December 23 that Japanese media said that Hitachi High-tech Group has developed a diagnostic method that can quickly detect the deterioration of lithium-ion battery performance and residual life.
Previously, it took hours to diagnose deterioration, but the new method could be shortened to about two seconds. The intended uses of the technology include assessing whether used batteries used in pure electric vehicles can be reused for forklifts and household batteries. The company will open up demand with the popularity of pure electric vehicles.
According to a report on the website of Japan Economic News on December 17, the new method adopts a special calculation method designed by the research and development team of Hitachi Productions.
By analyzing the subtle changes in the current and voltage time of lithium batteries, the evaluation time is greatly shortened. As long as the measured charging and discharging data is sent to the cloud system for analysis, the results can be confirmed in real time.
According to the report, the previous evaluation method was to detect the capacity and deterioration of lithium batteries, and it was necessary to detect the change of current and voltage while charging and discharging for a long time.
In a series of processes of recovering lithium batteries from pure electric vehicles, screening and reuse according to the degree of deterioration, this deterioration diagnosis takes a lot of time and manpower.
The report also said that the second-hand lithium batteries used in pure electric vehicles have a large capacity and are suitable for long-term use. If the deterioration is light, it can be reused for forklifts in warehouses, storage systems in homes and factories, power supplies for communication base stations, etc.
The report pointed out that with the strengthening of environmental protection policies, the popularity of pure electric vehicles around the world is accelerating, and the demand for rapid diagnosis of second-hand lithium batteries will surge in the future.
According to the report, the use fee for this deterioration diagnosis is not made public. Because of the huge business opportunities, it is envisaged that a measurement fee system based on the number of diagnostics will be adopted.
Hitachi High-tech Group predicts that by 2030, the global battery deterioration diagnosis market will increase to 500 billion yen to 1 trillion yen per year (100 yen is about 6.3 yuan – this website note).
Hitachi High-tech Group will promote the effective use of second-hand lithium batteries and support relevant businesses through diagnostic technology.
In vehicle rental business such as car sharing and passenger transportation, the use of pure electric vehicles with excellent energy efficiency and no exhaust is expected to further expand.
The report pointed out that in these services, the demand for accurate assessment of battery residual life is expected to increase.
