Breathe and Varta join forces to shorten battery charge times

Varta has partnered with Breathe Battery Technologies, the developer of battery enhancement software, to significantly reduce the charging time of the Varta Easy Blade Battery series and increase the amount of energy that can be stored in the cells.

Breathe Charge, the healthy charging software from Breathe Battery Technologies, has been applied to the lithium-ion based battery Varta Easy Blade 48V, which is primarily used in small and medium sized vehicles like AGVs or forklifts. The software reduces the charging time of the battery by 27, saving 23 minutes, and also makes it possible to store 3% more energy in the cells. In addition, the lifetime of the battery is always retained. The software can be applied to all battery versions of the Easy Blade battery series.

Alexander Abele, strategic product manager at Varta, says: “For all applications and devices which are powered by an independent energy source, the charging time and battery lifetime are always the crucial challenges which need to be managed. Our engineers, together with the experts from Breathe Battery Technologies, were able to address exactly these points in different multi-step charge profiles. The software is available from now on and applicable to our other customised battery solutions. We’re happy that, together with Breathe Battery Technologies, we are now able to provide our customers with an even better battery system for their future-driven applications”

In addition, Breathe Battery Technologies provided Varta with a different charging solution to increase the amount of energy added to the battery during charge, so that Varta customers can benefit from more uptime, runtime and range.

Dr Ian Campbell, CEO at Breathe Battery Technologies, says: “We are living in a world where more and more applications are battery-powered, from the smartphones in our pockets to heavy industrial vehicles. Therefore, healthy fast charging is crucial to enabling the next generation of gains in uptime and productivity. Varta is an incredibly forward-thinking company with a great history so it wanted a solution that could both reduce charge time and increase energy stored in its battery. We’re delighted to see Breathe Charge on the Easy Blade 48 V system, providing significantly faster charging.”

Breathe and Varta now want to expand the one-year-old partnership and explore opportunities for the wider uptake of the healthy fast charging technologies.