BACS C40 — The End of an EraThe third-generation BACS module C40 was produced from 2010 to 2025 and was primarily used with lead-acid batteries with a nominal voltage of 2V and nickel-cadmium cells with a nominal voltage of 1.25V. More than 500,000 units were manufactured and brought to market in Germany and the USA. Today marks the end of an era for this successful sensor – production in Europe is being discontinued.
Although the C40 module will remain available as a spare part, we are offering the successor C44 for new installations, which we will introduce below. In the USA, the C40 module will continue to be produced; the transition to the new C44 there will take place accordingly at a later date.
BACS C44 – the first BACS module of the new Generation 4 arrives as early as the end of 2025!
We are pleased to announce the first sensor from the successor series to BACS Generation 3: Sensor module C44 – the first module of the new BACS Generation 4!
Market Leader – through Customer Proximity
BACS, in its third generation, is the market leader in data center installations in Europe and the USA. With the appearance of the third generation of BACS in 2010, a breakthrough was achieved in a battery monitoring market that had previously stagnated for over 30 years. BACS 3 is the reason why BMS systems enjoy market acceptance today. Meanwhile, the use of a Battery Management System (BMS) is no longer a "luxury" as with earlier battery monitoring systems, but an economically and safety-relevant decision for customers.
An important reason for this breakthrough and the market leadership of BACS, even back in 2010, was "Balancing" and the accurate measurement of impedance. Later, battery capacity measurement was added as a unique market feature that has not been matched by any competitor to date. Despite the now expired patent protection for the third generation of BACS, none of the numerous copycats to have arrived over the years have been able to achieve the market acceptance level or quality of BACS 3.
To this day, BACS 3 is the first choice for Western users of BMS systems. A key reason for this is the fact that the BACS WEBMANAGER is also a 100% GENEREX product – used in all safety-critical networks with UPS systems and therefore far more widespread than any other BMS controller on the market! BACS is based on the CS141 Network Manager for UPS devices – and this is considered the "Gold Standard" for network security in power supply equipment.
BACS Generation 3 has been on the market for 16 years now, and we are compelled to adapt BACS sensor technology to today's market and current threat scenarios. To increase cybersecurity and widen the gap to the copycats again, we are forced to rely on modern processor technology – and have redesigned BACS.
With the new ST processor in the BACS C44 module, we were also able to optimize the manufacturing process: Due to the more modern components, only minor calibration settings are required with the BACS C44 module to achieve this high measurement accuracy.
This advantage is also reflected in the manufacturing price: Despite new components and the price level of 2025, the price of the C44 will be the same as that of the C40, which has been on the market for 16 years.
Despite all innovations in the C44 module – it remains compatible
The BACS C44 module is compatible with all BACS WEBMANAGER based on HW 141 (2016–2021) and HW 161 (2022 to today), as well as the associated communication technology such as BACS Splitter, BACS Converter, CSH current sensors, etc.
The bus cables for the C44 are still the existing B4BCRJxxxx series cables that we have been using for BACS Generation 3 modules since 2010.
Only "mixing" of different modules variations is not allowed:
BACS 4 cannot be used with the old BACS measuring cables BC4 and BC5. The connector is not compatible. And a combination of BACS 4 with BACS 3 modules is not permitted.
With the fourth generation of BACS, we aim to position ourselves at the forefront of the battery management system market again for many years – and further expand our market through use with modern battery chemistry types.
Market Launch
With the end of production of the BACS C40 Generation 3 in summer 2025, we are reducing our stock of C40 modules. With the release of the new price list 07/2025, the new BACS C44 module can be ordered, and we expect the first deliveries at the beginning of autumn 2025.
