Can A Battery Think?

Can a battery think? We think so. Not in the classic sense, perhaps. But fitted with our advanced Battery Management System (BMS), and its embedded intelligence for lithium-ion batteries, a battery is capable of taking a variety of important decisions. Being aware of your battery’s status enables you to optimize its usage, saving you time and money.

Polarium’s lithium-ion battery measures internal battery temperature and adjusts output and input to prevent excessive temperature increases. It does this by enabling the battery to continue to operate as long as possible until it reaches a temperature limit. When this occurs, it begins to reduce charge function to inhibit temperature increase before it becomes critical and cuts off charging. The battery then reconnects itself once it has cooled sufficiently.

At very low temperatures (below 0°C) the BMS prevents charging to avoid damaging cells. If reverse polarity or short circuit is detected, the battery will completely disconnect from the “load” or “charger”. It will then check at five-minute intervals until the fault condition is addressed, at which point the battery attempts to reconnect. Start-up is automatic when the battery has been installed with all wires and busbars connected properly.

Once the circuit breaker is switched on and the start-up sequence is initiated (by pushing the on button), the battery will perform self-checks that automatically recognize the outside circuit. The battery can then provide power to the load or start charging through the rectifier.

Polarium’s BMS is equipped with a patented current limiting device (CLD) that automatically regulates current to appropriate levels if, for example, an excessively high charger current or voltage is detected. This ensures that the battery continues to operate and charge safely irrespective of external power system settings.

The battery also has a self-diagnostics function. It has built-in alarms for any fault conditions that occur within the battery or safety related issues. The battery automatically immediately switches itself off in these circumstances. If connected to a remote management system (we can provide this) diagnostics, fault finding, and upgrades can be performed remotely. Alarms and triggers can be set, so, for example, you can programme the battery to alert you when its state of health (ability to hold energy) has reached pre-defined end of life or action level where you change it for a new battery or complement it with additional batteries to keep your targeted back-up time on target.

So, the question is not whether a battery can think. The question is how the battery’s thinking will improve as we continue to evolve. We continuously add new features such as a trigger for an alarm if the battery is moved, and GPS tracking as a security measure. And when the battery nears the end of its life cycle, it can initiate a trigger from its controller system letting you know it’s time to swap it out. Now there’s a thought.