Battery Replacement Schedule Analysis for Dissimilar SOC-Type Multi-cell Configuration Under Battery Swap Charging Scheme

Abstract

A significant proportion of initial investment on electric vehicles (eVs) is attributed to the cost of battery storage systems. In order to recharge these battery systems, the electric vehicle needs to be plugged into the charging station, which would render the vehicle to be out of action for a certain duration of time. Battery swap charging technology addresses some of the technical challenges associated with conventional charging systems. Under battery swap scheme, the usage of battery system becomes a shared service, maintained by battery swap stations. Due to recombination of different batteries, dissimilar cells may be used in a configuration to realize the power source in an electric vehicle. This work evaluates the impact on the mileage provided by a battery pack when individual cells with dissimilar states are used. The battery replacement schedule for each of the discharged batteries is studied with respect to initial state of charge (SOC), and their economic impact on the user is evaluated. The system under study considers a battery pack consisting of four basic storage cells connected in different series-parallel configuration, and the evaluation is performed using PLECS-based modeling and simulation. � 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.