Battery Module Management for Uniform Degradation and Lifetime
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery cell management systems for electric vehicles and other power systems face inefficiencies in optimizing the usage of large numbers of battery cells, particularly fast charging cells, leading to uneven performance and reduced cycling lifetime due to non-uniform degradation and lack of effective redundancy management.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that derive and adjust an operation profile for battery modules based on specified scenarios and parameters, incorporating monitoring and balancing of cell health, state of charge, and resistance, along with the use of supplemental modules and circuits to manage excessive charging energy and reduce depth of discharge, thereby optimizing cell performance and extending cycling lifetime.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If large stacks of battery cells are used to meet power requirements, then power output is improved, but management complexity and difficulty of monitoring increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the large battery stack into multiple battery modules, each managed independently with its own operation profile. This segmentation allows the system to handle large numbers of cells while maintaining manageable complexity through modular organization and distributed management.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts operation profiles for different battery modules based on real-time monitoring of cell health, state of charge, and degradation patterns. This dynamic adaptation enables efficient management of large battery stacks by responding to changing conditions without requiring centralized control of every cell.
2Speed
If fast charging cells are used to increase charging speed, then charging rate is improved, but non-uniform degradation and cycling lifetime are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different operation profiles to different battery modules based on their individual cell health states and degradation patterns. This localized management allows fast charging to be applied where appropriate while protecting vulnerable cells, thereby maintaining high charging rates overall while extending cycling lifetime through targeted protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors cell health, state of charge, and degradation patterns, using this feedback to adjust operation profiles in real-time. This feedback mechanism enables the system to optimize charging rates while preventing excessive degradation, thereby extending cycling lifetime without sacrificing charging speed.
3Productivity
If battery modules operate at high capacity to maximize energy utilization, then energy efficiency is improved, but depth of discharge increases and reduces cell lifetime
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes operational parameters such as state of charge limits and discharge depth thresholds based on cell health patterns and degradation rates. By dynamically adjusting these parameters, the system optimizes the balance between energy utilization and cell lifetime, allowing high capacity operation when cells are healthy while reducing stress as degradation occurs.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems are provided for optimizing usage of a large number of battery cells, some, most or all of which are fast charging cells, and possibly arranged in battery modules—e.g., for operating an electric vehicle power train. Methods comprise deriving an operation profile for the battery cells/modules for a specified operation scenario and specified optimization parameters, operating the battery cells/modules according to the derived operation profile, and monitoring the operation of the battery cells/modules and adjusting the operation profile correspondingly. Systems may be configured to balance cell/module parameters among modules, to have parallel supplemental modules and/or serial supplementary cells in the modules, and/or have supplemental modules and circuits configured to store excessive charging energy for cells groups and/or modules—to increase the cycling lifetime and possibly the efficiency of the systems. Disclosed redundancy management improves battery performance and lifetime.