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org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

48V 15AH BATTERY MODULE DESIGN FOR

ELECTRIC BIKE USING LI-ION NMC21700
BATTERY
1
Yosua Alvin Adi Soetrisno, 2,*Eko Handoyo, 3Denis
1
Lecturer, 2Lecturer, 3Lecturer
1
Department of Electrical Engineering,
1
Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia

Abstract: Recently, Electric Vehicles (EVs) have begun to be produced massively; one of them is electric bikes. Many people
choose electric bikes because they are cheap, environmentally friendly, and healthy vehicles. One of the essential components in
electric bikes is the battery, which is the source of electrical energy for electric bikes. However, most batteries used in the electric
bike on the market have a relatively small capacity. In addition, many people also prefer to convert their bicycles to electric bikes.
Assembling the battery module to know the structure is one solution for the two cases above. This research aims to explain the
steps in designing a 48V 15Ah battery module for an electric bike using a Lithium-ion NMC21700 battery with a voltage of 3.6V
and a capacity of 5Ah with dimensions of Ø21.25×70.8 mm. The expected output power of the battery pack is 720Wh. The
process of battery assembly is ended with the welding process. The welding process connects all the battery cells to get the total
voltage of 48 V with the power supply 15Ah. The total voltage gained is 47,1 V, near 48 V. The configuration to connect each
battery cell from the calculation and measurement is closed, so we can consider that the welding process is done well.

IndexTerms - electric bicycle, lithium-ion battery, battery module design

I. INTRODUCTION
The supply of fossil fuels is declining in step with the times. If it runs out, it will undoubtedly significantly influence various
industries, including the automobile sector. As a result, numerous vehicle manufacturers are beginning to create electric vehicles to
prepare for this. Electric cars are environmentally favourable since they do not emit carbon emissions and eliminate fossil fuels.
Bikes are one form of vehicle that people are interested. Bikes are not only inexpensive, but they are also an environmentally
responsible mode of transportation. Electric bikes and regular bikes are enjoyable by every class of the economic level of the
citizen exclusively to get immune up in the pandemic situation.
However, one of the issues with most electric bikes on the market is that the battery is a form of VRLA (Valve Regulated Lead
Acid) with a small capacity. As a result, assembling the battery module by yourself is one way to improve battery capacity. A
lithium-ion battery is employed in this design, which has a better energy density than the VRLA type (Lam et al. 2007). Therefore,
research was carried out at the National Battery Research Institute (NBRI) to search for the problem in VRLA type batteries and
apply the solution.
This research aims to assemble a battery module for electric vehicles following Standard Operating Procedures and gain
realistic battery configuration and characteristics during the charging mechanism. The battery used is a Li-ion NMC 21700 battery.
The testing voltage of each battery cell is at a nominal voltage (3.6 V) and maximum voltage (4.2 V). The research doesn't test
battery consumption on electric bikes in real-time. The assembly process is ended with welding testing to ensure that the connected
cell gives the correct result and is near the target total of the battery capacity, which is 48 V and 15 Ah. The testing result of the
battery's total voltage showed 47,1 V and could be inserted into electric bikes.

II. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Besides pedalling, electric bikes can also be run by using an electric motor as a driving force. An electric bicycle is a bicycle
equipped with an electric motor. The electric motor is connected to the battery to drive the wheels. The bike's speed is controlled by
a controller connected to the gas throttle (Xing, Leard, and Li 2021).
Batteries are energy sources that can convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy, used as in electronic devices.
Almost all portable electronic devices, such as cell phones, laptop computers, and remote control toys, use batteries as a power
source. Electronic devices need a battery to be switched on without connecting a power cord to an electrical terminal, making them
easy to carry anywhere.
Each battery consists of a positive terminal (cathode), a negative terminal (anode), and an electrolyte that acts as a conductor.
The output current by the battery is direct current or also known as DC (direct current). There are two main types of batteries,
namely primary batteries (primary batteries) that can only be used once and secondary batteries that can be recharged (rechargeable
batteries) (Wang, Yu, and Feng 2021).
Secondary batteries are divided into several types, including the following:
1. Lead Acid Battery
Lead Acid Batteries use lead-acid as their chemical.
2. Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) Batteries
Ni-MH batteries use hydrogen ions to store energy and are composed of nickel and other metals such as titanium.
3. Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery
Li-ion batteries use an intercalated lithium compound as the electrode material.
4. Lithium Polymer (Li-Po) Battery

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Li-Po batteries are almost the same as Li-ion batteries, but Li-Po batteries use a dry polymer electrolyte shaped like a thin film
of plastic.
The type of battery used in this research is a Li-ion battery, which is used in electric bikes.
Li-ion batteries are divided into several types based on their constituent chemical compounds. Here are six types of Li-ion
batteries based on the chemical compounds used:
• LCO (Lithium Cobalt Oxide), using the chemical compound LiCoO2.
• LMO (Lithium Manganese Oxide), using the chemical compound LiMn2O4.
• NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide), using the chemical compound LiNiMnCoO2.
• LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate), using the chemical compound LiFePO4.
• NCA (Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide), using the chemical compound LiNiCoAlO2.
• LTO (Lithium Titanate), using the chemical compound Li4Ti5O12.
Li-ion batteries work based on a concept related to metals called electrochemical potential. According to the electrochemical
series, Lithium has the highest electron loss tendency, which is why Lithium is used in Li-ion batteries. In its pure atomic form,
Lithium is a reactive metal. But when Lithium is combined with metal oxides, Lithium becomes relatively stable. Fig. 1 explain the
process of using a lithium-ion battery.

Fig. 1 Lithium-ion Batteries Working Process

When the cell is connected to a power source (charge state), the positive side of the power source will attract and eject electrons
from the lithium atoms in the metal oxide. These electrons flow through the external circuit because they cannot flow through the
electrolyte until they reach the graphite layer. Meanwhile, positively charged lithium ions will be attracted to the negative terminal
and flow through the electrolyte until they get the graphite layer. When all the lithium ions have reached the graphite, the cell is
fully charged.
Meanwhile, when the cell is connected to a load (discharge state), lithium ions tend to return to their stable condition, namely as
part of metal oxides. Due to this tendency, the lithium ions move back through the electrolyte, while the electrons will flow through
the load, creating an electric current that flows through the electric system load. The following table compares the characteristics of
Li-ion batteries with several rechargeable batteries (Kawahara et al. 2021).
Table 1: Battery Specification
Specification SLA NiMH Li-ion
Life Cycle 200-300 300-500 500-1000
Energy Density 30-50 60-120 150-190
Self- 5% 20% <10%
Discharge/month
Fast-Charge Time 8-16h 2-4h 2-4h
Cell Voltage 2V 1.2V 3.6V
Battery Management System (BMS) is an electronic module that monitors and manages battery performance (especially lithium
batteries). BMS has an essential role in keeping the battery performance the same as before, even though it has been used for a long
time. BMS used in a battery module usually adjusts to the number of series circuits of the battery module. For example, a battery
module with 13S specifications, then BMS with specifications for 13S, is also used. The following are the features of BMS (Gao et
al. 2021).
• Charge balancing
• Active balancing
• Temperature monitoring (temperature monitoring)
• Low-voltage cut-off
• State of Charge (SOC) monitoring
III. METHODOLOGY
3.1 Battery Module Design
In this research design, the battery module will have specifications with a voltage of 48V and a capacity of 15Ah, so it has a
power of 720Wh. These specifications were chosen because they have an enormous ability even though they are small so that the
bicycle can travel long distances, but the bike remains light.
One cell NMC21700 li-ion battery has a working voltage of ±3.70V and a capacity of ±5Ah. It takes about 13 cells in series and
3 in parallel to make a 48v and 15Ah battery module. The configuration of the battery modules will be arranged in parallel first,
then in series, as shown in Fig. 2.

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Fig. 2 Battery Module Configuration

Battery configurations that are connected directly in parallel first and then joined in series are more resistant to changes in
battery capacity. The results of (Baronti et al. 2014) research indicate that the series connection of the parallel battery provides the
best configuration topology because it maximizes the capacity of the battery module.
3.2 Measuring the Internal Resistance Value and Voltage of Each Battery Cell
Measuring the internal resistance value is essential when assembling a battery module configuration, especially for parallel
connections. In the (Gogoana et al. 2014) research, it was found that a 20% difference in internal resistance between two batteries
connected in parallel resulted in a lifetime reduction of about 40%. Different from Gogoana research, this research uses 85 batteries
that were measured. Fig.3 shows the results of internal resistance and battery voltage measurements in the diagram.

Fig. 3 Diagram of Inner Resistance and Battery Voltage

3.3 Stringing Battery Module Series and Parallel Configuration
Batteries are connected in parallel to get a higher capacity or in series to get a higher voltage. The calculation below takes about
13 cells in series and 3 in parallel for a battery module with 48V and 15Ah specification using a Li-ion NMC21700 battery.
NMC21700 battery has a voltage specification of 3.6V and a capacity of 5Ah per cell.
The batteries, then, are arranged so that the total resistance values of each parallel configuration are close to each other. The
following table shows the arrangement of the battery module configurations according to the results of the internal resistance
measurement with the number of each cell.
Table 2: Battery Configuration as the Battery Number

The total resistance value of each parallel configuration is 262.366, 262.443, and 262.358. The difference in the total resistance
value between each similar structure is less than 1%. Thus, the battery module configuration will look like the one shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 Diagram of Inner Resistance and Battery Voltage

After obtaining the configuration, the battery is assembled on top of the battery holder. The use of this battery holder is intended
to keep the battery arrangement neat and so that there is less space between the battery cells.

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3.4 Welding Battery Module Using Spot Welding Machine
Next, the batteries are connected using a welding process. Welding is the process of connecting batteries using nickel plates.
The welding process uses a unique tool called a spot welding machine. When welding, it is recommended to add a little nickel to
the end of each series. Little nickel used to provide convenience in connecting the battery module with the BMS later.
After the welding process is complete, the battery module voltage is measured to find out if a battery is not connected.
Measurements were made using a multimeter, starting from the first series, cumulative to the thirteenth series. In Table 4.2, the
measurement results are presented.
Table 3: Cumulative Voltage Measurement compared to Theoritical Voltage
Measured
Serial Configuration Theoritical Voltage (V)
Voltage (V)
S1 3,6 3,61
S1,2 7,2 7,22
S1,2,3 10,8 10,82
S1,2,3,4 14,4 14,47
S1,2,3,4,5 18 18,2
S1,2,3,4,5,6 21,6 21,66
S1,2,3,4,5,6,7 25,2 25,3
S1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 28,8 28,88
S1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 32,4 32,45
S1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 36 36,2
S1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 39,6 39,7
S1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 43,2 43,4
S1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13 46,8 47,0
From the table above, it can be seen that as the measured series configuration increases, the measurement shows an increasing
value, so it can be concluded that the welding process is going well. The next step is to connect the battery module with the BMS.
This research used BMS with 13S and 48V specifications. Fig. 5 shows the part of a battery management system that would be
connected with the battery.

Fig. 5 Part of Battery Management System 13S 48V

As shown in Fig. 5, parts of the BMS are parts, namely P-, B-, and B0 to B13. The BMS configuration for the battery module is
as follows. P- is connected to the negative output B- and B0 is connected to the negative pole of the battery module. B1-B13 are
connected to each positive knob of each series configuration on the battery module.

Fig. 6 Battery Management System connection with Battery Module

Next, we connect the module with the XT60 cable and the DC female jack cable. The XT60 cable will later be connected to the
controller on the electric bikes, and the female DC jack cable will be connected to the charger when recharging. For the
configuration, P- is connected to the negative pole of the XT60 cable and the DC female jack cable. The first positive pole of the
series configuration of the battery module is connected to the positive knob of the second cable.
The last step is to cover the entire battery using PVC Wrap Heat Shrink. This step is intended to make the battery more awake
and avoid unwanted events from the outside. After the assembly process is complete, the total voltage of the battery module is
measured. After measuring the results, we obtained a voltage measurement of 47.0V.

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IV. CONCLUSION
1. Measuring the voltage and internal resistance of the batteries that will be assembled into modules is a critical process in the
design of the battery module to obtain a more durable battery module.
2. The series and parallel configuration of a battery module are exceptionally influential on the total capacity of the resulting battery
module.
3. In assembling a battery module, paying attention to the sequence of assembly steps is necessary to keep it safe during the
assembly process and get good results.
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