Partial-Power Conversion for Increased Energy Storage Capability of Li-Ion Battery Energy Storage System

Full-power converters are used in battery energy storage systems (BESSs) because of their simple structure, high efficiency, and relatively low cost. However, cell-to-cell variation, including capacity, state of charge, and internal resistance, will decrease the available capacity of serially connected battery packs, thereby negatively affecting the energy utilization rate (EUTR) of BESS. In this article, we propose a novel BESS scheme that combines a modular converter with partial-power conversion architecture to make a modular partial-power converter (MPPC) that addresses the issue. The MPPC consists of input-serial and output-paralleled isolated phase-shift full-bridge (PSFB) submodules. It processes only the serial compensation power, about one-third of the full power. Consequently, the MPPC shrinks the converter capacity, which can reduce the cost and power loss. Furthermore, this article develops a BESS model considering cell-to-cell variations to analyze the energy storage capability of the MPPC-BESS compared with the existing full-power BESS. To test the model, we run a simulation using parameter values from 100 real retired batteries. Our simulation results show that the MPPC can significantly alleviate the reduction of EUTR as the voltage level increases. Finally, we construct a 36 V/720 W MPPC-BESS prototype with two battery packs and PSFB submodules to verify the bidirectional operating stability and energy storage capability.