As the transport sector is increasingly powered by electricity, the need for better batteries rises. One of the main challenges is that electric vehicle (EV) batteries consist of hundreds of cells in order to match the power requirements. The downside of this is that the entire performance of the battery is limited by the performance of the weakest single cell.

Smart batteries are about to change that. They are based on the idea that monitoring and managing every single cell makes it possible to enhance the performance of the batteries significantly.

- Smart batteries enhance battery lifespan, improves safety and reduce the CO2 footprint from battery manufacturing significantly, says Professor Remus Teodorescu from the Faculty of Engineering and Design at Aalborg University. He is heading the Center for Research on Smart Battery where ten researchers are currently working hard to develop the technology.

Safer, longer, and more sustainable

The research team is developing a method to monitor and manage every single battery cell. If a cell shows signs of becoming unstable or weak, the system uses artificial intelligence to diagnose the issue and apply a treatment in the form of rest time by temporarily bypassing the cell. This prevents a poorly performing cell from hindering other cells to fully charge or from overheating, causing the battery to catch fire. At the same time, it enables the entire battery pack to continue operating when faulty cells are bypassed.

A long life after the car

Remus Teodorescu estimates that the potential of smart batteries is to significantly increase the lifespan of current EV batteries without performance degradation and to succeed in reusing exhausted EV battery packs as grid storage for increased use of renewable energy.

- Smart battery management means that they can be adapted to fluctuating energy sources like wind and solar power where they are charged in waves when the sun shines, or the wind blows. An EV battery that is no longer strong enough to drive a car, could easily hold enough power for up to ten households with an average daily consumption, he says.

Today, Lithium-Ion batteries account for a high global demand of around 500 GigaWatt hours. The need will quadruple towards the year 2030 when internal combustion engine (ICE) cars will be phased out completely in Europe. Electrification of heavy transport vehicles like buses and trucks further increases the need for battery management improvement given their large scale and heavy duty operation.

The research center CROSBAT (Center for Research on Smart Battery) is supported by a Villum Investigator-grant of 28, 5 million DKK until September 15th 2027.