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[EVriderDK]

So my battery can only contain around 16kWh and 333V maximum while the later models can hold around 18 kWh and 342V
Any difference in battery chemistry or is it purely Firmware unlock ?

I would love to unlock more capacity.

[smithy]

So my battery can only contain around 16kWh and 333V maximum while the later models can hold around 18 kWh and 342V
Any difference in battery chemistry or is it purely Firmware unlock ?

I would love to unlock more capacity.

Which bike are we talking about..??

Ego, Ribelle/Eva or SS9..??

The later model bikes have a 21.5kw/h battery...of which ~18kw/h is useable.

The Experia has a 22.5kw/h battery of which ~19kw/h is useable.

Smithy.

[Specter]

i think the slightly higher ratings on the newer batteries is from them getting / using better cells in them.
as tech put out better products, they adapted.

aaron

[jotjotde]

Consumption monitoring reads around 18 kWh when charging my '22 Ribelle at home (21.5 kWh nameplate).
Considering losses I think the real-world available-for-riding capacity is somewhere between 16 and 17 kWh.

After having reached 111,111 km yesterday    I am not experiencing any capacity degradation yet, but I do not measure and calculate to the last digit (anymore). My feeling is, if there is any loss in capacity, it is lower than 10 %.

Judging from that I would say that Energica did a quite conservative setup with capacity safety margins, current restrictions etc.
So, that setup could probably be tweaked but with the risk of a shorter battery life, but I am far away from being an expert and personally I would not tinker with that.

[DerKrawallkeks]

They changed from an older generation of Farasis P32 cells to a newer generation of the same cell.
The old cell was rated for 4,2 V and Energica charged them to 4,15 V (for longevity reasons).
The new cell is rated for 4,3 V and Energica charges them to I believe 4,25 V.

This is where the extra energy comes from. This must be configured in the BMS at least.
The BMS is built by Lithium Balance. There is a free version of their software available for checking, but I believe one would need the 1500 $ paid version of their software to do configuration changes.

I heard that on facebook a guy (I believe he's located in ukraine) has swapped his battery cells for the newer cells. Maybe that's a wrong info, I am not sure. But if that's true, then he might have had the same challenge.

[Specter]

yes you can swap in newer cells, but they'll be handled by the existing software if what you say is true.  given that, if the new cells are essentially the same chemistry just larger capacity, then this is not a problem at all.  just takes a tad longer to reach the setpoints,

if one can get into the bms, putting your own code in there should not be a problem, i mean, a raspberry pi or arduino could really do the same thing.  it's really just about voltages and amp control.  the rest pickles and fluff, for a pretty easier to operate human interface.  vbasic buttons to push, on a screen to change things.  if one was even semi proficient in programming they could probably whip up something in no time to do the same thing.  it's been eons since i had to actually do machine level raw code ground up programming, and i admit i never really dived into html, although its strikingly similar to so many other languages.  you might even be able to whip something up with html, json existing stuff.

im sure their bms is locked up but what if you could just format it, blow their code out and put yours in,.. how hard would that be if you could program?  or throw a new generic bms on it?

aaron

[DerKrawallkeks]

The cells aren't really the same, since the new ones can be charged to higher voltage.
It doesn't "just takes longer to reach setpoints". You'll have to change a few parameters like max cell voltage in the BMS.

The BMS can't just be "wiped" and you can"put your code on it". It is a product by the company lithium balance,.
It is not programmed, but rather set up using a PC software.

The same job could be done by another microcontroller, but not any Arduino or raspberry with "some code that someone wrote". The BMS has a safety role. Therefore the software and hardware need to fulfill the requirements.

https://lithiumbalance.com/wp-content/uploads/LiBAL-s-BMS%E2%84%A2-1.pdf

[Specter]

understood, so its more of a hard code, and not software that can be easily changed.
at one time i think, it wasn't setec but one of the chinese companies offered bms's, that were very configurable, they came in like 6 pacs 8 and 12 packs on what theyd monitor upto with each board.  you could use it in lv mode, where it'd go upto like 5 volts, if you wanted to babysit each cell, or could go in higher volt mode up to like 20 volts if you wanted to babysit P arms of like 12 or 18 volts each or so.  it was kind of a cheat but you could ring hook these by having the last leg of one and the first leg of the next monitor the same cell, that way it acted like a bridge over to the next board.  it didn't look as much at WHAT the voltage was, that was your main software setting that did that, but made sure that all the cells were even.  the startup point was 50mv where it'd start moving power around.

i have a company now i go thru to get steel cases and bms so i can build my own 48v / 100 - 115 ah batteries from the rescues / refurbs i do.  they'll even sell me the i call it the nickel screen which is the buswork to hook them all up, you put the batteries down in the tray, lay it across the top and then go over it with the spot welder bam bam bam welding it all down.  they provided me a program that i can usb into the bms and change basic settings on it, for different voltage batteries depending on the specific chemistry.  it's nothing super snazzy, just a basic interface but it works.

the arduino comment, yes i understand you can not use that as a bms, but it is a controller that can issue commands to other devices with it, perhaps use it to control or program the bms in some way, if you could establish a communications link, you might be able to do something with it. ill admit, i am not an ardino / raspberry nerd, not overly familiar with them, but do know they are used for a lot of crazy stuff, so was thinking maybe you could use it to talk to, or issue some commands to this thing. look at voltages, issue commands to control current, turn on / off stuff, etc.  i wasn't saying you could, was asking, could you really?   ive seen them used in bms's for electric motorcycles that the college out here, their robot club built, granted it's running 48v not 348volt but still... i asked them, why didn't you just use a cots bms and was told, that's no fun, building one from scratch, now THAT's fun!!  i get it 

aaron

[jotjotde]

Forum member ElectricRebel told me, there is (or will be shortly) a new Farasis cell 'S46' available which theoretically has +20% capacity and is rated for 4.2 V.
It is 0.05 mm thicker, but he thinks they would still fit into the battery casing.

If I understood right, those new cells could be installed without the hassle of changing anything concering the charging. Correct?

[DerKrawallkeks]

Yes, page 25 of the most recent catalog. Farasis has been inquired about availability.
https://www.farasis-energy.com/app/uploads/2026/04/Farasis_Energy_Cell_Catalogue_2026.pdf

The cell is almost a drop-in replacement. The thickness should not be a problem, there should be enough room for the extra thickness.
Charging itself technically is not a problem. The bike will charge and ride just fine.

The SoC calculation will be wrong. I expect that charging works fine, up to the same full voltage. When discharging, SoC will go down at the normal rate, since the BMS will not know these are larger cells. Therefore we'd reach 0 % while the cells still have capacity left. You might be able to continue riding, but only slowly.

The real "problem" here is that Energica reduces power based on SoC, which is unlucky.
So really it would be necessary to change the BMS parameter (cell capacity).
If this is impossible for some reason, we'd have to resort to changing the current sensor (shunt) to read less current, then the SoC calculation will work again.

[jotjotde]

A pity! Would have been nice to have more capacity (and being able to use it) by 'just' swapping the cells.