High-efficiency bidirectional cell balancer maximizes capacity and life of series-connected battery packs

Large series-connected battery strings are commonly used in electric vehicles, backup power systems, and numerous energy storage applications. Maximizing the life of such battery packs and ensuring their safe use requires accurate measurement and balancing of each cell's state of charge (SoC). Passive (i.e., dissipative) balancing corrects for SoC mismatches due to temperature gradients across the battery pack or cell-to-cell impedance differences. However, passive balancing cannot compensate for capacity differences caused by battery aging. All batteries age at different rates due to the same factors that cause SoC mismatch. Without capacity compensation, the battery's run time will be limited to the battery with the lowest capacity in the battery pack. For example, the LTC3300 active balancer can correct SoC imbalance and compensate for capacity differences between batteries. By efficiently redistributing charge from mismatched cells, the LTC3300 maximizes the usable capacity of the battery pack. The LTC3300 provides high-current and high-efficiency bidirectional cell balancing for series-connected cells. Each IC can charge or discharge up to 6 series batteries simultaneously. There is no limit on the height of the battery pack. Communication between the balancers is via a high noise margin SPI bus, while numerous safety features ensure reliable and efficient high current active balancing. Video Speaker: Mark Vitunic - Designer, Power Products

• Chapter 1：High-efficiency bidirectional cell balancer maximizes capacity and life of series-connected battery packs (7 minutes and 11 seconds)