Lead-acid batteries for Hybrid Electric Vehicles ―The RHOLAB Approach

摘要

The RHOLAB Project is receiving funding under the UK Government's Foresight Vehicle Programme and is receiving additional support from the Advanced Lead-Acid Battery Consortium and Hawker Batteries The objective of the Project is to develop a novel, individual, spirally wound valve-regulated lead-acid 2V cell optimized for HEV use and low variability. This cell will be used as a building block for the development of a complete battery pack that is managed at the cell level. Following bench testing, this battery pack will be thoroughly evaluated by substituting it for the NiMH pack in a Honda Insight. The paper will cover the first fifteen months of the 3-year project and will describe work carried out in the following areas: 1. Identification of mechanisms causing cell lifetime scatter. 2. The design and development of the prototype double-ended cell. 3. The development of the battery pack specification and pack design. 4. The development of the battery management system. The adoption of a 2V cell as a building block for the new battery allows a completely new approach to be taken to the design of the battery pack. Under this full consideration can be given to such issues as thermal control, minimisation of inter-connect and efficient cell and battery management. Initial test data will be discussed.