PFI:AIR - TT: High-Density Power Electronics for Large-Scale Distributed Battery Management with Real-Time Diagnostics

Dartmouth College, Hanover NH

Investigators

Abstract

This PFI: AIR Technology Translation project focuses on translating research results in power management and diagnostic capabilities for large-scale distributed electrochemical systems, such as those needed in electrified transportation or energy storage for the electrical grid, to commercial use. This project is important because it addresses some of the fundamental limitations of current battery systems that ultimately impact energy-density (e.g. the driving range of hybrid or electric vehicles). It also provides new insight into failure modes in order to mitigate or correct them early in the life-cycle of the system. This could have a broader significance for a variety of automotive, military, and electrical utility applications while reducing barriers to low-carbon energy storage. The project will result in a proof-of-concept prototype of a reliable, low-cost and efficient battery management system. This active battery management system will have the following unique features: it will utilize an integrated circuit design of a resonant DC-DC converter to achieve high efficiency and high power-density, it will enable efficient, granular management of individual cells or groups of cells in a large battery array, and it will implement diagnostic capabilities based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in an embedded system controller. These features provide advantages of lower cost, smaller size, higher efficiency, and greatly expanded visibility into real-time electrochemical phenomena when compared to the leading competing battery management architectures in this market space. This project addresses the following technology gaps as it translates from research discovery toward commercial application: the lack of high-density and suitably cost effective power electronics for use in active battery management systems, knowledge gaps in the control and regulation of large arrays of series-connected cells, and technology gaps that exist between diagnostic capabilities and power management in electrochemical systems. The first gap will be bridged by designing a high-density resonant switched-capacitor DC-DC converter, implemented in a mm-scale integrated circuit (IC) that has variable regulation capability. The second gap will be bridged by designing embedded control algorithms for large arrays of series-connected cells, using multiple-input, multiple-output control algorithms explored in previous research. The final gap is bridged by designing algorithms that can run on a system-level embedded controller to implement online electrochemical impedance spectroscopy on top of the power management platform. In addition, personnel involved in this project, the PI and a graduate student, will receive innovation and entrepreneurship mentoring through affiliation with the Innovation PhD program at Dartmouth, which includes both coursework and experiential business education and through discussions with industry connections in the electric transportation sector. The Co-PI on this project is the Director of the Innovation PhD program and will provide additional mentoring and support specific to this project.