GM buys Israel-based software startup Algolion to detect early battery defects

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

General Motors said on Friday it had acquired Algolion Ltd, an Israel-based software startup that helps detect problems in batteries.GM said Algolion's software will help the Detroit automaker bring to the market a «cost-effective» early hazard detection system at a quicker pace. The deal, for an undisclosed sum, comes at a time when automakers are investing billions in manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs) and rushing to develop batteries — which represent up to 50% of an EV's price tag — that can power an automobile for a longer duration.

It also comes as safety authorities urge U.S. automakers to improve battery standards after a series of events where vehicles have caught fire due to defective modules.Algolion has developed a software that uses data from EV battery management systems to help identify anomalies in cell performance and provide early detection of battery hazards including «thermal runaway propagation events», GM said.

A thermal runaway is a rapid and unstoppable increase in temperature that leads to fires in EVs. Algolion, founded in 2014, will join more than 850 employees at GM's Technical Center in Herzliya, Israel.