Battery Qualification 101

© Voltaiq, All Rights Reserved , Confidential
Battery Qualification 101
Tal Sholklapper, CEO and Co-Founder
PlugVolt Webinar | August 12, 2020
1

© Voltaiq, All Rights Reserved,
Confidential
2
Voltaiq company snapshot
• Battery IntelligenceTM software company
founded in 2012 by battery engineers, software
developers, and data scientists
• Voltaiq engagement with key markets:
• Transportation
• Consumer electronics
• Battery OEMs & suppliers
• Energy storage
• Leading startups, universities, and third-
party test labs

Electric vehicle and consumer electronics market leaders use
Voltaiq Battery Intelligence software to drive progress and profits
3
VOLTAIQ VALUE PROPOSITION
Ensure a high-quality supply of battery cells
Qualify suppliers and cell designs rapidly, track every cell through its life
1
Ensure on-time product launches
Automate and accelerate battery analysis up to 1000x
2
Improve product performance and value
Iterate faster, optimize better, with best-in-class battery analytics
3
Minimize financial risks
Reduce warranty returns and recalls, unlock second-life value
4

© Voltaiq, All Rights Reserved , Confidential 4
Voltaiq automates data aggregation and analysis across the
battery lifecycle, providing value at every stage
LIFECYCLE STAGE
● Accelerate new
chemistry development
● Accelerate vendor
qualification and
cell validation
● Automate analysis for
modeling, BMS teams
● Compare cell, pack
test data to in-vehicle
performance
● Optimize yields
in production
● Predictive
maintenance
● Optimize warranty
reserves and
residual values
The Voltaiq platform A single, unified system ● Battery-specific analysis
Fastest time-to-insight ● Global team collaboration
Cell research &
development
Manufacturing
Pack design System
integration
In-field use Second Life /
Recycling
DATA DATA DATA DATA DATA DATA

© Voltaiq, All Rights Reserved, Confidential
The billion dollar bet on the battery
Batteries are the most complex and failure prone components in modern devices
5

"You can buy battery packs. You can
buy modules. But you tend to buy
something that's not really a good fit
for exactly what you're doing… You
should vertically integrate around the
key subsystems of your vehicle”
— Ryan Popple, Co-Founder and
Executive Director , Proterra
6
All images are copyright to their respective owners

Batteries aren’t commodities yet — performance is not uniform,
the cycle life curve you see in the spec sheet is just an example
7

In reality, there is significant variation from cell-to-cell, even
within a production lot
8
Pass
Fail
> 100 Cycle Variation

Why do we need to qualify batteries?
1. Evaluate battery quality and performance, to select the final supplier
and cell design for our product
2. Ensure the battery will operate as needed in the application
3. Ensure the battery will last long enough to meet warranty requirements
4. Ensure the battery will be safe to operate
We’ll focus on topics 1-3 in this webinar
9
KEY OBJECTIVES

It takes 3-5 years to launch a new EV. An issue in qualification
often leads to many months of delay in launch timelines
10
R&D
Cell development
Cell qualification
Cell validation
Module and pack development
BMS development
Pack modeling
Pack validation
Vehicle integration
Time
Production
start
Program
start
3 to 5 years
Cell validation
Cell validation
Vehicle integration
Cell modeling

Qualification problems can cost automaker billions in lost revenue,
warranty reserves or brand damage
11

Overview of battery qualification
12

Why do we need to qualify batteries?
1. Evaluate battery quality and performance, to select the final supplier
and cell design for our product
2. Ensure the battery will operate as needed in the application
3. Ensure the battery will last long enough to meet warranty requirements
4. Ensure the battery will be safe to operate (future webinar topic)
13
KEY OBJECTIVES

Qualification
14
x1 x2
….
x3
xn
….
Cell Suppliers
Send “Battery Spec Sheets”
to Automotive Companies
Spec Sheet
Safety Standards
UN DOT 38.2 -
Shipping
IEC 62133, UL 1642
Electrochemical Standards
-Min and Max Voltages
-Max continuous discharge current
-Max pulse current
-Capacity as a function of rate
-Nominal Capacity
-Thermal Tests
-Mechanical Tests
Spec Sheet
Safety Standards
UN DOT 38.2 -
Shipping
IEC 62133, UL 1642
-Max pulse current
-Nominal Capacity
-Thermal Tests
-Mechanical Tests
Spec Sheet
Safety Standards
UN DOT 38.2 -
Shipping
IEC 62133, UL 1642
-Max pulse current
-Nominal Capacity
-Thermal Tests
-Mechanical Tests
Spec Sheet
Safety Standards
UN DOT 38.2 -
Shipping
IEC 62133, UL 1642
-Max pulse current
-Nominal Capacity
-Thermal Tests
-Mechanical Tests

Qualification
15
Supplier Spec Sheets
● Can be theoretical and correspond to a
battery that hasn’t been built yet
● Don’t always contain all needed
information
● Can come with graphs in PDF form
● Formats and reported specifications are
highly variable
Spec Sheet
Safety Standards
UN DOT 38.2 -
Shipping
IEC 62133, UL 1642
-Max pulse current
-Nominal Capacity
-Thermal Tests
-Mechanical Tests
Spec Sheet
Safety Standards
UN DOT 38.2 -
Shipping
IEC 62133, UL 1642
-Max pulse current
-Nominal Capacity
-Thermal Tests
-Mechanical Tests
Spec Sheet
Safety Standards
UN DOT 38.2 -
Shipping
IEC 62133, UL 1642
-Max pulse current
-Nominal Capacity
-Thermal Tests
-Mechanical Tests
Spec Sheet
Safety Standards
UN DOT 38.2 -
Shipping
IEC 62133, UL 1642
-Max pulse current
-Nominal Capacity
-Thermal Tests
-Mechanical Tests

Qualification
16
Auto company then uses
information on the Spec sheet to
determine if the battery meets
Vehicle standards
Spec Sheet
Safety Standards
UN DOT 38.2 -
Shipping
IEC 62133, UL 1642
-Max pulse current
-Nominal Capacity
-Thermal Tests
-Mechanical Tests
Spec Sheet
Safety Standards
UN DOT 38.2 -
Shipping
IEC 62133, UL 1642
-Max pulse current
-Nominal Capacity
-Thermal Tests
-Mechanical Tests
Spec Sheet
Safety Standards
UN DOT 38.2 -
Shipping
IEC 62133, UL 1642
-Max pulse current
-Nominal Capacity
-Thermal Tests
-Mechanical Tests
Spec Sheet
Safety Standards
UN DOT 38.2 -
Shipping
IEC 62133, UL 1642
-Max pulse current
-Nominal Capacity
-Thermal Tests
-Mechanical Tests

Qualification
17
x1 x2
….
x3
xn
….
Cell Suppliers
Send “Battery Spec Sheets”
to Automotive Companies
Spec Sheet
Safety Standards
UN DOT 38.2 -
Shipping
IEC 62133, UL 1642
-Max pulse current
-Nominal Capacity
-Thermal Tests
-Mechanical Tests
Spec Sheet
Safety Standards
UN DOT 38.2 -
Shipping
IEC 62133, UL 1642
-Max pulse current
-Nominal Capacity
-Thermal Tests
-Mechanical Tests
Spec Sheet
Safety Standards
UN DOT 38.2 -
Shipping
IEC 62133, UL 1642
-Max pulse current
-Nominal Capacity
-Thermal Tests
-Mechanical Tests
Spec Sheet
Safety Standards
UN DOT 38.2 -
Shipping
IEC 62133, UL 1642
-Max pulse current
-Nominal Capacity
-Thermal Tests
-Mechanical Tests
*Automotive companies also
inform Cell Suppliers of the “Specs”
they’re looking for. This can be a
dialogue back and forth

Qualification
18
x1 x2
….
x3
xm
….
Cell Suppliers
Auto Company Requests
Cells from Suppliers that
have promising Spec Sheets
so they can start their
Qualification Testing
(Actual testing can happen
at Third Party Test Houses)
Supplier x1
Supplier x2
Supplier x3
Baseline
Change A
Change B
Baseline
Change A
Change B
Baseline
Change A
Change B

Qualification
19
Supplier x1
Supplier x2
Supplier x3
Baseline
Change A
Change B
Baseline
Change A
Change B
Baseline
Change A
Change B
Auto company then runs their own tests to “verify
that the battery is delivered according to Supplier
specifications” and to compare Suppliers.
How does Supplier x1 compare to Supplier x2 for
Property A?
How has Supplier x1’s performance changed over
time?
How do Baseline Tests provided from the Suppliers
compare to Auto company Baseline Tests?

Qualification
20
Baseline
Supplier x1
Supplier x2
Device Set
Vehicle requirements
Rate Characterization
Test / Protocol Set
Cycle Life
Discharge Capacity
Calendar Life
Etc.

Qualification
21
Supplier x1
Supplier x2
Supplier x3
Baseline
Change A
Change B
Baseline
Change A
Change B
Baseline
Change A
Change B
● Cell suppliers normally send 25-30 cells
● Auto companies not focused on statistical analysis at this
stage due to the low quantity of cells
● This is a “Technology Evaluation” stage
● Due to exploratory evaluation and low quantity of cells,
there can be high variability in electrochemical protocols
and testing
● Auto companies are looking to standardize their
Qualification Testing Schedules
● Auto companies closely guard their internal testing
protocols

Qualification Report
Supplier A Summary:
….
Supplier B Summary:
….
Supplier C Summary:
....
Final recommendation:
…...
Qualification
22
x1 x2
….
x3
xm
….
Cell Suppliers
Repeat all of this
testing for all Suppliers
and generate a report
recommending final
cell supplier and cell
design
Design
goal
Supplier
performance

Overview of battery qualification protocols and
analysis
23

Life testing is designed to ensure that batteries will last long
enough in your application to meet warranty requirements
There are three major categories of life testing:
• Cycle life
• Application-specific duty-cycle
• Storage / calendar ageing
24

Confidential
Cycle life testing
25
Cycle (charge and discharge) the battery
repeatedly, until it fails
Definition of failure can vary, but most
common is 20% loss of capacity (i.e. capacity
falls below 80% of initial value)
Cycles can be “standard” (constant current,
constant voltage) cycles or “drive cycles”
Testing is often broken up into extended
sequences of cycles (aging), interspersed with
Reference Performance Tests (RPT)
Image source: Voltaiq

Reference performance tests (RPT) are used to measure
performance in your application both upfront and over its lifetime
• Reference performance tests (RPT) are tests that are run periodically to characterize a
battery. The tests are typically run when batteries are first received, and then again
over time or at the end of life to assess state of health (SOH) relative to the initial RPT.
• Types
• Full depth of discharge (DOD) cycle
• Rate Study
• Hybrid Pulse-Power Capability (HPPC)
• High Rate Discharge (HRD) / Pulse Power
• Enhanced Rate Study
• Impedance Analysis
• IR/OCV
26

Rate Study
27
Maps out the battery’s ability to provide or accept
charge at different rates of current
This example shows five different discharge rates,
each with the same rate of charge in between
Often repeated across the full range of operating
temperatures
Terminology: C-rate is a shorthand for normalizing
charge/discharge rate (current) to the size of the
battery, e.g.
• 1C discharges the battery in 1 hour
• 2C discharges the battery in 30 minutes
• 0.5C discharges the battery in 2 hours

Voltaiq Rate Study report
28

Hybrid Pulse Power Characterization (HPPC)
Maps out the battery’s ability to provide charge
(discharge resistance) and accept charge (regen
resistance) over the full range of SOC
Often repeated across a wide range of operating
temperatures
The standard calls for discharge and charge pulses at
10% DOD increments
Common variations include
• Smaller DOD increments
• Ascending SOC
• Varying pulse rates
Data analysis is a common pain point!
29

Voltaiq HPPC report
30

Confidential
Interactive analysis demonstration
• Using traditional tools
• Using the Voltaiq Battery Intelligence System
31

Legacy methods for analysis waste precious engineering time and do not
surface issues in qualification in real-time
32
Repeat for each
type of plot
Transfer data
files to a flash
drive
Search thousands of
files to find your data
Export to presentation or email
Import the first data file
into a spreadsheet
Plot data series, one-by-one Repeat import and plotting for
each additional test result
Modify plot options for each plot
Still the status quo for
most of the industry

The Voltaiq Battery Intelligence software platform automates and
accelerates battery analysis, driving on-time product launches
33
Repeat for each
type of analysis
Transfer data
files to a flash
drive
Search thousands of
files to find your data
Export to presentation or email
Import the first data file
into a spreadsheet
Plot data series, one-by-one Repeat import and plotting
for each additional test result
Modify plot options for each plot
Key benefits
● Automated data
aggregation from any
source
● Automated data
“harmonization” to a
common format
● Automated battery KPI
extraction
● Powerful search
● Point-and-click analysis
● Management dashboards
● Seamless sharing and
collaboration
INDUSTRY-STANDARD ANALYSIS
Test lab
VOLTAIQ-POWERED ANALYSIS
Vehicles
Manufacturing line

Battery Intelligence can de-risk the bet on the battery
and help accelerate or maintain launch timelines
34

Voltaiq provides immediate access to data, accelerating long
development and qualification cycles
35
1. Engineering
generates test request
4. Engineering
analyzes test data
Months lost between
request and analysis
2. Test group runs
experiments
3. Test group processes
data to send to engineering
Non-conforming tests
aren’t spotted for months
Analysis typically only
on recent data
Analysis duplicated
between test & eng.
Days Weeks to months Days Weeks to months
Data available for
analysis in real-time
Eliminate duplicate
analysis
Analysis performed on
historical and live data
Time
Non-confirming tests
spotted immediately

Test
PV
Battery projects suffer from slow waterfall development cycles that are
exposed to late-stage fails in design and product validation (DV & PV)
36
Test
DV
Test
DV
Test
DV
Test
PV
Time
Cell
Development
Reality
Ideal World
Months or years
added to product
release timelines

Voltaiq accelerates battery vendor and product generation qualification by
streamlining design and product validation (DV & PV) cycles
37
DV
Time
Cell
Development
Test
DV
DV
PV
Test
Test
DV
Test
PV
Up to 50% faster
time-to-market

“The ability for my engineers to see the
tester data and respond to it remotely has
proven very useful and valuable during this
time of stay in place (work from home).
This has made our lives a little easier in this
time. Our lab operations are continuing as
usual.”
- Jeff Bruce, Director of Battery
Technology, Microsoft
38

New functionality like the Lab Management Dashboard provides
key information for managers to maximize utilization
39
Minimize in-lab time
during COVID-19

Voltaiq directly addresses key industry pain points
40
Download now at:
https://info.voltaiq.com/preparing-
for-the-electification-tsunami

You’re already sitting on a gold mine of data. Put that data to work with
Voltaiq and the industry’s leading Battery Intelligence System
41

Electric vehicle and consumer electronics market leaders use
Voltaiq Battery Intelligence software to drive progress and profits
42
VOLTAIQ VALUE PROPOSITION
Ensure a high-quality supply of battery cells
Qualify suppliers and cell designs rapidly, track every cell through its life
1
Ensure on-time product launches
Automate and accelerate battery analysis up to 1000x
2
Improve product performance and value
Iterate faster, optimize better, with best-in-class battery analytics
3
Minimize financial risks
Reduce warranty returns and recalls, unlock second-life value
4
Email us at info@voltaiq.com to learn more today

Tal Sholklapper
CEO and Co-Founder
E: tal@voltaiq.com
43

Battery Qualification 101

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Battery Qualification 101

Similar to Battery Qualification 101 (20)

More from Anirudh Ramesh

More from Anirudh Ramesh (11)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Battery Qualification 101