When is a battery empty? How long will it continue to function? How much energy can it currently store? Does it possibly pose a security risk? And would it still be worth it when sold? These questions are among the most common for companies that work with and rely on batteries on a large scale.
Inaccurate and costly: weaknesses of conventional battery diagnosis methods
Various conventional methods for battery diagnostics have been available for quite some time. These are created with great effort in the laboratory, in which as many different practical conditions as possible are simulated and the corresponding battery parameters are recorded. The problem is that the simulated laboratory conditions sometimes deviate to a greater or lesser extent from the actual, subsequent use of the battery, so that the corresponding methods for determining the battery condition are fuzzy right from the start. The smaller these are to be kept, the greater and thus more expensive is the preparatory work in the laboratory in order to simulate practical conditions as realistically as possible. Accuracy has thus far been primarily a cost-benefit issue. With a smartphone, for example, it is less dramatic if it suddenly goes out even though the screen has just shown a 20% charge than with an electric car. So far, the higher the cost pressure for certain battery products, the less accurate the condition determination.
Inexpensive, reliable and fast: AI-based battery diagnostics with NOVUM
NOVUM technology opens up completely new possibilities for companies here, because by using artificial intelligence we decouple the achievable accuracy from the costs of laboratory modeling.
Our artificial intelligence learns directly from real-world data. This eliminates the need for time-consuming and costly readjustment in the laboratory. At the same time, accuracy increases because statements about the behavior or condition of batteries in can also be made for the first time on the basis of practical data. The result of our testing is meaningful battery metrics for each individual battery in each use case.
But the patented NOVUM technology can do even more! Artificial intelligence is only as good as the data it has at its disposal. With the aid of a patented measurement method based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, it is possible for the first time to “look inside” battery chemistry non-invasively.
For example, we can determine whether there are already problems inside the battery without this already being reflected in a reduction in capacity. Here, in contrast to simple internal resistance measurement, a large number of measurement points are considered instead of just one, so the database that is subsequently analyzed by our AI is far more complex.
This is ideal for artificial intelligence, because the more complex and extensive the data, the better the possible quality of the information. Our customers are also pleased: They receive all relevant information presented in an easy-to-understand way via their user access, so that they can make decisions for their company quickly and based on data.
