Battery storage analysis with improved capacity and performance for electric vehicles

Increasing oil prices, demand for urban vehicles and focus on sustainable transportation have caused a substantial new development effort towards automotive electrification such as hybrids and electric vehicles (EVs). EVs typically achieve better fuel economy and have lower fuel costs than similar conventional vehicles. The demands for electric battery storage are increasing for greater energy storage needs for alternative energy sources and electric grid systems as well. Lithium Ion batteries are considered as one of the leading types of battery storage systems to be employed in Electric Vehicles (EVs) or Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs). This work is a continuation of previous experimental and simulation studies conducted at NIU in an effort to develop high performance electric battery storage for transportations applications. The objective of this research is to develop a three dimensional computer simulation model for coupled electrochemical and thermal analysis and characterization of a lithium ion battery performance subject to a range of high charge and discharge rates associated with the typical vehicle load cycles. The simulation model is used to analyze the limitation of state-of-the art-battery chemistry and capacity in terms electrochemical polarization performance and thermal heat management requirement.