Rapid Improvements in Battery Technology Enable New Designs

Batteries, battery management systems, and battery energy storage technologies have rapidly evolved, alongside interconnects, to make transformative new electronics possible.

Batteries are becoming the latest disruptive technology as their size and weight decreases, their performance, safety, and energy density increases, and their prices come down, enabling an increasing range of technologies across every sector to cut the cord. A report by RMI finds that battery costs have fallen by 99% over the past 30 years, while their energy density has increased fivefold, with both metrics improving even more as new materials come into use, battery and battery management system designs evolve, and adjacent components, including interconnects, refine.

Advances in battery technology, such as the development of lithium-ion (Li-ion) and lithium-polymer (Li-Po) batteries, have significantly increased the energy density, allowing batteries to store more energy in the same amount of space. Modern processors, graphics cards, and other components are designed to be much more power-efficient than their predecessors. This means they can perform the same tasks while consuming less power. Sophisticated battery management systems that monitor and optimize battery charging and discharging cycles to prolong battery life and maintain efficiency have helped accelerate overall system performance.

Battery Connectors Evolve

Weidmüller USA rounds out its energy storage system portfolio with the addition of battery connectors.

“Battery cell development is evolving rapidly — especially energy density of the cells. Also, evolution of battery chemistry and mechanical design for the anode and cathode materials lead to much higher capacities, usability, and reliability compared to five years ago,” said Frank Pietrowski, global business development manager – energy storage, Weidmüller Group. “This evolution in battery technology has been driven by multiple topics in the material design and chemistry of the battery cells, primarily by the need for higher energy density to achieve long duration storage.”

These developments have significant implications for designers. For example, smaller, cheaper, long-lasting batteries enable the development of applications that can be deployed into remote or inaccessible areas, such as space, deep seas, wilderness areas, or military zones. Improved battery technologies enable alternative energy systems to collect large amounts energy during optimal conditions and store it in battery energy storage systems (known as ESS or BESS) for use during less optimal conditions. Inexpensive batteries used in consumer and medical applications have made previously wired applications unthinkable across device categories. Automotive and transportation applications are entering a transformative period, as electrified bicycles, motorcycles, and automobiles pave the way for electric trains, ships, and aircraft.

Connector suppliers are supporting this evolution with a range of interconnects designed to facilitate battery performance and safety. Weidmüller has focused on battery connectors for applications as well as battery energy storage architectures. “New interconnection technologies are providing more flexible and reliable system architectures coupled with higher levels of safety,” said Pietrowski. “With the new design of Weidmüller’s battery connectors, we can provide IP67 protection with an advanced handling and coding system that eliminates connection errors. This results in the highest reliability and handling protection with maximum safety. Weidmüller’s new battery connectors were designed with inherent touch safety to make handling as safe as possible. Also, all other DC-products are designed in a way to meet especially high current applications and the specific electrical behaviors of DC-currents.”

Weidmüller USA offers a full suite of energy storage products to cover the power, data and signaling needs required in a wide array of BESS applications, which store electrical energy in batteries for later use, enabling the balancing of supply and demand, grid stabilization, and backup power. These systems are commonly used in renewable energy and emergency power supply scenarios.

In the pursuit of global net zero carbon footprint, new energy applications like wind and PV are growing dramatically, said Pietrowski. “These applications require energy storage systems to reliably augment the grid. The fundamental design in energy storage doesn’t differ so much geographically. They, of course, require some adaptation to meet regional regulations or requirements coming from the designated usage (as an example, different requirements on ESS-design for utility network versus a home PV-network),” he said.

Weidmüller’s global reach means the company is designing products for multiple countries, whose energy mix may vary widely. “As Weidmüller serves ESS customers worldwide, all products are certified (or can be specifically certified on customer request) to typical certifications like UL or ISO. Weidmüller serves a variety of ESS-builders across the globe. They are among the Top 10 suppliers for BESS systems. So, with their projects being implemented globally, Weidmüller is viewed as a key industry partner with highly relevant technology and global scale.”

While the dramatic improvements in battery technology make more things possible in the design space, resistance remains in some areas to fully implementing these technologies. “Today, ESS – and especially in BESS – needs more cooperation with government and utility network operators to fulfill its full potential to the utility network and therefore to set up large-scale storage capability,” said Pietrowski. “In some cases, we have seen where it could take as long as eight years to receive approvals for building an ESS site. With BESS today, short duration ESS is already possible. The upcoming challenge is to find suitable ways for long-duration storage — days, weeks, months. This can build the case for hydrogen or Redox-Flow batteries.”

To learn more about interconnects for battery storage systems, visit Weidmüller online.

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