EARTH SCIENCES

CD-adapco is leading a Department of Energy co-funded simulation project team to pioneer techniques for lithium ion battery modeling as well as validating the created technology using industrial partners' prototype batteries.

CD-adapco will lead a major industrial team to advance lithium ion battery simulation technology. This team is one of three co-funded by the United States Department of Energy (DOE), Vehicle Technologies Office under its CAEBAT program, with the objective of helping the automotive and battery industries to design and develop a wide array of advanced electric vehicle batteries more quickly and at a lower cost. The actual funding award is made through the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) who will also provide technical support on battery electrochemical-thermal modeling. “Through this kind of innovative project we anticipate quickly creating tools which will add real value to the design of lithium ion batteries and their installations,” said Dr. Ahmad Pesaran, Group Leader of the Energy Storage Team at NREL.  “This enabling technology will allow manufacturers to deliver batteries for new electric drive vehicle designs in a reduced timeframe. Hybrid and electric vehicles are expected to significantly reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil and harmful emissions.”

CD-adapco’s team  also includes Battery Design LLC, who have been simulating lithium ion battery behavior for over 10 years, as well as the battery manufacturers Johnson Control Saft and A123 Systems. Steve Hartridge, Director of Electric & Hybrid Vehicles at CD-adapco commented, “We are very proud to be leading a group of the preeminent companies in the field of lithium ion technology. This inclusion of industrial partners in this team  guarantees the usability of developed methods, and keeps their eventual industrial application in sharp focus.” The funding supports the creation of 1-2 jobs over the next three years.

NREL expects that the resulting systems will become commercial offerings in about three years, and the project supports DOE's Computer-Aided Engineering for Electric Drive Vehicle Batteries (CAEBAT) program. This activity is funded by DOE's Vehicle Technologies Program at the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

The DOE CAEBAT program is a 3-year cofounded activity representing a total of $14M investment in to advancing lithium ion modeling technology, with DOE contributing 50% of the investment and the participating teams the other 50%. More details can be found at the following link, http://www.nrel.gov/news/press/2011/1472.html, or email steve.hartridge@cd-adapco.com