Model-based degradation assessment of lithium-ion batteries in a smart microgrid

Battery degradation is a complex physicochemical process that strongly depends on operating conditions and environment. We present a model-based analysis of lithium-ion battery degradation in smart microgrids, in particular, a single-family house and an office tract with photovoltaics generator. We use a multi-scale multi-physics model of a graphite/lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4, LFP) cell including SEI formation as ageing mechanism. The cell-level model is dynamically coupled to a system-level model consisting of photovoltaics, inverter, power consumption profiles, grid interaction, and energy management system, fed with historic weather data. The behavior of the cell in terms of degradation propensity, performance, state of charge and other internal states is predicted over an annual operation cycle. As result, we have identified a peak in degradation rate during the battery charging process, caused by charging overpotentials. Ageing strongly depends on the load situation, where the predicted annual capacity fade is 1.9 % for the single-family house and only 1.3 % for the office tract.