A systems approach analyzes a complex problem by viewing it as a series of interconnected elements, each of which influences the other. An eclectic group of scientists from several institutions used this approach to understand what happens, when we fast-charge lithium-ion batteries. Their systems approach to fast charging these batteries generated a report that we link to below.
Fast Charging Compromises Several Systems
The scientists noted how fast charging electric vehicles, and portable electronics, has become popular among people on the move. However, this rapidly-growing practice compromises several elements in the system.
The system components include battery lifespan, energy density, and safety. This reality remains a complex, unresolved challenge, the researchers observe, on account of the “inherently multi-scale, multi-physics nature of battery behaviour.”
The scientists’ systems approach for fast charging revealed that materials, electrochemicakinetics, thermal management, and mechanical stability comprise a complex, interconnected system.
This complexity arises from the fact that a battery “is inherently an active, non-equilibrium device”. This implies that “heterogeneity is an inevitable, and even necessary consequence of normal battery operation.”
A Broader Systems Approach to L-Ion Battery Fast Charging
This diversity of conflicting priorities has resulted in some researchers taking a narrow, “reductionist lens”. The most notable example of this approach, takes the form of a “material-centric” approach, aiming to maximize performance in isolation.
However, a narrow approach like that ignores crucial system-level side effects, and limitations. And as a result, simulations that perform well in laboratories at cell level, are less effective in real time especially during fast charging.
The researchers recommend that battery developers look past disciplinary boundaries, and adopt a systems approach for fast charging. They believe this line of thinking should involve the full range of battery system elements. These factors include battery lifespan, energy density, and safety among others.
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