Comparative Analysis of Passive, Active, and Hybrid Cell Balancing for Optimal Battery Performance

This paper presents a comparative analysis of passive, active, and hybrid cell balancing. Hybrid cell balancing comprises passive and active cell balancing in a single cell balancing system. Passive and active cell balancing are two primary methodologies in battery management systems for optimizing performance and remaining useful life (RUL). While passive systems are often used for simplicity and lower initial cost, active systems offer faster balancing speeds and enhanced energy efficiency. By diving into the underlying principles, design considerations, and real-world applications, this paper aims to provide a more transparent lens through which researchers and designers can evaluate the merits and drawbacks of each system. This paper also evaluates the performance of the hybrid cell balancing system. Simulated results showed the hybrid system can achieve a balanced state-of-charge (SOC) 41.50% faster than the active cell balancing-based system and bleed lesser energy by 97.98 % as compared to passive cell balancing.