I-Corps: A Life-Prolonging Management System for Lithium-Sulfur Battery Packs

这个i-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发锂硫(Li-S)电池组的电子管理系统。提出的电池管理系统有可能实现对锂S电池的预测、健康管理和延长寿命的控制，从而加速这种化学物质的安全商业部署。从商业角度来看，锂S电池之所以具有吸引力，是因为它们可以在单位重量内储存大量能量，这对于航空航天、无人机、机器人、交通和电网行业的高成本电气化非常重要。从可持续性、成本、供应链和社会角度来看，地壳中丰富的硫也具有吸引力。针对新兴化学而优化的电池管理系统，如拟议的Li-S化学，也有可能最大限度地提高系统的整体性能、安全性和寿命，从而带来更安全的能量存储带来的社会效益和潜在的商业利益，包括提高保险能力。这个i-Corps项目是基于可重构模型的电池管理系统的开发，用于锂硫(Li-S)电池的预测、健康管理和健康意识控制。锂S电池的理论能量密度约为2600Wh/kg，大大高于典型的锂离子电池。与钴等昂贵而稀有的原材料不同，锂S电池使用的主要正极材料是硫，这是地壳中含量最丰富的材料。因此，从能量密度、环保性和经济性的角度来看，锂S技术可能会比锂离子(Li-ion)电池具有优势。该项目建立在早期研究的基础上，该研究探索了锂-S电池的计算机模拟模型的开发，这些模型与实验室测试数据的拟合和验证，以及估计锂-S电池当前荷电状态的算法的开发。总而言之，这些创新为潜在开发提供监测和控制功能的内聚式电池管理系统打开了大门，包括平衡不同锂-S电池的充电状态以防止过度充电和过度放电的能力。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of an electronic management system for lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery packs. This proposed battery management system has the potential to enable the prognostics, health management, and life-prolonging control of Li-S batteries, thereby accelerating the safe commercial deployment of this chemistry. From a commercial perspective, Li-S batteries are appealing because they can store a significant amount of energy per unit weight, which is important for cost-effective electrification in the aerospace, drone, robotics, transportation, and grid industries. The abundance of sulfur in the earth’s crust is also attractive from a sustainability, cost, supply chain perspective, and societal perspective. A battery management system optimized for emerging chemistries, such as the proposed Li-S chemistry, also has the potential to maximize overall system performance, safety, and longevity, leading to both societal benefits from safer energy storage and potential commercial benefits, including improved insurability. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a reconfigurable model-based battery management system for the prognostics, health management, and health-conscious control of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Li-S batteries have a theoretical energy density of around 2600 Wh/kg, substantially higher than typical Li-ion batteries. Instead of requiring expensive, rare raw materials such as cobalt, Li-S batteries use sulfur, the most abundant material in the earth’s crust, as their main cathode material. Therefore, from the perspectives of energy density, environmental friendliness, and economics, Li-S technology may offer advantages over lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. The project builds on earlier research exploring the development of computer simulation models of Li-S batteries, the fitting and validation of these models versus laboratory test data, and the development of algorithms for estimating the current state of charge in Li-S batteries. Together, these innovations open the door to the potential development of a cohesive battery management system that provides monitoring and control functionalities, including the ability to balance the states of charge of different Li-S cells to prevent over-charge and over-discharge.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.