A non-dissipative Li-ion battery hardware emulator based on a hybrid dynamic model

More and more applications encompass battery energy storage systems (BESSs) based on Li-ion batteries. However, when designing the BESS power converter or when studying the interaction between BESSs and other application components, relying on a real battery makes the process cumbersome, expensive, and time-consuming. Moreover, the battery could even be damaged. In this paper, a Li-ion battery emulator that is capable of both sourcing and sinking power at kilowatt scale is designed, built, and experimentally validated. Unlike other similar devices available in the market or proposed in the technical literature, it is low-cost, it injects power into the grid during sink operation, and it can reproduce battery dynamics. Design criteria are given, and several test results are presented, validating the design. The obtained device allows reducing the cost, time, and complexity of performing system tests of Li-ion BESS applications.