Grant: Engage Grants Program

As the popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy grows, battery technology for energy storage is*becoming increasingly important. However, most battery types degrade rapidly at high temperatures, while cold*temperatures reduce their power and energy output, which limit their performance. Therefore, a thermal*management system (TMS) is necessary to regulate the temperature so that batteries can operate more*efficiently in the desired temperature range. The industry partner of this project (or Company) is a leading*turnkey solution provider for smart energy storage systems (EES). One of the problems the industry partner is*facing is how to deal with heat produced by the discharge of its batteries. Currently, the Company deals with*thermal management by looking at the power consumption and inefficiencies of individual components. It also*controls the power consumption of the air conditioning unit based on limited thermostats throughout the ESS*cabinet. This project proposes to perform comprehensive thermal characterization and modeling of the ESS. The*model will be rigorously validated with accurate data from experiments conducted in the University of Ontario*Institute of Technologys world-class climate chambers. A reliable comprehensive thermal model is critical for the*industry partner to advance the development of an effective and efficient TMS for its innovative ESS. This*technology will enable the Company to manage the thermal output of extremely high-power EV charging*applications more effectively and efficiently.