Improved control algorithms for battery management systems to reduce redistribution of charge within energy storage systems

With the growing reliance on lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for energy storage systems (ESS) in various applications, addressing cell imbalance becomes crucial for enhancing operational efficiency, lifespan, and safety. Although several balancing topologies are available, depending on their energy storage element, balancing speed, and efficiency can further be improved by software control. This paper proposes a balancing control method based on a direct cell-to-cell (DC2C) single-switched capacitor that aims to reduce the redistribution of charge by balancing each cell to the average stack voltage. A proof of concept is demonstrated through simple Matlab scripts. The control strategy is further elaborated through simulations using a 1s4p battery stack implemented in PLECS Blockset and Simulink. An overall energy efficiency of 99.36% was achieved during simulations.