Assessment and development of the novel Intercal-Indra Battery Management System “i-BMS”

WMG(华威大学)正在与电池管理专家Intercal(UK)有限公司和电动汽车集成商Indra Renewable Technologies Ltd合作，进行新电池管理系统(i-BMS)的第三阶段评估和开发。这项专利技术是在前两次Innovate拨款的帮助下，通过概念验证和初步实地试验而开发的。这项技术标志着与现有技术的根本背离，因为它消除了对电池进行常规平衡的需要。这一重要功能为极大简化的电池组设计提供了空间，从而为节省成本、极大地改善电池组的可维护性和寿命结束时的重复使用打开了机会。在已完成的试验中发现的一个主要潜在好处是潜在的非常早期的故障检测，这具有重大的安全和可靠性优势。测试表明，通过消除所有电池平衡电流，I-BMS可以配置为提供对电池组中任何电池异常行为的第一个迹象的灵敏检测，从而在任何故障或火灾发生之前及时进行干预。目前的研究将结合WMG的高级建模和模拟来评估I-BMS的性能，并分别由INCAL和INDRA领导的实验室测试和现场试验的补充计划。总而言之，如果成功，这些将验证i-BMS的功能，包括将电池组的可用能量容量、降解率和诊断能力与传统的BMS解决方案进行比较。该项目还将探索消除复杂的电池平衡电路所提供的机会，以简化电池组的模块化组装、维护和寿命结束时的再利用。合作伙伴的目标是将该技术开发到一种状态，即可向第三方提供许可，用于汽车、电网存储、航空和海洋电池应用，这是一个不断增长的全球市场，目前每年超过10亿美元。

"WMG (University of Warwick) are collaborating with battery management experts Intercal (UK) Ltd and EV integrators Indra Renewable Technologies Ltd in the third phase of evaluation and development of a novel battery management system (the ""i-BMS"").This patented technology has been developed through proof of concept and initial field trials with the aid of two previous Innovate grants. The technology signals a radical departure from prior art by eliminating the need for routine balancing of the cells.This important feature offers scope for a greatly simplified battery pack design and thereby opens up opportunities for cost savings, greatly improved pack maintainability and end-of-life re-use.A major potential benefit identified in completed trials is the potential for very early fault detection, which has major safety and reliability benefits. Tests have shown that, by eliminating all cell balancing currents, the i-BMS can be configured to provide sensitive detection of the first signs of anomalous behaviour by any cell in the pack, thereby allowing timely intervention before any risk of failure or fire develops.The current study will combine advanced modelling and simulations by WMG to evaluate the i-BMS performance, coupled with a supplementary programme of laboratory tests and field trials led by Intercal and Indra respectively. Taken together, these will, if successful, validate the functionality of the i-BMS, including comparison of the pack's usable energy capacity, degradation rate and diagnostic capability alongside conventional BMS solutions.The project will also explore the opportunities provided by the elimination of complex cell balancing circuits, to simplify modular assembly, maintenance and end-of-life repurposing of battery packs.The partners' objective is to develop the technology to a state where it will be available for licensing to third parties for application in automotive, grid storage, aviation and marine battery applications, a growing global market currently in excess of $1Bn annually."