Power X-Change - das innovative Akku-System von Einhell (mit Dr. Markus Thannhuber) - Episode 3

Simultaneously then load. It is very beautiful, you can hear it very well. Thank you, Mr. Stocker. Ladies and gentlemen, dear community, I would like to welcome you to another episode of Project Change. My name is Dr. Markus Thannhuber, and I am responsible for production, technology development, innovation management, and quality at Einhell. Today I would like to explain why we have created a true platform for power tools and power garden tools with Power X-Change, what our batteries look like from the inside, and what relevant technology and safety features are inside. Furthermore, I will discuss the parameters that are really important for the user: runtime and power.

In the development of Power X-Change, we decided from the outset not only to create a system for the next three to four years, but a sustainable, future-proof platform for construction tools and garden tools. What does that mean exactly? We developed an 18-volt master battery that is available with different capacities, performance levels, and features, and regardless of how the individual components of the battery develop, it is compatible across all generations of devices and chargers.

For more powerful devices, we use two or more of these 18-volt batteries, thus enabling 36-volt battery voltages or higher. That sounds plausible and simple in theory, but it is complex in technical and mechanical implementation. We guarantee the future security and compatibility of our batteries and devices through, among other things, an intelligent battery management system and the so-called SSP power profiling. The interface between battery and devices or battery and charger is also designed to be future-proof. The contact slide device has a four-bit coding for future-proof contacting, regardless of which cell technology develops in the coming years and how we build it, everything fits together inter-compatibly. And through our intelligent battery management systems and the SSP technology in the batteries and devices, we ensure, in addition to the fit, upward and downward compatible communication.

With that, we have arrived at the inside of our Project Change batteries. What is inside our master battery and why? First of all, we did everything to optimally pack and protect the individual cells: protect them from damage if the battery falls on the floor, protect them from dust and water, and above all from thermal influences. In addition to a stable housing, we used exclusively fire-retardant materials. Additionally, we installed a thermally conductive plastic on the underside of the battery that cools the cells and the interior of the pack. Above the cell block, we arranged the complete control and monitoring of the battery. Our battery management system controls and monitors each cell individually during charging, discharging, transport, or storage, controls the temperatures (both too high and too low), controls the voltages, and regulates through the built-in electronic high-performance switching elements the feed to the switches, switching the battery or machine on and off if one of the measured values shows irregularities. At this point, you might ask why Einhell puts so many components for control and monitoring in a battery for a tool or garden device. So that you have maximum safety. We want to give you a lithium-ion battery that completely monitors itself, so that you can leave your X-Change batteries alone without worry in the tool, in the charging station, or in the drawer. We have built a battery for the X-Change platform that is among the safest in the world.

Let's move on to the next exciting point: the question of how to get the energy stored in the battery ideally and efficiently into your device. Through our SSP technology, our SSP ensures that the machine operated with our Power X-Change battery always receives exactly the energy supply it needs, whether idling, cutting with a jigsaw through different wood thicknesses, impact screwing, or mowing the lawn with different grass heights. The device continuously demands different amounts of energy in the form of currents. The SSP technology evaluates in a flash what can be delivered and makes the energy available for the application accordingly. SSP uses both the electrical and the electrochemical storage characteristics. This has the great advantage and benefit that short-term load peaks are safely covered and your device has noticeably more power. Test the power feeling yourself; you will enjoy it.

To conclude this episode, I would now like to talk about the truly relevant parameters for a lithium-ion battery with regard to its application and use with power tools and power garden tools. Which specifications on a battery pack actually say something about runtime and power? Usually, batteries are specified with the voltage specification (18 volts with us) and the ampere-hour specification (here, for example, 5.2 ampere-hours). But what do these actually say? If I have more ampere-hours, do I have a stronger battery or a longer runtime, or even both? There are two really relevant parameters for the performance of a battery: watt-hours and watts CC. Watt-hours define the runtime or the tank capacity of the battery, and watts CC is the power or horsepower it can deliver. If I have both specifications (voltage and ampere-hours, the electrical capacity), I can calculate the watt-hours (energy content) by multiplication: for example, 18 volts times 5.2 ampere-hours equals 94 watt-hours. This gives us an idea of the runtime, the tank capacity the battery provides. But how much power, or how many horsepower, does it have? For that, I need another specification for the calculation: the so-called amperes, i.e., the current that a battery can provide maximally. But caution: what is decisive is not a peak current value that the battery can only deliver briefly, but the current that the battery can maintain safely over a longer period. This is called amps in the so-called constant current range over a longer time. From the multiplication of volts and amps CC, we get watts CC, the power or the horsepower of the pack: for example, 18 volts times 70 amps gives 1260 watts CC. With these two parameters (watt-hours and watts CC), you can decide when buying a Power X-Change battery which battery is ideal for your device or your applications. A small leaf blower, for example, is best equipped with a 2 ampere-hour battery because it constantly just blows air. An angle grinder, on the other hand, which draws completely different currents and thus different amounts of power when cutting metal with different pressure on the workpiece, is better equipped with a larger battery to work optimally. For this, we provide you with the following overview; you can find it in our Project Change info brochures as well as online. Look forward to the next episode of Project Change, where we will take a look at the charging technology and the differences between our chargers. Thank you for your attention, and see you next time.