Development of power management system for electric vehicle “i-MiEV”

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation succeeded in mass-production of the new generation electric vehicle “i-MiEV” which was released into the Japanese market in July 2009. This vehicle features leading-edge technologies epitomized by lithium-ion battery. In this paper the power management systems are focused on. Following an introduction of some features of this EV, requirements for the control systems are explained with regards to protection of the lithium-ion traction battery. Finally the power management techniques implemented for compliance with the requirements for battery protection while charging and driving are described, and the validity of which is shown through some test data.