October 21, 2021: An Oxford University spin-off on October 6 launched a battery management system that it says increases battery lifetime by up to 60% and storage capacity by up to 129% — and the technology could one day be used for lead-acid batteries.

The BMS — BrillMS B62 Premium — works by determining the health of the cells within a battery pack and utilizing them accordingly. Faulty cells can be bypassed until they are replaced, while keeping the battery fully operational.

While not aimed at lead-acid batteries specifically, the BMS can work with hybrid lead and lithium systems, controlling how much power is drawn from either side of the system at specific times and also how the current is controlled between the different cells.

“Software logarithms figure out how well each one of the cells in the battery is doing, then it utilizes the weaker cells less than the stronger ones,” said Christoph Birkl, the firm’s CEO. “It’s usually individual cells that limit the performance and safety of the battery.

“The same concept applies to the modules in the pack. The BMS diagnoses each module and controls the level of current to each one. Another novelty is the DC-DC conversion step within the battery pack, which means the battery can be directly connected to other power sources or loads, like solar PV arrays or EV chargers, without the need for a converter.”

“International certification firm DNV carried out testing on the circuit boards with control hardware in the loop, testing all the software functionalities with the BMS connected to a computer pretending to be a battery,” said Birkl. “Then it was tested with power lab equipment pretending to be a battery, and finally connected to actual battery cells.”

The firm has already received several orders for BrillMS B62 Premium — which is targeting stationary storage applications at first but will later be rolled out for other uses, such as the batteries in electric vehicles.

Along with Birkl as CEO, the management team consists of co-founders Carolyn Hicks as COO and CFO; Adrien Bizeray, as chief data scientist; and Damien Frost, CTO.

Reprinted from:https://www.batteriesinternational.com/2021/10/21/brill-power-launches-bms-increasing-battery-life-by-up-to-60/(If there is any infringement liability, please inform us in time, we will delete the content immediately, thank you.)