So Matt, tell us about yourself. 

I’ve been an Engineer for 10 years, a Husband for 7, and a Dad for two. I have been interested in electric vehicles since I got my first R/C car when I was 10 years old, I’m 35 now. I like roasting coffee and smoking meat. I also love adding microcontrollers to things. 

What do you enjoy about working at eMatrix? 

I really like the freedom and flexibility. I get to work on a wide variety of engineering problems, from manufacturing to thermal analysis, to electrical design.

What are you most passionate about engineering battery packs? 

My goal is to make a battery that is intended to be used. A lot of other battery suppliers dictate what their customers can and can’t do. We work with our customers to ensure they have the features and performance they need. 

What are you most proud of eMatrix’s product? 

Flexibility, both from a hardware and software point of view. We are able to physically fit batteries in many shapes due to our flexibility at the eBrick level. We are also able to quickly test and implement unique software features.

Why are batteries the best solution to power projects? 

They aren’t! Honestly, I hate batteries. They are too temperature dependent, they charge too slowly, the cycle life is too low. The only reason we use them is because they are very energy-dense and very efficient. 

Why should customers choose to power their projects with our battery hardware and software? 

Because of our unique design approach we are able to design battery packs very quickly compared to other suppliers. That allows our customers to start with a prototype pack quickly that they can use to evaluate the pack, but also their requirements which allows them to either spend fewer resources on design revisions or to complete more iterations in a given time. 

Why did eMatrix want to supply customers with their own BMS? 

Again the major reason was flexibility. Other BMS algorithms couldn’t handle how the battery performance changed with extreme temperatures and they were also unable, or unwilling to modify existing features, or faults, or add new ones. 

Why is the BMS a crucial component of the battery? 

The BMS has two major functions: 1. Informing the user in how to operate the battery safely. 2. Providing an estimate of the energy stored in the battery pack.  

What is so unique about our RNA-BMS? 

All of the SOC and current limits are based on extensive thermal testing at the cell level. Additionally, our BMS is able to adapt to changing external conditions as well as adapting to how the battery cells age over time to maintain safe operating conditions.