Used Battery Storage with SOC Balancing Across Mixed Battery Units
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing storage solutions for used battery units fail to economically manage State of Charge (SOC) to prevent deterioration, as they do not effectively utilize discharged power or account for proprietary interfaces of Battery Management Units (BMU) and Cell Control Units (CCU), leading to inefficient power consumption and increased electricity costs.
Innovation Solution
A storage system that includes a memory unit for storing SOC ranges, a connection circuit, a recognition unit for current and voltage values, a selection unit for targeting discharge and charge operations, and a charge/discharge control unit to manage power within predetermined SOC ranges, even when BMU and CCU interfaces are not publicly accessible, utilizing discharged power to charge other units and minimizing external power usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If used battery units are charged or discharged to manage SOC levels, then deterioration during storage is suppressed, but power is wasted or electricity costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables used battery units to serve themselves by automatically charging units with low SOC using power from units with high SOC, without requiring external power supply or manual intervention. The control unit coordinates this self-service charging process based on SOC levels detected by recognition units.
Solution Approach 2:
The system recovers energy that would otherwise be wasted by capturing the discharged power from battery units and redirecting it to charge other units that need power, thereby recovering and reutilizing the energy within the closed system of used battery units.
2Measurement precision
If BMU and CCU interfaces are accessed to recognize SOC, then accurate SOC management is achieved, but compatibility with proprietary interfaces from various manufacturers becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The recognition units serve as intermediaries between the storage system and the proprietary BMU/CCU interfaces of different manufacturers. These recognition units can interface with various manufacturer-specific protocols and translate them into a common format that the control unit can process, enabling universal compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The storage system is designed with universal recognition units that can handle multiple manufacturer interfaces through a single unified approach. The control unit implements universal SOC management logic that works across different battery types and manufacturers, making the system adaptable to various proprietary interfaces.
3Productivity
If a large number of used battery units are collected for reuse business, then economic viability improves, but management complexity and storage space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple used battery units into a unified storage system where they collectively serve as both power sources and energy storage. By combining the functions of multiple units into a coordinated system, the complexity of managing each unit individually is reduced while maintaining the ability to handle large numbers of units.
Solution Approach 2:
The storage system dynamically adjusts its operation based on the real-time SOC states of connected battery units. The control unit continuously monitors and reconfigures charging/discharging relationships among units, allowing the system to adaptively manage varying numbers of battery units without fixed structural complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution allows for economical storage of multiple used battery units by efficiently managing SOC levels, reducing deterioration, and minimizing external power consumption, thereby ensuring reliable and cost-effective storage of battery units from various manufacturers.
Implementation Method 1
a connection circuit that electrically connects the plurality of used battery units with each other
Implementation Method 2
a recognition unit which is connected to the plurality of used battery units in storage and which recognizes a current value and a voltage value of each thereof
Implementation Method 3
a charge/discharge control unit which causes the discharge target battery unit to be discharged and causes the discharged power to be charged into the charge target battery unit
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a storage for used battery units capable of economically storing a plurality of used battery units of various manufacturers while suppressing the deterioration of the used battery units during storage. The storage for used battery units includes: a selection unit that selects a discharge target battery unit and a charge target battery unit from among the plurality of used battery units on the basis of the current values and the voltage values of the plurality of used battery units in storage and the predetermined SOC range of each of the plurality of used battery units; and a charge/discharge control unit which causes a discharge target battery unit to be discharged and charges the discharged power into a charge target battery unit such that the SOCs of the discharge target battery unit and the charge target battery unit reach a predetermined SOC range.