April 26th, 2022 — Advances in battery technology, especially lithium-ion batteries, are changing the way we power our world. Alongside this growth, challenges have emerged around the cost and supply chain to produce these battery systems at scale. As lithium-ion batteries proliferate, the status quo around performance is no longer enough: OEMs, product designers, and end-use customers all require more performance at lower costs.
Every lithium-ion battery has a battery management system (BMS) that maintains the specific parameters at which the battery can operate safely. However, the BMS rarely enables anything beyond this very basic (but necessary) functionality. Because this is a required control system across lithium-ion battery chemistries, innovative technologies aim to enhance the BMS with additional layers that safely improve performance while respecting the constraints set by the battery manufacturers.
BattGenie’s BMS solution optimizes battery lifespan, enables faster charging, and increases depth of discharge and usage time across any lithium-ion battery type. The company’s proprietary BMS software deploys directly into the battery management system’s firmware which enables more accurate understanding of battery physics in real-time, data tracking, predictive analytics, and a real-time adaptive management system enabling optimal charge/discharge control - all without any additional hardware or materials.
A massive - and growing - market for lithium-ion batteries.
Demand for lithium-ion batteries has risen dramatically over the last decade, and global lithium-ion battery markets are projected to grow from $41B in 2021 to $117B by 2030, driven by the increased demand for electric vehicles, the continued development of smart devices, and the growing adoption of lithium-ion batteries in the renewable energy sector.
While lithium-ion pack prices fell to an all-time low of $132/kWh in 2021 - an 89% drop in real terms from prices in 2010 - general pandemic-era supply chain concerns as well as mineral-specific sourcing constraints make it unlikely that this multi-year downward trend will hold through 2022.
The vast majority of batteries for the growing consumer electronics and EV market will continue to be lithium-ion chemistries, thanks to the relatively higher power-to-weight ratios and overall efficiency.
The status quo on performance is no longer enough.
Despite the progress in the last decade, the performance and lifespan of lithium-ion batteries leave a lot to be desired. After five years of significant use, batteries can lose 70-90% of their original capacity. As these battery packs are the most expensive part of an EV, it is critical to find ways to manage that degradation.
This extensive research and innovation of the last decade also means that lithium-ion batteries are starting to approach the performance limits of the materials currently used to build them. This especially has ramifications on safety, as lithium-ion batteries can explode or catch on fire when overheated.
While many startups in the battery health and data analytics space offer different levels of battery data tracking and predictive analytics, most require additional hardware and/or materials components, offer off-line only access to data, or are only applicable select battery types.
A BMS solution to enhance battery performance today - and in the future.
BattGenie provides a fully digital BMS enhancer solution for lithium-ion batteries using a highly sophisticated, patented physics-based battery modeling system coupled with machine learning. This allows BattGenie to process and solve complex and critical battery management algorithms very quickly, reducing the compute times from minutes to milliseconds for any BMS controller type. By shrinking computation times, BattGenie can operate the BMS more efficiently and with a higher degree of accuracy and safety.
With this real-time optimization, BattGenie’s solution produces adaptive management outputs — like controlling when the battery charges and discharges — 100-200x faster and with more accuracy compared to traditional empirical models, results that have been independently verified by NREL.
BattGenie has already demonstrated performance improvements on multiple battery chemistries (NMC/NCA/LCO as well as blended cathodes), manufacturers (LG/ Samsung/Kokam) and form-factors (cylindrical/pouch/prismatic) on single cells as well as battery modules. Through its involvement in the Shell Gamechanger GCxN program, BattGenie is performing additional validation at the module and the pack level.
While BattGenie is focused on deploying their software on batteries across consumer devices and automotive OEMs, the company aims to apply their data and adaptive management value to additional markets like grid-scale storage and second-life battery use cases in the future.
Powerhouse Ventures is proud to co-lead BattGenie’s $1.5M seed round alongside VoLo Earth Ventures. We look forward to working with CEO Dr. Manan Pathak, CTO Dr. Venkat Subramanian, and CPO Dr. Chintan Pathak and the entire BattGenie team to optimize battery performance across critical areas in energy and mobility.
Special thanks to Shaandiin Cedar and Marie Thompson.
To read more about Powerhouse Ventures’ other publicly-announced investments, visit our Insights page.