ECE 332:418 CAPSTONE PROJECT ABSTRACT Spring 2014
Title: Making the Most Out of Second-Use Electric Vehicles Batteries with Efficient Energy
Management System.
Team Members: Jarek Roszko, Mohammad Khan, Ammar Saleem, and Nabil Ali
Introduction:
Electric vehicles (EV’s) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV’s) are gaining
popularity in the US and around the world because they are promoted as environmentally
friendly cars. Air pollution, record high gas prices, and dependence on foreign oil are pushing
sales growth of the EV’s and PHEV’s. Advertisements assure us of “zero emission” and the
question asked is no longer “why electric?” but “why gasoline?” While most electric car owners
consider themselves “green”, the process of mining for lithium and the production of these
batteries in reality is actually a less than “green” activity. In addition, the recycling process is
neither simple nor cheap.
Objective:
As this new market of electric cars is growing in popularity, Rutgers University sees an
opportunity for the second use of these “retired” batteries from the automotive industry. Surely
these “retired” Lithium-ion batteries can find use almost anywhere, but one application that
stands out most is in renewable energy such as solar or wind energy storage. The main objective
of our project is to monitor the overall health of the batteries vs. years of service with growing
demand for sustainable energy and its storage.
Design:
There are two parts of this project. In first part, which is Hardware, we planned the layout
of the physical Electronic materials, testing and creating the lithium ion battery banks and Load
Circuit. In second part, which is Software, we are using LabView software to measure and
monitor the Battery bank.