The Electric Drive Advanced Battery (EDAB) Project: Development and Utilization of an On-Road Energy Storage System Testbed

As energy storage system (ESS) technology advances, vehicle testing in both laboratory and on-road settings is needed to characterize the performance of state-of-the-art technology and also identify areas for future improvement. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL), through its support of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity (AVTA), is collaborating with ECOtality North America and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to conduct on-road testing of advanced ESSs for the Electric Drive Advanced Battery (EDAB) project. The project objective is to test a variety of advanced ESSs that are close to commercialization in a controlled environment that simulates usage within the intended application with the variability of on-road driving to quantify the ESS capabilities, limitations, and performance fade over cycling of the ESS. To accommodate on-road testing of a wide range of ESS size, mass, and intended applications, the EDAB testbed was constructed on a mid-sized pickup truck chassis. This truck was converted into a Series Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) which enables vehicle operation consistent with any electrified vehicle. Sophisticated software algorithms were prepared and integrated into the testbed to emulate the physical characteristics and ESS demands of the intended application during on-road operation. This emulation is vital for proper ESS operation since the testbed is larger and heavier than the vehicle for which the ESS is typically designed. On-road testing is conducted over a range of ambient temperatures and driving route types ranging from ‘stop-and-go’ city driving to constant-speed highway driving. Battery laboratory cycling with standard test procedures has been conducted throughout all phases of testing to corroborate the on-road data and accurately measure the ESS degradation. The first ESS to be tested is the Type I EV Pack manufactured by EnerDel, Inc. The ESS has a Li-ion chemistry, with a mixed-oxide cathode and amorphous hard carbon anode and a rated capacity of 70 Ah (at a C/3 rate). Due to the sealed enclosure, there is no internal thermal management system (TMS). The intended application for this ESS is for a small EV. This paper will report on current results of energy consumption, city vs. highway proportions, battery throughput, and laboratory testing results. The results illustrate the performance of the unit under test and the degradation throughout. The end-of-test criteria are 100,000 miles, three years of operation, or a 23% decrease in battery capacity, whichever occurs first.