Battery-protected energy supply

Abstract

The invention relates to a device (1) for providing electrical energy, comprising a power generator (2), a first battery (3), a second battery (4) and a controller (5) configured to control a first current converter (6) of the first battery (3) such that the first battery (3) once again only discharges and switches to charge until a condition is met; and controlling a second current transformer (7) of the second battery (4) in such a way that the second battery (4) is only charged again and is switched to discharge until a condition is satisfied, said condition being that the first battery (3) reaches a lower limit value (8) of its state of charge or the second battery (4) reaches an upper limit value (9) of its state of charge. The invention also relates to a method for operating a device (1) for providing electrical energy.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an apparatus for providing electrical energy, the apparatus comprising a power generator, a first battery, and a second battery. The invention also relates to a method for operating the apparatus for providing electrical energy. Background Technology

[0002] As is known from existing technology, the use of batteries is almost unavoidable when powering equipment using fuel cells or generators driven by gas engines. Since both fuel cells and gas engines can only compensate for load variations very poorly, batteries must inevitably bear these load variations. Therefore, they provide energy at peak load times and then draw excess energy from the generator or fuel cell when the load decreases, until the generator has compensated for the load variation. These load variations cause the batteries to continuously charge and discharge, which reduces the lifespan of the battery / multiple batteries. This also includes the parallel operation of multiple batteries / energy storage devices.

[0003] Because diesel generators can compensate for load variations well, no additional measures have been needed until now. It was only with the introduction of gas engines as generators or fuel cells that additional measures became necessary to compensate for load variations. For this purpose, multiple batteries are used in most cases, all operating in the same mode. Therefore, these batteries must switch very quickly from discharging during peak loads to charging during off-load periods, resulting in continuous charge-discharge cycles, which negatively impact battery life. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The object of this invention is to provide a device for providing electrical energy that improves upon the lifespan of the battery used. Another object of this invention is to provide a correspondingly improved method for operating the device for providing electrical energy.

[0005] The present invention achieves its purpose for providing electrical energy by specifying that, for such a device for providing electrical energy, the device includes a power generator, a first battery, a second battery, and a controller, the controller being configured to control a first current converter of the first battery such that the first battery repeatedly discharges only and switches to charging only when a condition is met; and to control a second current converter of the second battery such that the second battery repeatedly charges only and switches to discharging only when a condition is met, the condition being either the first battery reaching a lower limit of its state of charge or the second battery reaching an upper limit of its state of charge.

[0006] According to the present invention, the battery current converter is controlled so that the associated battery only experiences load peaks, i.e., the battery only discharges. The current converter of the second battery is switched so that it only accepts excess energy generated when the load on the power grid decreases, thereby the second battery only charges.

[0007] If a battery reaches a specific, predetermined upper or lower limit, the battery switches, and a previously discharged battery switches to charging, while a previously charged battery switches to discharging.

[0008] This measure significantly reduces the number of charge-discharge cycles of the battery and correspondingly extends its lifespan.

[0009] Ideally, both the first and second current converters are bidirectional current converters. A battery connected to this current converter stores excess energy when it is not needed and feeds it back into the grid when required. This is particularly advantageous in devices with energy storage systems where energy generation and consumption are variable.

[0010] In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, a power generator, a first battery, and a second battery are interconnected via a bus, wherein a first current converter is arranged between the bus and the first battery, and a second current converter is arranged between the bus and the second battery. This shared bus enables a simpler and more efficient system architecture in which all components are centrally connected to each other via the bus. This facilitates system installation and maintenance and reduces the number of required connections. Furthermore, using a shared bus enables efficient energy distribution and control among different components. By arranging the current converters between the bus and the batteries, energy flow can be effectively regulated and monitored. This results in improved energy management and higher overall system efficiency. Moreover, since all components are interconnected via the bus, these components can be easily added, removed, or replaced without reconfiguring the entire system. This improves system flexibility and scalability and allows for responsiveness to changing application requirements and needs. Finally, using multiple batteries connected via a shared bus improves redundancy and reliability. If one battery fails or requires maintenance, the system can continue operating by drawing energy from another battery or the power generator. In this case, the current converters can accordingly control the energy flow to maintain system stability.

[0011] In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the upper limit is lower than the technical maximum, and the lower limit is higher than the technical minimum. That is, the full capacity of the battery is not fully utilized, which also helps to extend the battery's lifespan. These limits are not fixed and can be dynamically adjusted.

[0012] Advantageously, the controller is configured to reduce the power of the power generator when the state of charge (SOC) of the first battery reaches an upper limit while the SOC of the second battery remains far from a lower limit. Similarly, it is advantageous to increase the power of the power generator when the SOC of the first battery reaches a lower limit while the SOC of the second battery remains far from an upper limit. Furthermore, it is advantageous to use the distance between the SOC of the second battery and either the unmet upper or lower limit to determine the magnitude of the power generator change.

[0013] This approach can be applied to systems with two batteries or multiple batteries. If one battery reaches its upper limit while another remains far from its lower limit, this means more energy is fed into the battery from the grid due to the reduced load. To compensate for this, the power generator's power is slightly reduced.

[0014] If one battery reaches its lower limit while the other remains far from its upper limit, this means that the peak load that the batteries need to handle exceeds the amount of load reduction they need to withstand. To compensate for this, the power generator's power is increased slightly.

[0015] Here, the power of the power generator can be varied according to a fixed value, but this may cause the power generator to oscillate in some cases.

[0016] Even better, the extent to which the power generator's power must be increased or decreased can be determined through a corresponding adjustment process. This can be done upon reaching a limit or dynamically. In this process, the larger of two distances between the actual state and the corresponding limit is determined, and the power generator's power is adjusted accordingly based on the generator's characteristics and the corresponding state of charge. The generator's load can be adjusted to a fixed target value or adjusted to smooth changes in the grid load and dynamically adapt the target value to electricity consumption. Furthermore, an additional target value can be calculated, taking into account either the battery's discharge or charging power.

[0017] If one battery reaches its upper limit before another reaches its lower limit, the distance between the actual state of charge (SOC) of the discharged battery and its lower limit is determined. Multiplying this distance by a factor related to the characteristics of the power generator yields the amount by which the power generator's power must be reduced.

[0018] If one battery reaches its lower limit before another reaches its upper limit, the distance between the actual state of charge (SOC) of the rechargeable battery and its upper limit is determined. Multiplying this by a factor related to the characteristics of the power generator yields the amount by which the power generator's power must be increased.

[0019] Through this adjustment process, the power of the power generator changes more rapidly over greater distances, and becomes increasingly smaller and more precise as the distance from the limit decreases. This helps to prevent oscillations in the power generator.

[0020] Through this equalization process, under ideal conditions, the batteries reach their respective limits almost simultaneously.

[0021] Therefore, a stable state will be achieved for the power generator during operation, in which the energy of the peak load on the grid is approximately equal to the energy of the load reduction, and there is almost no need to compensate the battery for energy. For the power generator, this means that it can operate at a near-constant energy production rate, requiring only very small changes to energy production, which in turn extends the lifespan of the power generator.

[0022] Another option is to leverage artificial intelligence to design the compensation process in more varied ways, thereby better adapting to and optimizing the situation. This could potentially further extend the lifespan of individual components.

[0023] Finally, the appropriate power generator is a gas generator or a fuel cell. Fuel cells and gas generators typically have lower emissions than conventional internal combustion engines. In particular, the main emission from hydrogen fuel cells is water, making it a cleaner energy source. Gas generators using natural gas also have lower CO2 and pollutant emissions than gasoline or diesel-based generators.

[0024] The objective of the method is achieved by a method for operating a device for providing electrical energy, the device including a power generator, a first battery, a second battery, and a controller, wherein a first current converter of the first battery is controlled such that the first battery repeatedly discharges only and switches to charging only when a condition is met; and a second current converter of the second battery is controlled such that the second battery repeatedly charges only and switches to discharging only when a condition is met, the condition being either the first battery reaching a lower limit of its state of charge or the second battery reaching an upper limit of its state of charge.

[0025] Advantageously, when the state of charge of the first battery reaches the upper limit while the state of charge of the second battery is still far from the lower limit, the power of the power generator can be reduced.

[0026] Furthermore, it is advantageous to increase the power of the power generator when the state of charge of the first battery reaches the lower limit while the state of charge of the second battery is still far from the upper limit.

[0027] Here, it is appropriate to use the distance between the state of charge of the second battery and the unmet upper or lower limit value to determine the magnitude of the power change of the power generator.

[0028] Finally, advantageously, the magnitude of the power variation of the power generator can be determined periodically or continuously based on the distance between the state of charge of the first and second batteries and their respective lower and upper limits. The generator's load can be adjusted to a fixed target value, or adjusted to a value that smooths load changes in the power grid and dynamically adapts the target value to electricity consumption. Furthermore, an additional target value can be calculated, which takes into account both the battery's discharge and charging power.

[0029] The invention presented herein reduces the number of charge-discharge cycles of batteries through ingenious control, thereby extending their lifespan without negatively impacting the dynamic performance of the device.

[0030] Furthermore, by controlling energy generation accordingly, the operating time of the power generator can be extended.

[0031] In methods to date, battery current converters always have to switch between charging and discharging very quickly, or when the battery is directly coupled to the grid, the battery will continuously discharge and charge, which has a negative impact on its lifespan.

[0032] Because a power generator is also required to control the battery's state of charge, the control of the power generator is relatively demanding. If the battery discharges excessively, the power generator must quickly recharge it to continue handling peak loads. If the battery is fully charged, the power generator must quickly reduce its power output to prevent overcharging when the load on the grid decreases.

[0033] Since this application installs two batteries with different states of charge in the power grid, when one of the battery limits is reached, i.e., when the battery is too full or too empty, it is only necessary to switch the battery, and even if the energy output of the power generator changes, its energy output will only change slowly.

[0034] This method significantly extends the lifespan of batteries and power generators. Attached Figure Description

[0035] Figure 1 An apparatus for providing electrical energy according to the present invention is shown, which has an AC bus and is in a first state.

[0036] Figure 2 An apparatus for providing electrical power according to the present invention is shown, which has an AC bus and is in a second state.

[0037] Figure 3 An apparatus for providing electrical power according to the present invention is shown, which has a DC bus and is in a first state, and

[0038] Figure 4 An apparatus for providing electrical power according to the invention is shown, which has a DC bus and is in a second state. Detailed Implementation

[0039] Figure 1 A device 1 for providing electrical energy according to the present invention is shown. The device 1 includes a power generator 2 (e.g., a gas generator 11), a first battery 3, a second battery 4, and a controller 5 connected to the power generator 2, the first battery 3, and the second battery 4 for signal transmission. The controller 5 is configured to control a first current converter 6 of the first battery 3 such that the first battery 3 repeatedly discharges only and switches to charging only when a condition is met; and to control a second current converter 7 of the second battery 4 such that the second battery 4 repeatedly charges only and switches to discharging only when a condition is met, namely, the first battery 3 reaching a lower limit 8 of its state of charge or the second battery 4 reaching an upper limit 9 of its state of charge. For this purpose, the controller 5 is also connected to the first current converter 6 and the second current converter 7 for signal transmission. The first current converter 6 and the second current converter 7 are bidirectional current converters, and they are switched such that in a first state of the device 1, the first current converter 6 acts as an AC / DC rectifier and the second current converter 7 acts as a DC / AC inverter or converter; and in a second state, the first current converter 6 acts as a DC / AC inverter and the second current converter 7 acts as an AC / DC rectifier.

[0040] Figure 1 As shown, the power generator 2, the first battery 3 and the second battery 4 are connected to each other via a bus 10, wherein a first current converter 6 is arranged between the bus 10 and the first battery 3, and wherein a second current converter 7 is arranged between the bus 10 and the second battery 4.

[0041] The state of charge (SOC) of the first battery 3 and the second battery 4 is indicated by arrows on the left side of batteries 3 and 4, respectively. The length of the arrow represents the height of the SOC, and the direction of the arrow indicates whether the corresponding battery 3 or 4 should be charging or discharging when a deviation relative to the average load that cannot be tolerated by the power generator 2 occurs. The upper limit 9 of the SOC of batteries 3 and 4 is lower than the technical maximum, and the lower limit 8 is higher than the technical minimum.

[0042] Figure 1 The embodiment shown only illustrates two batteries 3 and 4. However, the invention is not limited thereto. If more batteries 3 and 4 are used, these batteries are divided into two or more branches.

[0043] also, Figure 1Loads connected to bus 10 are shown, such as motor 14 connected to bus 10 via converter 13 and driving propeller 15, or transformer 16 for other loads.

[0044] exist Figure 1 In the embodiments, the energy flow direction 17 is from top to bottom in almost all branches, except for the branch with the first current converter 6 or the first battery 3, which has the maximum state of charge and discharges when needed.

[0045] Figure 2 It shows as Figure 1 The device 1 is configured such that the roles of the first battery 3 and the second battery 4 are interchanged. Now, the first current converter 6 is controlled to accept only excess energy, and the first battery 3 is charged in this situation. On the other hand, the second current converter 7 is controlled to withstand only load peaks, and the second battery 4 is discharged in this situation.

[0046] exist Figure 1 and Figure 2 In this embodiment, bus 10 is an AC bus. However, according to the present invention, bus 10 can also be a DC bus. For example, the power generator 2 can be a gas generator 11, whose downstream is directly connected to an AC / DC converter, so that the connection to bus 10 is a DC connection.

[0047] However, alternatively, a DC power generator, such as fuel cell 12, can be used directly. Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown. The first current converter 6 and the second current converter 7 are DC / DC voltage converters. Figure 3 and Figure 4 In one embodiment, a first inverter 18 or converter is arranged between the motor 14 and the bus 10. Correspondingly, a second inverter 19 is arranged between the transformer 16 and the bus 10. List of reference numerals in the attached diagram: 1. Device for providing electrical energy 2. Power generator 3 First Battery 4 Second Battery 5 Controllers 6 First Current Converter 7 Second Current Converter 8. Lower limit value 9. Upper limit 10 bus 11 Gas generator 12 Fuel Cells 13. Converter 14 Motors 15 propellers 16 Transformers 17. Direction of energy flow 18 First Inverter 19. Second inverter.

Claims

1. A device (1) for providing electrical energy, the device comprising a power generator (2), a first battery (3), a second battery (4), and a controller (5), characterized in that, The controller (5) is configured to control the first current converter (6) of the first battery (3) so that the first battery (3) is repeatedly discharged only and switched to charging only when a condition is met; and to control the second current converter (7) of the second battery (4) so ​​that the second battery (4) is repeatedly charged only and switched to discharging only when a condition is met, wherein the condition is that the first battery (3) reaches the lower limit (8) of its state of charge or the second battery (4) reaches the upper limit (9) of its state of charge.

2. The apparatus (1) according to claim 1, wherein, The first current converter (6) and the second current converter (7) are bidirectional current converters.

3. The apparatus (1) according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein, The power generator (2), the first battery (3) and the second battery (4) are connected to each other via a bus (10), wherein the first current converter (6) is arranged between the bus (10) and the first battery (3), and wherein the second current converter (7) is arranged between the bus (10) and the second battery (4).

4. The apparatus (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The upper limit (9) is lower than the technical maximum, and the lower limit (8) is higher than the technical minimum.

5. The apparatus (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The controller (5) is configured to reduce the power of the power generator (2) when the state of charge of the first battery (3) reaches the upper limit value (9) while the state of charge of the second battery (4) is still far from the lower limit value (8).

6. The apparatus (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The controller (5) is configured to increase the power of the power generator (2) when the state of charge of the first battery (3) reaches the lower limit (8) while the state of charge of the second battery (4) is still far from the upper limit (9).

7. The apparatus (1) according to any one of claims 5 or 6, wherein, The controller (5) is configured to use the distance between the state of charge of the second battery (4) and the unreached upper limit value (9) or the unreached lower limit value (8) to determine the magnitude of the power change of the power generator (2).

8. The apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The power generator (2) is a gas generator (11) or a fuel cell (12).

9. A method for operating a device (1) for providing electrical energy, said device (1) comprising a power generator (2), a first battery (3), a second battery (4), and a controller (5), characterized in that, The first current converter (6) of the first battery (3) is controlled so that the first battery (3) is repeatedly discharged and switched to charging only when a condition is met; and the second current converter (7) of the second battery (4) is controlled so that the second battery (4) is repeatedly charged and switched to discharging only when a condition is met, wherein the condition is that the first battery (3) reaches the lower limit (8) of its state of charge or the second battery (4) reaches the upper limit (9) of its state of charge.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, When the state of charge of the first battery (3) reaches the upper limit value (9), while the state of charge of the second battery (4) is still far from the lower limit value (8), the power of the power generator (2) is reduced.

11. The method according to any one of claims 9 or 10, wherein, When the state of charge of the first battery (3) reaches the lower limit (8), while the state of charge of the second battery (4) is still far from the upper limit (9), the power of the power generator (2) is increased.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein, The distance between the state of charge of the second battery (4) and the unmet upper limit value (9) or the unmet lower limit value (8) is used to determine the magnitude of the power change of the power generator (2).

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The magnitude of the power change of the power generator (2) is determined periodically or continuously based on the distance between the state of charge of the first battery (3) and the second battery (4) and their respective lower limit (8) and upper limit (9).

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