Public Funding for Dukosi Limited

"Key challenges for effective battery pack design include increasing energy/power density and understand/mitigating degradation. Energy and power density are heavily linked to the system design with effective thermal management defining power limits as well as the rate of degradation. Thus, there is an urgent need for tools which assist engineers in the development of battery packs. Aston Martin Lagonda has teamed up with Dukosi and Imperial College London to put together the 'Battery Advances For Future Transport Applications' (BAFTA) project. BAFTA will aim to develop a framework that enables optimised performance and system longevity for battery packs. The 3 key pillars of this project are: 1. Model-based thermal management system design that enables prolonged use of the battery system without significant performance de-rating. 2. Novel diagnostic techniques which inform more intelligent battery management system, that enables the system to be pushed to the limits of its capabilities. 3. System Packaging Modelling design that enables the efficient packaging and layout of all the system in a way that optimises weight, package size and distribution. Imperial College London will develop physics based models of lithium-ion battery packs which are able to quantify the benefit of different thermal management systems. It will inform computational aided engineering tools to enable performance optimisation. This model will be combined with Dukosi's state-of-the-art battery monitoring system, providing additional intelligence to the system for estimating states such as State-Of-Available-Power (SOAP) and State-Of-Health (SOH) for advanced control applications. Novel diagnostic techniques will also enable control techniques which prolong battery lifetime. Aston Martin Lagonda will then implement these key innovations into their product range which has a key focus on high-performance applications and a clear pathway to commercialization. This approach is key to the realisation of high performance electric propulsion vehicles, while it will enable also application to other vehicle types via Dukosi and Imperial College. The battery design tools that form as a result of the BAFTA project will enable optimised and intelligent battery pack performance/control, as well as a framework for accelerated development - which is essential as the demand for electric vehicle powertrains booms."

The UK Automotive Battery Supply Chain project will create the ability to deliver next generation battery packs for high performance low carbon vehicles. The project recognises the needs of the growing UK automotive industry and capitalises on world leading UK innovations in the area of battery technology. The collaborative project combines UK innovations and knowledge from five partners; AGM Batteries (a battery cell manufacturer), Dukosi (a leader is smart battery management technology), Johnson Matthey Battery Systems (a battery pack manufacture), Warwick Manufacturing Group (an academic group with specialist battery knowledge and facilities) and Cosworth (a world leading high performance powertrain developer).

The growth in electric vehicles and renewables is placing greater demands on energy storage and energy management. Much of these applications are dependent on large Lithium-ion battery packs. The Electrochemical Science and Engineering group at Imperial College London are world leaders in modelling lithium-ion cells to estimate the pack state of charge, and the advanced techniques that can be used to diagnose and predict degradation and failure. Dukosi Ltd has developed an innovate and disruptive Battery Management System technology that can implement these advanced techniques. The project will implement and demonstrate the best available techniques within a battery pack. This Feasibility Study will potentially lead to the development of the worlds most intelligent BMS system with unique diagnostics and prognostics capabilities.

Dukosi Limited is developing a fully distributed battery management system development platform based on its proprietary technology. Expert support in designing and executing an appropriately rigorous test strategy will ensure its technology meets the needs of the electric vehicle industry.