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The aim of the GENIUS project, in which the Centre for Technological Innovation in Static Converters and Drives (CITCEA) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) participates, is to develop a charge estimator for lithium-ion batteries based on a dynamic model parameterised by a neural network.
The advantages of basing the estimator on this technology include the capacity of adaptation to the ageing of the battery cell due to use. This adaptation is the result of unsupervised learning capabilities, which enable the parameters of the model to be adapted automatically and optimise the battery level and health during the life cycle of the element.
Results and impact
The result of this project has a high potential impact on all devices that require a precise indicator of the charge level, especially in applications in which the device’s battery block has to support varying charges, such as in the mobility sector.
Regarding the area of knowledge of techniques to estimate the level of battery charge, methods have been developed based on the digitalisation of the electrical behaviour of the batteries. Based on these methods, the energy stored and the operating limits of the batteries due to malfunctioning or ageing can be predicted. These techniques have been implemented in laboratory demonstrators and in real environments such as distribution and rural networks.
The proposal has a degree of interuniversity collaboration, with projects such as Formula Student. However, the nature of the project enables this collaboration to be extended to more companies, especially in the mobility sector.
Budget and funding
GENIUS has a very high level of interdisciplinarity, as it is focused both on the design of a neural network and on work with types of cell chemistry and implementation of the system. It has a budget of € 489,780 and is in the execution phase. It is expected that the project will be completed in December 2024. The project consortium is comprised of CITCEA-UPC, NVISION and IREC.
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