A Low-Cost MPC-Based Algorithm for Battery Power Limit Estimation

Many battery applications require timely estimates of the maximum power that may be either extracted during operation or added during charge. Traditional methods of computing these estimates rely mostly on simple computations using empirically derived limits imposed on cell voltage, current and possibly temperature. While generally effective, such methods do not fully account for the dynamic aspects of the underlying model. This paper proposes a novel method of real-time power limit estimation that uses a model predictive control-inspired approach which enlarges the functional window right up to true established bounds of cell performance.