SBIR Phase I: Electrochemical Acoustic Tools for the Analysis of Batteries

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project lies in the ability of this technology to impact how every battery is made, tested, managed, and re-used in the near future. Batteries are ubiquitous, and their use is likely to increase in the future. As such, there is a growing need for low-cost, accurate methods for monitoring the state of charge (SOC) and the state of health (SOH) in real time to optimize performance and maximize lifetime. The technology that will be developed in this project will use ultrasound to noninvasively probe batteries and provide physical insights into SOC and SOH, and will work on any closed battery regardless of chemistry and form factor. Initial finding of this hypothesis have already been demonstrated and published. This is an unexplored area and presents a large commercial opportunity in each sector of the battery industry, including diagnostics, quality assurance, active cycling control, and the emerging second-life markets. Several advantages include sensitivity to subtle physical changes within cells, the ability to probe lab and commercial scale cells, and sub-millisecond readings. From battery R&D, to manufacturing, to management systems, ultrasound for batteries will help enable the efficient generation, storage, and use of energy worldwide. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will support the development of this technology leading to the first commercial ultrasonic battery analysis unit. The feasibility of 1) miniaturized pulser-receivers with pulsing and switching speeds that are orders of magnitude faster than commercial units, and 2) miniaturized transducers that can transmit and receive high quality signals will be demonstrated. This would enable the detection of high-rate phenomena and the use of multiplexed systems. 3) The use of fast data analysis algorithms for real-time SOC prediction using acoustics as the main input will also be addressed. These objectives are necessary for demonstrating the applicability of ultrasonic analysis to the battery R&D, manufacturing, and second life markets. The success of Phase I of this project will lead to the development of micron-scale sensors for incorporation in battery management systems. In Phase II, algorithms for SOH prediction and cycling control based on acoustic data will be developed, as well as investigation of the design and fabrication of microelectronic transducers will be performed.