New Stellantis EV Tech Aims to Make Charging Faster, Cars Lighter and More Affordable

• IBIS tech integrates inverter and charger into EV battery, reducing weight and improving efficiency.

• Prototype Peugeot e-3008 shows 15% faster charging and 10% better energy performance.

• Stellantis targets production integration of IBIS battery system by the end of the decade.

Stellantis has begun road testing a prototype electric vehicle equipped with a new battery system that integrates inverter and charger components, which will help lower costs and reduce charging times.

Developed in collaboration with Saft, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, the Intelligent Battery Integrated System (IBIS) removes the need for traditional external power electronics. The technology is being tested in a Peugeot e-3008 built on Stellantis’s STLA Medium platform.

The integrated design allows the battery to handle both AC and DC functions, reducing vehicle weight by approximately 40 kg and saving up to 17 litres of space within the vehicle. According to Stellantis, the system improves energy efficiency by up to 10% and delivers a 15% increase in power output, reaching 172 kW compared to 150 kW (231 hp vs 201 hp) with the same battery size.

Charging times are also shortened by roughly 15%. For example, a standard 7 kW AC charger sees charging time drop from seven to six hours. These improvements address two of the most common barriers to EV adoption: long charging times and higher vehicle costs.

IBIS is part of a collaborative R&D project in France that includes Saft, E2-CAD, Sherpa Engineering, and research institutions such as CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, and Institut Lafayette. The project has progressed from a stationary demonstrator introduced in 2022 to a fully mobile vehicle prototype now undergoing real-world testing.

The system also offers advantages in serviceability. By eliminating multiple electronic components, maintenance is simplified and battery modules can be reused more easily in stationary applications, potentially extending their lifecycle.

The IBIS project entered its second development phase in June 2025 with continued funding from the French government under the France 2030 initiative. Stellantis plans to incorporate the technology into production vehicles before the end of the decade.

Beyond automotive uses, Stellantis and Saft believe the IBIS architecture could be applied to rail, marine, aerospace, and data centre energy systems, highlighting the scalability of the platform.

Traditional electric vehicles use external inverters to convert DC battery power into AC for the electric motor, and vice versa during charging. By embedding these functions directly into the battery pack, IBIS represents an evolutionary shift in EV powertrain design. Other automakers, including Porsche, are also exploring similar concepts that consolidate electrical components.