Review of Control Algorithms for Reconfigurable Battery Systems with an Industrial Example

Battery cells within battery energy storage systems (BESS) do not have homogeneous attributes, and the lowest capacity ones limit the performance and lifetime of the whole pack. Modern battery management systems (BMS) solve this problem with balancing, while providing the required service, and safe operation to the user. Reconfigurable battery systems (RBS) are BESSs that involve a BMS with reconfiguration. Reconfiguration uses feedback to determine the circuit switching logic. This paper presents a structured review of the control algorithms for RBSs. The RBSs are divided into groups according to their control strategies and control implementations. Finding the adequate control strategy requires well-defined objectives and control design. The control implementation focuses on physical and architectural aspects, like the reconfiguration frequency, the balancing operation and the control topology. The considerations and categories are discussed with the advantages, disadvantages and academic examples, and then an innovative industrial BMS is introduced.