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EV Design – Battery Calculation

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

EV design – battery calculation

The high voltage battery it is one of the most important component of a

battery electric vehicle (BEV). The battery  parameters have a signi cant
in uence on other components and attributes of the vehicle, like:

maximum traction motor torque

maximum regeneration brake torque
vehicle range
vehicle total weight
vehicle price

Pretty much all major aspects of a pure electric vehicle (EV) depend on the
parameters of the high voltage battery.

For our electric vehicle battery design we are going to start from 4 core
input parameters:

chemistry
voltage
 average energy consumption of the vehicle on a driving cycle
vehicle range

A battery consists of one or more electrochemical cells (battery cells)

which are converting chemical energy into electrical energy (during
discharging) and electrical energy into chemical energy (during charging).
The type of elements contained within a battery and the chemical reactions
during discharging-charging events de ne the chemistry of a battery.

A battery cell consists of ve major components: electrodes – anode and

cathode, separators, terminals, electrolyte and a case  or enclosure. For
automotive applications there are different types of cells used [1]:

Image: Different shapes of Lithium-ion battery cells

Credit: [1]

Individual battery cells are grouped together into a single mechanical and
electrical unit called a battery module. The modules are electrically Recent Comments
connected to form a battery pack.

There are several types of batteries (chemistry) used in hybrid and electric Filiph Sandberg on Air-fuel
ratio, lambda and engine
vehicle propulsion systems but we are going to consider only Lithium-ion
performance
cells. The main reason is that Li-ion batteries have higher speci c energy
[Wh/kg] and speci c power [W/kg] compared with other types [2]. Carmen on How to calculate
the number of wires for a fully
meshed network

Dr K V B RAJAKUMAR on How
to solve an ordinary
differential equation (ODE) in
Scilab

Ramanatha on EV design –
introduction
 TST on Air-fuel ratio, lambda
and engine performance

Image: Ragone diagram cell level adapted from Van Den Bossche 2009
Credit: [2]

The voltage level of the battery determines the maximum electrical power
which can be delivered continuously. Power P [W] is the product between
voltage U [V] and current I [A]:

P = U ⋅ I (1)

The higher the current, the bigger the diameter of the high voltage wires
and the higher the thermal losses. For this reason, the current should be
limited to a maximum and the nominal power obtained by having a higher
voltage. For our application we are going to consider a nominal voltage of
400 V.

In the article  EV design – energy consumption we have calculated the

average energy consumption for propulsion Ep as being 137.8 Wh/km on
WLTC drive cycle. On top of the energy needed for propulsion, the high
voltage battery must supply the energy for the vehicle’s auxiliary devices Patreon
Eaux [Wh/km], like: 12 V electrical system, heating, cooling, etc. Also, we
have to consider the e ciency of the powertrain ηp  [-] during the
conversion from electrical energy to mechanical energy.

E avg = (E p + E aux ) ⋅ (2– ηp ) (2)

For the auxiliary devices energy consumption we are going to use data
from [3], which contains the typical power requirements of some
common  vehicle electrical components (auxiliary loads). The prolonged
electrical loads  (headlights, multimedia, etc.) and intermittent loads
(heater, brake lights, wipers, etc.) use on average 430 W of electrical power.
The duration of the WLTC cycle is 1800 s (0.5 h), which gives an energy of
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Individual battery cells may be grouped in parallel and / or series as

Terms and Conditions
modules. Further,  battery modules can be connected in parallel and / or
series to create a battery pack. Depending on the battery parameters, there
may be several levels of modularity.

The total battery pack voltage is determined by the number of cells in

series. For example, the total (string) voltage of 6 cells connected in series
will be the sum of their individual voltage.

Image: Battery cells string

In order to increase the current capability the battery capacity, more strings
have to be connected in parallel. For example, 3 strings connected in
parallel will triple the capacity and current capability of the battery pack.

Image: Battery cell strings in parallel

The high voltage battery pack of Mitsubishi i-MiEV consists of 22 modules
made up from 88 cells connected in series. Each module contains 4
prismatic cells. The voltage of each cell is 3.7 V and the total voltage of the
battery pack 330 V.

Image: Battery pack (modules and cells)

Credit: Mitsubishi

Another example is the high voltage battery pack of Tesla Model S, which
has:

74 cells in a parallel group

6 groups in series for a module
16 modules in series
7104 cells in total

Image: Tesla Model S battery pack

Credit: Tesla

Battery pack calculation

In order to chose what battery cells our pack will have, we’ll analyse several
battery cells models available on the market. For this example we are going
to focus only on Lithium-ion cells. The input parameters of the battery cells
are summarised in table below.

Note: Since battery cells manufacturers come up with newer models

continuously, it might be the case that the data used in this example is
obsolete. This is less important since the aim or the article is to explain
how the calculation is done. The same method can be applied for any other
battery cells.

Manufacturer Panasonic A123-Systems Molicel A123- Toshiba Koka

Systems

Type cylindrical cylindrical cylindrical pouch pouch pouc

Model NCR18650B ANR26650m1- ICR- 20Ah 20Ah SLPB757

B 18650K

Source [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Length [m] 0.0653 0.065 0.0652 0 0 0

Diameter [m] 0.0185 0.026 0.0186 0 0 0

Height [m] 0 0 0 0.227 0.103 0.27

Width [m] 0 0 0 0.16 0.115 0.08

Thickness 0 0 0 0.00725 0.022 0.007

[m]

Mass [kg] 0.0485 0.076 0.05 0.496 0.51 0.31

Capacity [Ah] 3.2 2.5 2.6 19.5 20 15.6

Voltage [V] 3.6 3.3 3.7 3.3 2.3 3.6

C-rate (cont.) 1 10 1 1 1 2

C-rate (peak) 1 24 2 10 1 3

Based on the cell parameters provided by the manufacturers, we can

calculate the energy content, volume, gravimetric density and  volumetric
density for each cell.

The volume of each cell is calculated as:

cylindrical cells, Vcc [m3]

 2
πD
bc
Vcc = ⋅ L bc (1)
4

where:
Dbc [m] – battery cell diameter

Lbc [m] – battery cell length

pouch cells, Vpc [m3]

Vpc = Hbc ⋅ Wbc ⋅ Tbc (2)

where:
Hbc [m] – battery cell height

Wbc [m] – battery cell width

Tbc [m] – battery cell thickness

The battery cell energy Ebc [Wh] is calculated as:

E bc = Cbc ⋅ U bc (3)

where:
Cbc [Ah] – battery cell capacity

Ubc [V] – battery cell voltage

The battery cell energy density is calculated as:

volumetric energy density, uV [Wh/m3]

E bc
uV = (4)
Vcc(pc)

gravimetric energy density, uG [Wh/kg]

E bc
uG = (5)
mbc

where:
mbc [kg] – battery cell mass

The energy density for each cells are summarised in the table below.

Manufacturer Panasonic A123-Systems Molicel A123- Toshiba Ko

Systems

Type cylindrical cylindrical cylindrical pouch pouch po

Model NCR18650B ANR26650m1- ICR- 20Ah 20Ah SLPB7
B 18650K

Energy [Wh] 11.52 8.25 9.62 64.35 46 56

Volume [l] 0.017553 0.034510 0.017716 0.263320 0.260590 0.17

Energy 237.53 108.55 192.40 129.74 90.20 17

density
gravimetric
[Wh/kg]

Energy 656.31 239.06 543.01 244.38 176.52 3

density
volumetric
[Wh/l]

In order to have a better overview of the cells parameters and to compare

them easier, the main  parameters are displayed as bar graphs in the
images below.

Image: Battery cell voltage Image: Battery cell capacity

Image: Battery cell volumetric energy density Image: Battery cell gravime
With the above cell parameters and the core requirements for the battery
(nominal voltage,  average energy consumption and  vehicle range),
we calculate the main parameters of the high voltage battery.

The required battery pack total energy Ebp [Wh] is calculated as the
product between the  average energy consumption Eavg [Wh/km]
and  vehicle range Dv [km]. For this example we’ll design the high voltage
battery pack for a vehicle range of 250 km.

E bp = E avg ⋅ Dv = 161.7451 ⋅ 250 = 40436.275 Wh = 40.44 

The following calculations are going to be performed for each cell type. For
this example we are going to consider that the battery pack is made up
only from several strings connected in parallel.

The number of battery cells connected in series Ncs [-] in a string is

calculated by dividing the nominal battery pack voltage Ubp [V] to the
voltage of each battery cell Ubc [V].  The number of strings must be an
integer. Therefore, the result of the calculation is rounded to the higher
integer.

U bp
N cs = (7)
U bc

The energy content of a string Ebs [Wh] is equal with the product between
the number of battery cells connected in series Ncs [-] and the energy of a
battery cell Ebc [Wh].

E bs = N cs ⋅ E bc (8)

The total number of strings of the battery pack Nsb [-] is calculated by
dividing the battery pack total energy  Ebp [Wh] to the  energy content of a
string Ebs [Wh]. The number of strings must be an integer. Therefore, the
result of the calculation is rounded to the higher integer.

E bp
N sb = (9)
E bs

We can now recalculate the battery pack total energy  Ebp [Wh] as the
product between number of strings Nsb [-] and the energy content of each
string Ebs [Wh].

E bp = N sb ⋅ E bs (10)
The battery pack capacity Cbp [Ah] is calculated as the product between
the number of strings Nsb [-] and the capacity of the battery cell Cbc [Ah].

Cbp = N sb ⋅ Cbc (11)

The total number of cells of the battery pack Ncb [-] is calculated as the
product between the number of strings Nsb [-] and the number of cells in a
string Ncs [-].

N cb = N sb ⋅ N cs (12)

The size and mass of the high voltage battery are very important parameter
to consider when designing a battery electric vehicle (BEV). In this example
we are going to caclulate the volume of the battery pack considering only
the battery cells. In reality there are other factors to consider, like:
electronic circuits, cooling circuit, battery casing, wiring, etc.

The battery pack mass (cells only) mbp [kg] is the product between the
total number of cells Ncb [-] and the mass of each battery cell mbc [kg].

mbp = N cb ⋅ mbc (13)

The volume of the battery pack (cells only)  Vbp [m3] is the product
between the total number of cells Ncb [-] and the mass of each battery cell

Vcc(pc) [m3]. This volume is only used to estimate the nal volume of the
battery pack, since it does not take into account the auxiliary
components/systems of the battery.

Vbp = N cb ⋅ Vcc(pc) (14)

The volume can be also calculated function of number of strings and

number of cells in a string. This calculation method is more appropriate for
cylindrical cell, since the volume occupied by a cylindrical cell must take
into account the air gap between cells.

The string peak current Ispc [A] is the product between the peak C-rate of

the battery cell C-ratebcp [h-1] and the battery cell capacity Cbc [Ah].

I spc = C-ratebcp ⋅ Cbc (15)

The battery pack peak current Ibpp [A] is the product between the string
peak current Ispc [A] and the number of strings of the battery pack Nsb [-].

I bpp = I spc ⋅ N sb (16)

The battery pack peak power Pbpp [W] is the product between battery pack
peak current Ibpp [A] and the battery pack voltage Ubp [V].

Pbpp = I bpp ⋅ U bp (17)

The string continuous current Iscc [A] is the product between the

continuous C-rate of the battery cell C-ratebcc  [h-1] and the battery cell
capacity Cbc [Ah].

I scc = C-ratebcc ⋅ Cbc (18)

The battery pack continuous current Ibpc [A] is the product between the
string continuous current Iscc [A] and the number of strings of the battery
pack Nsb [-].

I bpc = I scc ⋅ N sb (19)

The battery pack continuous power  Pbpc [W] is the product between
battery pack continuous current Ibpc [A]  and the battery pack voltage Ubp
[V].

Pbpc = I bpc ⋅ U bp (20)

The results of the equations (7) to (20) are summarised in the table below.

Manufacturer Panasonic A123- Molicel A123- Toshiba Kokam

Systems Systems

# of cells in string 112 122 109 122 174 112

[-]

String energy [Wh] 1290 1007 1049 7851 8004 6290

# of strings [-] 32 41 39 6 6 7

BP energy [kWh] 41.29 41.27 40.89 47.10 48.02 44.03

BP capacity [Ah] 102.4 102.5 101.4 117 120 109.2

# total cells [-] 3584 5002 4251 732 1044 784

BP mass [kg]* 173.8 380.2 212.6 363.1 532.4 248.5

BP volume [l]* 63 173 75 193 272 135

BP peak current [A] 102.4 2460 202.8 1170 120 327.6

BP peak power 40.96 984 81.12 468 48 131.04

[kW]
 Image: Battery pack total number of cells

Image: Battery pack mass (cells only) Image: Battery pack volume

Because of the low capacity for the cylindrical cells, compared to the
pouch cells, the number of cells required for the battery pack is signi cant
higher. A high number of cells might cause additional problems in areas of
wiring, voltage monitoring, battery reliability.

The mass and volume are calculated only at cell level, taking into account
the cell dimensions and mass. The battery pack which will be in the vehicle
will have additional components (wires, electronic components, soldering,
case, etc.), which will increase both the nal volume and
mass. Nevertheless by looking only at cell based volume and mass, we can
estimate which model will  be better compared to the other.  In terms of
mass and volume there is no clear distinction between cylindrical and
pouch cells.  However it seems that a battery pack with pouch cells is
slightly heavier and bigger.
   Ebc [Wh] Vbc [l] uVbc [Wh/l] uGbc
[Wh/kg]

Battery Pack Performance

# cells / # strings # cells Es [Wh] Ebp [kWh]

string

mbp [kg] Vbp [l] Ibpp [A] Pbpp [kW] Ibpc [A] P

References:
[1]  Mooy, Robert & Aydemir, Muhammed & Seliger, Günther. (2017).
Comparatively Assessing different Shapes of Lithium-ion Battery Cells.
Procedia Manufacturing. 8. 104-111. 10.1016/j.promfg.2017.02.013.
[2] Bernardini, Annalia & Barrero, Ricardo & Macharis, Cathy & Van Mierlo,
Joeri. (2015). Technological solutions aiming at recovering metro braking
energy: a multi-criteria analysis case study. BDC – Bollettino del Centro
Calza Bini – Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II. 14. 301-325.
10.6092/2284-4732/2929.
[3]  Tom Denton,  Automobile Electrical and Electronic Systems, Third
edition. Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2004, page 129.
[4] https://industrial.panasonic.com/
[5] http://www.a123systems.com/
[6] http://www.molicel.com/
[7] http://www.a123systems.com/
[8] http://www.toshiba.com/
[9] http://www.kokam.com/
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5 Comments

BASAVRAJ S AWATIGER 

How to calculate nominal battery voltage(Ubp)?

sridharan 

Energy density of each cell, Volumetric and gravitational energy density are
to swapped. That is instead of Volumetric energy density it should be
Gravitational energy density.

Dev 

Can you please mention the source for all equations.

frank dsouza 

the equations are not readable. how can i view those as they are?

Anthony Stark

The equations should be readable. Check your browser Javascript

settings or try a different browser.

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215 Wh for the auxiliary loads. If we divide it to the length of the WLTC
driving cycle (23.266 km), we get an average energy consumption for the
auxiliary loads Eaux of 9.241 Wh/km.

Even if Wh/km is not really energy but factorised energy, since it’s dived per
unit of distance (km), for simplicity, we are going to refer to it as average
energy.

The direct current (DC) supplied by the battery is converted into alternated
current (AC) by the inverter. This conversion is taking place with an
associated loss. Also, the electric motor and driveline have some losses
which we need to consider. For this exercise we are going to use an
average e ciency ηp of 0.9 from the battery to the wheel.

Replacing the values in (2) gives the average energy consumption:

E avg = (137.8 + 9.241) ⋅ 1.1 = 161.7451 Wh/km Recent Posts

The battery pack will be designed for an average energy consumption of
161.7451 Wh/km. What is a Hybrid Electric
Vehicle (HEV) ?
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All high voltage battery packs are made up from battery cells arranged in forces

strings and modules. A battery cell can be regarded as the smallest How to calculate friction force
division of the voltage.
Modeling and simulation of a
vehicle with automatic
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Xcos
 BP continuous 102.4 1025 101.4 117 120 218.4
current [A]

BP continuous 40.96 410 40.56 46.8 48 87.36

power [kW]

BP – battery pack
* – taking into account only battery cells

From the table data we can see that the pouch type cell have better
energy content and higher capacity compared with the cylindrical cells.

The same results can be plotted in bar graphs for an easier comparison
between the different types of battery cells.

Image: Battery pack energy Image: Battery pack capaci

The battery cells manufactured by A123-Systems have very high maximum
continuous discharge current and maximum pulse (peak) discharge
current. As for energy and capacity, the pouch type cells have higher peak
(continuous) current and power than cylindrical cells.

Based on the calculated data and conclusions, we can choose which

battery cells are suitable for our electric vehicle battery pack. From our
examples it looks like Kokam cells have the best compromise between
mass, volume and energy/power density.

All the parameters, equations, results and plots are implemented in a Scilab
(*.sce) le. For download please subscribe to the Patreon page.

You can also check your results using the calculator below.

EV Battery Calculator (on-line)

Vehicle range Average energy Nominal batter

consumption

Dv [km] 250 Eavg 161.7451 Ubp [V]

[Wh/km]

Cell type Lbc [m] Dbc [m] Hbc [m] Wbc [m]

Cylind 0.0653 0.0185 0 0

  mbc [kg] Cbc [Ah] Ubc [V] C-ratebcc [-] C

0.0485 3.2 3.6 1

Calculate

Battery Cell Performance