introduction
The popularity of low carbon footprint products is growing rapidly in a world of rapidly depleting fossil fuels. Such products need the capability of storing energy obtained from renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and photovoltaics. The most rapidly growing solution to this problem is the use of Lithium Ion technology, due to its high energy density and the predicted increase in availability with decreasing cost. Although Lithium Ion batteries can be currently found in many products from cell phones to electric vehicles, there is a surprisingly limited supply of Lithium Ion batteries that are available for medium power applications. Since the availability is limited but the demand seems to be increasing, it is the goal of this project to meet this growing demand via the design and implementation of a medium power battery module.
Project Goals
- Develop effective cell configuration and interconnections to yield compact medium power battery with appropriate capacity
- Make detailed recordings of cell behavior in various configurations while charging and discharging
- Incorporate a battery management subsystem to:
- Accurately monitor state of cells during charging and discharging
- Output data, in various formats, on state of cells
- Balance the cells to maximize capacity
- Make recommendations for design of an effective medium power battery pack with cell management
- Ensure overall design is in compliance with industry standards