SBIR-STTR Award

Galley Power is proposing to develop and evaluate an controller concept for paralleling lithium-ion 6T batteries with dissimilar chemistries. Galley Power's innovative concepts include 1)an integrated adaptive battery performance and life model; 2) a control framework so that batteries with different performance and life/cycle characteristics can be compared and controlled; 3) high efficiency bi-directional power train to balance the paralleled batteries without affecting the battery bank's transient and continuous power delivery performance. This controller will have small form-factor and low power consumption; in its ultimate implementation, this proposed controller will seamless fit into existing 6T lithium-ion battery's built-in battery management system. Galley Power is also proposing to develop battery model, baseline performance evaluation methodology and test protocol to evaluate the proposed solution in simulation in comparison with existing solutions. Galley Power will simulate and evaluate the performance improvement of proposed method based on baseline methodology. In Phase I option, Galley Power will procure lithium-ion 6T batteries and start testing; also, Galley Power will start develop the hardware and software in preparation for Phase II objectives.

This Phase II proposal will design, build, and test prototype controllers and their electronics that can extend the life cycle of paralleled Lithium-ion 6T batteries. The controllers balance the stress factors that influence the aging disparity among the paralleled batteries. As a result, lifespan is optimized as compared to the standard baseline approach of directly paralleling the batteries without the stress balancer controllers. Phase I results demonstrated through simulation models that the Galley Power stress balancer controllers improve lifespan > 5% when similar chemistries are paralleled and > 10% for dissimilar paralleled Lithium-ion 6T battery packs. A unique approach for the stress management approach relies on Galley Power’s management strategy that balances the stress both local and system level, even though the batteries are in parallel. Therefore, the controllers can be low profile to fit into 6T battery. Phase II research will integrate these small stress balancer control electronics within the Lithium-ion 6T battery itself. The controllers will be tested and compared with the baseline paralleled batteries with no controllers to demonstrate the Phase I lifespan improvements in the experimental prototypes, while maintain existing 6T battery safety requirements.