Your phone is about to go dead—again—and you can’t find a place to plug it in. Your laptop is getting hot…is the battery about to catch on fire? How far from home should you drive your electric vehicle? As scenarios like these become increasingly common, it’s clear that we need batteries that store more, last longer, and are safer to use. Fortunately, new battery technologies are coming our way.

Let’s take a look at a few:

 

1.     NanoBolt lithium tungsten batteries

 

Working on battery anode materials, researchers at N1 Technologies, Inc. added tungsten and carbon multi-layered nanotubes that bond to the copper anode substrate and build up a web-like nano structure. That forms a huge surface for more ions to attach to during recharge and discharge cycles. That makes recharging the NanoBolt lithium tungsten battery faster, and it also stores more energy.

 

Nanotubes are ready to be cut to size for use in any Lithium Battery design.

 

2.      Zinc-manganese oxide batteries

 

How does a battery actually work? Investigating conventional assumptions, a team-based at DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found an unexpected chemical conversion reaction in a zinc-manganese oxide battery. If that process can be controlled, it can increase energy density in conventional batteries without increasing cost. That makes the zinc-manganese oxide battery a possible alternative to lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries, especially for large-scale energy storage to support the nation’s electricity grid.

Source: www.pnnl.gov

3.     Organosilicon electrolyte batteries

 

A problem with lithium batteries is the danger of the electrolyte catching fire or exploding. Searching for something safer than the carbonate-based solvent system in Li-ion batteries, University of Wisconson-Madison chemistry professors Robert Hamers and Robert West developed organosilicon (OS) based liquid solvents. The resulting electrolytes can be engineered at the molecular level for industrial, military, and consumer Li-ion battery markets.

 

 

 

4.     Gold nanowire gel electrolyte batteries

 

Also seeking a better electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries, researchers at the University of California, Irvine experimented with gels, which are not as combustible as liquids. They tried coating gold nanowires with manganese dioxide, then covering them with electrolyte gel. While nanowires are usually too delicate to use in batteries, these had become resilient. When the researchers charged the resulting electrode, they discovered that it went through 200,000 cycles without losing its ability to hold a charge. That compares to 6,000 cycles in a conventional battery.

 

 

5.     TankTwo String Cell™ batteries

 

A barrier to the use of electric vehicles (EVs) is the slow recharging process. Seeking a way to turn hours into minutes, TankTwo looked at modularizing a battery. Their String Cell™ battery contains a collection of small independent self-organizing cells. Each string cell consists of plastic enclosure, covered with a conductive material that allows it to quickly and easily form contacts with others. An internal processing unit controls the connections in the electrochemical cell. To facilitate quick charging of an EV, the little balls contained in the battery are sucked out and swapped for recharged cells at the service station. At the station, the cells can be recharged at off-peak hours.

 

 

For now, we may have to put up with phones going cold, laptops getting hot, and EVs not ranging far from home. Solutions seem to be on the horizon, however, so a better battery-powered future is within sight.

Anybody who uses lipos will eventually encounter a puffy or swollen battery.

And the first question that inevitably comes up is “What should I do?”

This post is all about what causes that swelling and what to do when it happens to one of your lipos.

Are Swollen Lipo Batteries Dangerous?

Yes. Next question.

Seriously, there are so many examples of puffed batteries that start on fire that this shouldn’t even be a question.

That doesn’t mean that every battery that is puffed is going to explode as soon as you use it but it does mean that a high enough percentage of them are going to be dangerous that it isn’t worth the risk.

What Causes Lipo Batteries to Puff Up?

Gas generation in lithium ion batteries is a normal thing. Even if you don’t abuse your battery, the normal everyday use of your battery will generate gas through a process called electrolyte decomposition.

The electrolyte decomposition occurs even faster if you overdischarge a battery or overheat a battery.

What is electrolyte decompostion?

Simply put, a battery is made of three things: the anode, the cathode and the electrolyte. The cathode and the anode are the positive and negative terminals on your battery.

The electrolyte is a chemical inside the battery that allows charged ions to flow from the anode to the cathode during discharge (and the other way during charging).

Electrolyte decomposition is what happens when that electrolyte chemically breaks down. So in a lipo battery, as the electrolyte breaks down you end up with lithium and oxygen. This forms lithium oxide on the anode and cathode (depending whether you are charging or discharging).

But what you also end up with is excess oxygen that doesn’t adhere to the anode or cathode. This excess oxygen is part of what causes a battery swell. And oxygen likes to burn. See here for more details. He also goes over some other reasons a battery might swell.

Other gases that can be found in the battery during the normal chemical reactions of a battery are carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO). For a technical overview of this, see this paper.

How to Fix a Swollen Battery

Don’t.

Just Don’t.

Dispose of it properly (see below) and buy a new one.

It’s not worth injuring yourself or burning your house down to save a few bucks.

How to Dispose of Puffed Lipo Batteries

The proper way to dispose of a swollen lipo battery is the same as what you would do when you throw out any old battery. You need to discharge it completely first.

The two main methods that people use to discharge a battery completely is to hook it up to a light bulb or to put it in a bucket of saltwater.  There are debates about which method is better but I will avoid that debate here for now.

If you decide to hook it up to a light bulb, I would recommend these 12 V, 20 Watt halogen bulbs. They are easy to solder to so you attach lead wires and connector pretty easily. This makes it easy to just plug in your battery to let it discharge. You can hook multiple in parallel to get the discharge rate you want. If you have any questions about this, let me know in the comments.

After you’ve completely discharged the battery, I recommend finding your nearest battery recycling drop-off point and bringing it there. Make sure you call ahead and ask if they accept damaged batteries.

Tips to Avoid a Swollen Battery

• Proper charging – Make sure you charge your battery properly using a quality battery charger.  For safety, make sure you put your batteries in a lipo bag while charging.  If you don’t have a lipo bag, I highly recommend you buy one.  For around $10, you can insure that if something does go wrong at will at least be contained.
• Don’t over-discharge – Make sure you stop using your battery before the voltage gets to the minimum cut-off voltage.
• Heat kills batteries – Don’t use batteries or charge batteries when they are warm. After you’re done using them, give them a little time to cool off before you charge them. And after you are done charging them, give them a little time before you use them.
• Proper storage – Do not store your batteries in a hot location. (For example, don’t keep them in the trunk of your car during in the summer.) Store lipo’s at the proper storage voltage. The article I linked to above showed that swelling increased significantly after only 4 hours of storage when batteries were at a state of charge above 80%.

Conclusion

To sum up: As lipo’s age and if they are misused, gases start to form in the battery and cause it to swell. Once you have a puffy lipo, the safe thing to do is to discharge it completely and then recycle it.

If you want to learn more about lipo’s, check out my in-depth lipo battery guide. There I go into a lot of detail about all aspects of lipo’s.

The power output depends on the battery, and the battery management system (BMS) is the core of it. It is a system for monitoring and managing the battery. It controls the charge and discharge of the battery by collecting and calculating parameters such as voltage, current, temperature, and SOC. The process, the management system that realizes the protection of the battery and improves the overall performance of the battery is an important link between the battery and the battery application equipment.

BMS mainly includes three parts: hardware, bottom layer software, and application layer software.

The hardware of the battery management system (BMS)

1. Architecture

The topology of Battery Management System(BMS) hardware is divided into two types: centralized and distributed.

(1) The centralized type

The centralized type is to concentrate all the electrical components into a large board, the sampling chip channel utilization is the highest and the daisy chain communication can be adopted between the sampling chip and the main chip, the circuit design is relatively simple, the product cost is greatly reduced, but All the collection wiring harnesses will be connected to the mainboard, which poses a greater challenge to the security of the BMS, and there may also be problems in the stability of the daisy chain communication. It is more suitable for occasions where the battery pack capacity is relatively small and the module and battery pack types are relatively fixed.

(2) The Distributed type

Distributed includes a mainboard and a slave board. It is possible that a battery module is equipped with a slave board. The disadvantage of this design is that if the number of battery modules is less than 12, the sampling channel will be wasted (generally there are 12 sampling chips. Channel), or 2-3 slave boards to collect all battery modules. This structure has multiple sampling chips in one slave board. The advantages are high channel utilization, cost-saving, flexibility in system configuration, and adaptation to different capacities. Modules and battery packs of different specifications and types.

2. Function

The hardware design and specific selection should be combined with the functional requirements of the vehicle and battery system. The general functions mainly include collection functions (such as voltage, current, and temperature collection), charging port detection (CC and CC2), and charging wake-up (CP and A+) ), relay control and status diagnosis, insulation detection, high voltage interlock, collision detection, CAN communication and data storage requirements.

(1) Main controller

Process the information reported from the controller and the high-voltage controller, and at the same time judge and control the battery operating status according to the reported information, realize the BMS-related control strategy, and make the corresponding fault diagnosis and processing.

(2) High voltage controller

Collect and report the total voltage and current information of the battery in real-time, and realize timely integration through its hardware circuit, and provide accurate data for the calculation of the state of charge (SOC) and the state of health (SOH) for the motherboard. Charge detection and insulation detection function.

(3) Slave controller

Real-time collection and reporting of battery cell voltage and temperature information, feedback of the SOH and SOC of each string of cells, and a passive equalization function, effectively ensuring the consistency of cells during power use.

(4) Sampling control harness

Provide hardware support for battery information collection and information interaction between controllers, and at the same time add redundant insurance function to each voltage sampling line, effectively avoid battery short circuit caused by wiring harness or management system.

3. Communication method

There are two ways to transfer information between the sampling chip and the main chip: CAN communication and daisy chain communication. CAN communication is the most stable. However, due to the high cost of power chips and isolation circuits, daisy chain communication is actually SPI communication. The cost is very low, and the stability is relatively poor. However, as the pressure on cost control is increasing, many manufacturers are shifting to the daisy chain mode. Generally, two or more daisy chains are used to enhance communication stability.

4. Structure

BMS(Battery Management System) hardware includes power supply IC, CPU, sampling IC, high-drive IC, other IC components, isolation transformer, RTC, EEPROM, CAN module, etc. The CPU is the core component, and the functions of different models are different, and the configuration of the AUTOSAR architecture is also different. Sampling IC manufacturers mainly include Linear Technology, Maxim, Texas Instruments, etc., including collecting cell voltage, module temperature, and peripheral configuration equalization circuits.

Bottom layer software

According to the AUTOSAR architecture, it is divided into many general functional modules, which reduces the dependence on hardware, and can realize the configuration of different hardware, while the application layer software changes little. The application layer and the bottom layer need to determine the RTE interface, and consider the flexibility of DEM (fault diagnosis event management), DCM (fault diagnosis communication management), FIM (function information management), and CAN communication reserved interfaces, which are configured by the application layer.

Application layer software of the BMS

The software architecture mainly includes high and low voltage management, charging management, state estimation, balance control, and fault management, etc.

1. High and low voltage management

Generally, when the power is on normally, the VCU will wake up the BMS through the hardwire or 12V of the CAN signal. After the BMS completes the self-check and enters the standby mode, the VCU sends the high-voltage command, and the BMS controls the closed relay to complete the high-voltage. When the power is off, the VCU sends a high-voltage command and then disconnects and wakes up 12V. It can be awakened by CP or A+ signal when the gun is plugged in in the power-off state.

2. Charging management

(1) Slow charge

Slow charging uses an AC charging station (or 220V power supply) to convert AC to DC to charge the battery through an on-board charger. The charging station specifications are generally 16A, 32A, and 64A, and it can also be charged through a household power supply. The BMS can be awakened by CC or CP signal, but it should be ensured that it can sleep normally after charging. The AC charging process is relatively simple, and it can be developed in accordance with the detailed regulations of the national standard.

(2) Fast charge

Fast charging is to charge the battery with DC output from the DC charging pile, which can achieve 1C or even higher rate charging. Generally, 80% of the power can be charged in 45 minutes. Wake up by the auxiliary power A+ signal of the charging pile, the fast charging process in the national standard is more complicated, and there are two versions of 2011 and 2015 at the same time, and the different understanding of the technical details of the charging pile manufacturer’s unclear technical details of the national standard process also causes the vehicle charging adaptability A great challenge, so fast charging adaptability is a key indicator to measure the performance of BMS products.

3. Estimation function

(1) the State Of Power

SOP (State Of Power) mainly obtains the available charge and discharge power of the current battery through the temperature and SOC lookup table. The VCU determines how the current vehicle is used according to the transmitted power value. It is necessary to consider both the ability to release the battery and the protection of the battery performance, such as a partial power limit before reaching the cut-off voltage. Of course, this will have a certain impact on the driving experience of the whole vehicle.

(2) state of health

SOH (state of health) mainly characterizes the current state of health of the battery, which is a value between 0-100%. It is generally believed that the battery can no longer be used after it is lower than 80%. It can be expressed by the change of battery capacity or internal resistance. When using the capacity, the actual capacity of the current battery is estimated through the battery operating process data, and the ratio of the rated capacity to the rated capacity is the SOH. Accurate SOH will improve the estimation accuracy of other modules when the battery decays.

(3) the State Of Charge

SOC (State Of Charge) belongs to the BMS core control algorithm, which characterizes the current remaining capacity state, mainly through the ampere-hour integration method and EKF (Extended Kalman Filter) algorithm, combined with correction strategies (such as open-circuit voltage correction, full charge correction, charging End correction, capacity correction under different temperatures and SOH, etc.). The ampere-hour integration method is relatively reliable under the condition of ensuring the accuracy of current acquisition, but the robustness is not strong. Because of the error accumulation, it must be combined with a correction strategy. The EKF has strong robustness, but the algorithm is more complex and difficult to implement. Domestic mainstream manufacturers generally can achieve accuracy within 6% at room temperature, and it is difficult to estimate high and low temperatures and battery attenuation.

(4) the State Of Energy

SOE (State Of Energy) algorithm manufacturers do not develop much now or use a simpler algorithm, look up the table to get the ratio of the remaining energy to the maximum available energy in the current state. This function is mainly used to estimate the remaining cruising range.

4. Fault diagnosis

According to the different performance of the battery, it is divided into different fault levels, and in the case of different fault levels, the BMS and VCU will take different treatment measures, warning, limiting power, or directly cutting off the high voltage. Failures include data collection and rationality failures, electrical failures (sensors and actuators), communication failures, and battery status failures.

5. Balance control

The equalization function is to eliminate the inconsistency of the battery cells generated during battery use. According to the shortboard effect of the barrel, the cells with the worst performance during charging and discharging first reach the cut-off condition, and the other cells have some capabilities. It is not released, causing battery waste.

Equalization includes active equalization and passive equalization. Active equalization is the transfer of energy from more monomers to fewer monomers, which will not cause energy loss, but the structure is complex, the cost is high, and the requirements for electrical components are relatively high. Relatively passive The balance structure is simple and the cost is much lower, but the energy will be dissipated and wasted in the form of heat. Generally, the maximum balance current is about 100mA. Now many manufacturers can achieve better balance effects using passive balance.

The BMS(Battery Management System) control method, as the central control idea of ​​the battery, directly affects the service life of the battery, the safe operation of the electric vehicle, and the performance of the entire vehicle. It has a significant impact on battery life and determines the future of new energy vehicles. A good battery management system will greatly promote the development of new energy vehicles.

Introduction

One of the differences between pouch cell batteries and other batteries is the material of the casing. Cylindrical batteries have a hard casing, which are made of nickel and steel or aluminum alloy.

A pouch cell on the other hand consists of many types of layers to form a multilayer film consisting of an outer layer, middle layer, and an inner layer.

Outer layer consists of nylon, middle layer contains an aluminum foil, and in the inner layer – a heat sealing layer, which allows for better heat dissipation.

Features

There are four distinct advantages for a pouch cell compared to cylindrical batteries.

Advantage 1: They’re Safer

Firstly, it has a very high barrier property; secondly, it has a good heat sealing property; thirdly, the material is resistant to electrolyte and strong acid corrosion; it also has good ductility, flexibility and mechanical strength, and this advantage makes the pouch cell battery safer.

When a safety hazard occurs, the pouch cell battery will only swell and crack at most. Unlike the steel shell battery where a sudden explosion phenomenon might occur.

 Advantage 2: Better space utilization

The pouch cell’s exterior is flexible thus making the most efficient use of space and can reach a packaging efficiency of 90-95%, which is unreachable by other types of casing. The flexibility will allow the external case to form to the battery, rather than the other way around.

Advantage 3: Higher energy density

Eliminating the metal case can reduce weight. In terms of weight, a pouch cell battery of equivalent capacity is 40% lighter than a nickel-steel cased lithium battery and 20% lighter than an aluminum-cased battery. In terms of energy density, pouch cell batteries of the same size are usually 10-15% higher than steel-cased batteries and 5-10% higher than aluminum-cased batteries.

Advantage 4: Customizable 

Pouch cell batteries can be custom designed according to the specific requests of the customer. With their soft exterior and ability to be reshaped and sized, custom designed packs can be formed to meet all challenges.

The 2020 coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has – to put it mildly – created a lot of uncertainty for people all around the world.

By now, hopefully you are doing your part to practice the self-quarantining or “social distancing” behaviors recommended by the World Health Organization to help slow the spread of this new and particularly hardy coronavirus and give the world’s various healthcare systems time and bandwidth to deal with the outbreak.

If so, you may be experiencing a new (or renewed) appreciation for the relative fragility of the production and delivery networks for food, water, energy, and information that aggregate to create the standard of living we’re used to here in the U.S. You may be considering the benefits of being self-sufficient in one or more of these areas, and wondering how realistic that would be. And you may be weighing whether the peace of mind that comes with self-reliance in times of social unrest is worth the effort and expense of actually becoming self-reliant.

Setting aside the healthcare system, which is facing real challenges in the coming weeks, we can say that, fortunately, American infrastructure has been largely able to cope with the changes in shopping behavior, remote working habits, and resource usage the new coronavirus has forced us to make. But if you have found yourself interested in moving toward self-sufficiency lately, know that you are not alone and you are not without trusted professionals to advise you about your options.

As a company born out of the “back-to-the-land” movement that spawned in part from the uncertainty and social anxiety of the 1960s and 1970s, Real Goods has always championed the merits of self-sufficiency and facilitated making it available to anyone who wants to achieve it. From this position, we think it’s worth noting a few things:

We should be grateful that most of our resource infrastructure – power, water, food production, Internet – has been able to handle the shifting demands the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on it.
Ideas like self-isolation, social distancing, and disaster preparedness are not new. For plenty of folks, these are – and have been for decades – lifestyle choices. They are things that come, to varying degrees, with the decision to live “off the grid”.
Moving toward self-sufficiency does not have to be an all-or-nothing endeavor. In fact, we don’t recommend you try to make it one (not many of us could do what Richard Proenneke did). A simple step toward partial self-sufficiency, like setting up a small emergency backup power supply, is enough to make a lot of families feel much better about their overall preparedness when the unexpected strikes.
Self-sufficiency can (and absolutely should) be researched before being attempted. Our own Solar Living Sourcebook is a truly excellent primer on the considerations and basics of off-grid living.
Out of crisis can come opportunity. Think back a few months…Did you catch yourself saying “I’m so busy! If only there were more hours in the day!” a month ago, and then “I’m so bored! How long am I going to be stuck in my house?” a week ago? There may be no time like the present to learn a new skill, catch up on reading, call some long-lost friends or relatives, or deep clean the house.
We are in this together and it’s not going away soon. The spring of 2020 – and likely the summer too – is going to be different from any we’ve lived through before. We are going to need to be patient, get by with less shopping and fewer luxuries, and be helpful to others while respecting their boundaries with social distancing.
We are not attempting to stoke fear, to say “I told you so”, or to leverage this global pandemic for financial gain. We are simply trying to make people aware that if self-sufficiency is a new, enticing, and/or daunting proposition that you’ve recently been forced to confront, there are professionals out there like us and others who specialize in building systems to deliver power and water to people who either need or want to be self-reliant in attaining these essentials.

We’re all in this together, and we here at Real Goods have been helping people secure their own power and water supplies for 41 years now. Give us a call at 800-919-2400 or check out these resources and products if you want to explore your self-sufficiency options.

Self-Sufficiency Resources
The Solar Living Sourcebook
“Solar Power for Beginners” video series with Solar Queen Amy Beaudet
Get a free quote for a battery backup system
Get a free quote for an off-grid solar power system
Get a free quote for a solar water pumping system
Self-Sufficiency Equipment
The Solar Living Sourcebook
Portable emergency backup power sources
Medium (7.5 kWh) integrated backup power supply
Large (over 10 kWh) integrated backup power supplies