Real-time model predictive control for the optimal charging of a lithium-ion battery

Li-ion batteries are widely used in industrial applications due to their high energy density, slow material degradation, and low self-discharge. The existing advanced battery management systems (ABMs) in industry employ semiempirical battery models that do not use first-principles understanding to relate battery operation to the relevant physical constraints, which results in conservative battery charging protocols. This article proposes a Quadratic Dynamic Matrix Control (QDMC) approach to minimize the charge time of batteries to reach a desired state of charge (SOC) while taking temperature and voltage constraints into account. This algorithm is based on an input-output model constructed from a first-principles electrochemical battery model known in the literature as the pseudo two-dimensional (P2D) model. In simulations, this approach is shown to significantly reduce charging time.