Model-informed battery current derating strategies: Simple methods to extend battery lifetime in islanded mini-grids

Islanded mini-grids with batteries are crucial to enable universal access to energy. However, batteries are still costly, and how to select and operate them in an optimal manner is often unclear. The combination of variable climates with simple and low-cost passive thermal management also poses a challenge. Many techno-economic sizing tools usually consider simple battery degradation models, which disregard the impact of climatic conditions and operating strategy on battery performance. This study uses a semi-empirical Li-ion battery degradation model alongside an open-source techno-economic model to capture key insights. These are used to inform simple state of charge and temperature-based current derating strategies to increase lifetime. We demonstrate that such strategies can increase battery lifetime by 45% or 5–7 years in commercial systems already operational. It was found that, irrespective of climatic conditions, 80–90% of capacity fade can be attributed to calendar aging, due to low C-rates. SOC-based derating was found to be the most effective strategy, with temperature-based derating being less effective at extending lifetime and also leading to increased blackout periods. These results highlight the importance of accurate degradation modelling to achieve lifetime extension through improved operational strategies

Battery degradation-aware current derating: an effective method to prolong lifetime and ease thermal management

To ensure the safe and stable operation of lithium-ion batteries in battery energy storage systems (BESS), the power/current is de-rated to prevent the battery from going outside the safe operating range. Most derating strategies use static limits for battery current, voltage, temperature and state-of-charge, and do not account for the complexity of battery degradation. Progress has been made with models of lithium plating for fast charging. However, this is a partial solution, does not consider other degradation mechanisms, and still requires complex optimization work, limiting widespread adoption. In this work, the calendar and cycle degradation model is analysed offline to predetermine the degradation rates. The results are integrated into the current-derating strategy. This framework can be adapted to any degradation model and allows flexible tuning. The framework is evaluated in simulations of an outdoors-installed BESS with passive thermal management, which operates in a residential photovoltaic application. In comparison to standard derating, the degradation-aware derating achieves: (1) increase of battery lifetime by 65%; (2) increase in energy throughput over lifetime by 49%, while III) energy throughput per year is reduced by only 9.5%. These results suggest that the derating framework can become a new standard in current derating

Two stage polarization insensitive regenerative wavelength converter

In future high speed optical communication networks all-optical signal processing will play an important role. The high transmission capacity of the fibre can be utilized by wavelength division multiplexing of time division multiplexed signals in the order of 10-20 Gbit/s per channel (wavelength). Therefore, signal transmission in a complex fibre network with many switching nodes requires the development of wavelength converters. A wavelength converter consisting of a semiconductor laser amplifier and an injection locked laser is investigated. The converter is insensitive to input polarization and wavelength. Input amplitude fluctuations are strongly reduced. The output signal is not inverted and nearly chirp-free

Ageing and efficiency aware battery dispatch for arbitrage markets using mixed integer linear programming

To achieve maximum profit by dispatching a battery storage system in an arbitrage operation, multiple factors must be considered. While revenue from the application is determined by the time variability of the electricity cost, the profit will be lowered by costs resulting from energy efficiency losses, as well as by battery degradation. In this paper, an optimal dispatch strategy is proposed for storage systems trading on energy arbitrage markets. The dispatch is based on a computationally-efficient implementation of a mixed-integer linear programming method, with a cost function that includes variable-energy conversion losses and a cycle-induced battery capacity fade. The parametrisation of these non-linear functions is backed by in-house laboratory tests. A detailed analysis of the proposed methods is given through case studies of different cost-inclusion scenarios, as well as battery investment-cost scenarios. An evaluation with a sample intraday market data set, collected throughout 2017 in Germany, offers a potential monthly revenue of up to 8762 EUR/MWh cap installed capacity, without accounting for the costs attributed to energy losses and battery degradation. While this is slightly above the revenue attainable in a reference application—namely, primary frequency regulation for the same sample month (7716 EUR/MWh cap installed capacity)—the situation changes if costs are considered: The optimisation reveals that losses in battery ageing and efficiency reduce the attainable profit by up to 36% for the most profitable arbitrage use case considered herein. The findings underline the significance of considering both ageing and efficiency in battery system dispatch optimisation

5G connected and automated driving: use cases, technologies and trials in cross-border environments

Cooperative, connected and automated mobility (CCAM) across Europe requires harmonized solutions to support cross-border seamless operation. The possibility of providing CCAM services across European countries has an enormous innovative business potential. However, the seamless provision of connectivity and the uninterrupted delivery of real-time services pose technical challenges which 5G technologies aim to solve. The situation is particularly challenging given the multi-country, multi-operator, multi-telco-vendor, multi-car-manufacturer and cross-network-generation scenario of any cross-border scenario. Motivated by this, the 5GCroCo project, with a total budget of 17 million Euro and partially funded by the European Commission, aims at validating 5G technologies in the Metz-Merzig-Luxembourg cross-border 5G corridor considering the borders between France, Germany and Luxembourg. The activities of 5GCroCo are organized around three use cases: (1) Tele-operated Driving, (2) high-definition map generation and distribution for automated vehicles and (3) Anticipated Cooperative Collision Avoidance (ACCA). The results of the project help contribute to a true European transnational CCAM. This paper describes the overall objectives of the project, motivated by the discussed challenges of cross-border operation, the use cases along with their requirements, the technical 5G features that will be validated and provides a description of the planned trials within 5GCroCo together with some initial results. © 2021, The Author(s)

5G cross-border operation for connected and automated mobility: Challenges and solutions

The vision of cooperative, connected and automated mobility (CCAM) across Europe can only be realized when harmonized solutions that support cross-border traffic exist. The possibility of providing CCAM services along different countries when vehicles drive across various national borders has a huge innovative business potential. However, the seamless provision of connectivity and the uninterrupted delivery of services along borders also poses interesting technical challenges. The situation is particularly innovative given the multi-country, multi-operator, multi-telco-vendor, and multi-car-manufacturer scenario of any cross-border layout. This paper introduces the challenges associated to a cross-border deployment of communication technologies through the analysis of three use cases: tele-operated driving, high-definition map generation and distribution for autonomous vehicles, and anticipated cooperative collision avoidance. Furthermore, a set of 5G solutions have been identified to ensure that CCAM services can be supported efficiently in cross-border scenarios. Faster handover of a data connection from one operator to another, generalized inter-mobile edge computing (MEC) coordination, and quality of service (QoS) prediction are some of the solutions that have been introduced to reduce the uncertainties of a real 5G cross-border deployment. © 2019 by the authors