What’s a ‘digital twin’? And why do we need it for EV batteries?
Let us explain
Story byIoanna Lykiardopoulou
Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainabili(show all)Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainability, green tech, AI, and EU policy. With a background in the humanities, she has a soft spot for social impact-enabling technologies.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.
Also tagged with
Related Articles
More TNW
About TNW
What’s a digital twin?
Basically, adigital twin is avirtual simulationof a physical asset.
So in our case, we have an EV battery and avirtual replicaof it that’s linked to its physical counterpart.
How does it work?
Simply put, what’s connecting the real battery with its twin is the transfer of data and information.
The digital twin uses sensors to receive two types of information:
With this information the virtual simulation can get anall-encompassing representation of the battery’s variables:usage patterns, environmental conditions, current performance, temperature, state of charge, etc.
As a result, the digital twin can producea very accurate replica of the conditions inside the battery pack — in other words, it can mimic the battery’s behavior.
Most notably, though, the twin can analyze thehistorical and real-time battery data with machine learning algorithms. That way, it can make predictions about the operation of the battery pack and compute control parameters that can be fed back to the battery management system.
What are the benefits?
The digital twin is key to gaining complete control of the battery with easy information availability and accessibility.
First up, it can send back to the battery control parameters that adapt the function of the battery pack to the status of the battery, the driving profile of the driver, and the current operational and driving conditions.
It can also send feedback to the battery pack and the driver about projected future operation and behavior of the battery. For instance, it may send parameters that limit the maximum current during braking if the temperature shows a risk of overheating.
As a result, the digital twin offers insights, recommendations, and tools that can not only optimize battery behavior and performance, but also predict battery life and potential breakdowns.
Has the tech been actually applied?
As you can imagine, digital twin tech can very well be the holy grail of EV batteries, so there’s indeed a number of companies working to implement it.
The most astonishing advancement so far has been achieved by theReal-Time Electrical Digital Twin Operating Platform (REDTOP) project, led by battery analytics firmSilver Power Systems(SPS) in partnership with Imperial College, theLondon Electric Vehicle Company(LEVC), and JSCA, the research-and-development arm of theCornwall-based Watt Electric Vehicle Company(WEVC).
The ninth-month project gathered data from50 LEVC TX range-extender taxis and aWEVC coupé electric sports car, which travelled collectivelyover 500,000km.
Each vehicle was equipped with SPS’s own data-collection device, which communicates over-the-air with the company’s cloud-based software.
The collected data was thenanalyzed by the company’s EV-OPS battery management platform and processed by Imperial College researchers.
In September, Silver Power Systemsannouncedthat the project has succeeded in creatingthe “world’s most advanced digital twins of actual EV batteries,” which could offer not only an accurate view of real-time battery performance and state-of-health, but also the potential to predict battery lifespan.
The next big step will be applying the tech to commercial electric vehicles.
HT –Chinese Journal of Medical Engineering,COMSOL,ION Energy
Do EVs excite your electrons? Do ebikes get your wheels spinning? Do self-driving cars get you all charged up?
Then you need the weekly SHIFT newsletter in your life.Click here to sign up.
