accurately and at the individual cell level.

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Dukosi DKCMS® supports all battery design methods, whether traditional modules or more modern cell-to-pack or cell-to-chassis architectures, offering unparalleled flexibility.

The DKCMS® System Hub can manage up to 216 Cell Monitors, enabling the creation of even the largest-capacity battery packs. It enables battery designers to move away from fixed-size cell modules with confidence.

DKCMS® supports scalability in single cell increments and can be scaled without requiring redesign or recertification. DKCMS simplifies development and manufacturing, enabling much greater design freedom, allowing designs to adapt quickly to different markets or changing economic conditions.

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Dukosi Cell Monitors can be paired with prismatic, pouch, and cylindrical cell types. As prismatic and pouch cells are larger, they are typically installed with one Cell Monitor per cell, whereas cylindrical cells are typically assigned one Cell Monitor per parallel string, or cell group.

For prismatic and pouch cells, the Cell Monitor is typically installed on a highly compact flexible or rigid PCB between the cell terminals, where the wiring length is optimized to capture the most accurate voltage readings. When the cells are stacked together inside the module or battery, the uniform installation enables each integrated near field antenna to align easily, allowing the bus antenna to overlap in a straightforward manner and streamlining battery design and manufacturing.

Dukosi Cell Monitors can support any cell chemistry between 1.5 V and 5 V, including common NMC and LFP chemistries and their variations, as well as emerging solid state batteries and non-lithium alternatives such as sodium-ion chemistries.

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In addition to highly accurate voltage measurement and our unique ability to measure the temperature of every cell directly, Dukosi technology can perform advanced cell level measurements such as DC internal resistance (DCIR) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) at the cell. These measurements provide deeper insight into cell temperature, condition, and ageing.

Because every measurement is captured directly at the cell, influences such as cable length variations and contact resistance are eliminated. Every cell is measured under identical conditions, making the results directly comparable. This allows genuine cell differences to be distinguished from measurement artefacts.

For example, if one cell is operating at a slightly higher temperature than the others, it becomes immediately apparent because every cell has been measured under the same conditions. The benefit is even greater when measuring internal resistance. If individual cells age differently over time, those differences can be identified with high precision.

This not only provides an accurate picture of the current condition of each cell but also reveals how every cell evolves throughout its lifetime, allowing outliers to be identified much earlier.
In addition, by measuring the external temperature and estimating the internal temperature of every cell, the system can monitor thermal influences throughout the battery pack over its operational life. This represents an important safety enhancement, particularly in demanding applications such as aerospace.

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Whereas DKCMS® is ideal for cell manufacturers, and battery designers who want to bring a new battery design to market, Dukosi DK-NFLNK® is designed for customers who have already invested in a modular battery architecture, but still want the benefits of our technologies, while minimizing redesign time and effort.

Designed to be an easy, drop-in replacement for the existing wiring between the BMS processor and battery modules based on multi-channel AFEs, DK-NFLNK® is an intra-battery communication solution that links all battery modules using near- field connectivity, a single bus antenna, and a proprietary communication protocol based on Dukosi C-SynQ®. The key difference is that DK-NFLNK® offers greater reliability, and safety, with new opportunities for scalability and flexibility that previous wired modular designs could not support.

Unlike most conventional batteries, which only offer BMS-level data for the whole battery, DK-NFLNK® enables data storage at the module level, potentially creating a digital product passport for each individual module. This provides a method for supply chain security, repairability, and sustainability.

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Each smart cell monitor IC has a unique identity and local data storage. It can store both static master data, such as manufacturing information, supply chain data, and cell chemistry, as well as dynamic operating data throughout the cell’s lifetime. For example, it can record how a cell’s internal resistance changes over time.

This creates a complete history for every individual cell, enabling highly detailed analysis over its entire operational life. The data can also be used to train AI models that improve the understanding and prediction of battery behavior. In addition, individual cells can be monitored in a targeted way; if a cell begins to deviate from expected behavior, it can be flagged for closer observation or maintenance before it develops into a more serious issue.

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We have demonstrated an industry collaboration for a battery design that can create a “secure cell-to-cloud” data pipe. This supports regulations such as the EU Battery Passport. Every cell has a unique identity stored on the Dukosi Cell Monitor, requiring the system to authenticate any changes to the battery. DKCMS^® also goes beyond alternative battery architectures by retaining cell-level lifetime data on the Cell Monitor, such as State of Health, beyond the first battery integration, promoting reuse and the circular economy.

Everyone across the battery value chain benefits from cell-level data, including cell manufacturers, OEMs, fleet operators, consumers, and recyclers. By making battery health data accessible, this information helps improve products and provides a more accurate assessment of cell value.

Read more: Cell-level Battery Passport – from Concept to a Europe-wide Trial in a Kia EV3

Solution Brief: Dukosi x STMicroelectronics: Secure Solution for Cell-to-Cloud Battery Passport Protection

Yes. There have been cases where batteries are deliberately subjected to abnormal operating conditions in an attempt to trigger warranty claims. There’s also significant safety, financial, and brand perception concerns if counterfeit cells are unknowingly installed in batteries, or sold in the marketplace.

Because Dukosi Cell Monitors are installed directly on each cell, it can detect and record how every cell has been used throughout its lifetime. This creates an auditable record that can be used to identify and verify evidence of legitimacy and tampering.

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We are seeing greatest momentum in the industrial transportation sector, in applications such as airport ground support vehicles, construction equipment, mining vehicles, and electric buses, as well as strong interest from the marine sector. All these applications use large, high power battery packs where performance, reliability, safety, and the operating conditions are especially demanding. We also have numerous validation projects underway in the automotive sector across vehicle types and ranges, albeit with longer development cycles.

Please see the Dukosi Resource Library to read and download press releases, blogs and infographics, and access published white papers, case studies, academic papers, and presentations.