BOSCo

Battery Optimisation System & Control

Project Summary

BOSCo provides intelligence to small scale battery systems to minimise energy costs for homes and small commercial applications. BOSCo is a smart charge controller for battery electricity storage systems with/without renewables for several leading batteries and inverter types. Key features are: usage profile prediction, electricity price forecasting, renewables generation prediction and optimal battery life management.

Main Objectives of Project

The recent announcement of the TESLA Powerwall has revolutionised the energy storage industry due a new price of $350/kWh of storage. The Battery Optimisation System & Control (BOSCo) is a smart charge controller for battery energy storage systems with/without renewables. Battery storage systems fill the gap of matching load and demand as well as provide an opportunity to reduce peak demand charges. The proposed device will enable intelligent operation of battery storage systems as opposed to traditional basic charging and discharging. It is a standalone device equipped with intelligent software system which will target typical battery storage modules with or without renewable energy technologies.

Nimbus Role

Collaborators

The team of engineers and researchers in Nimbus is responsible for all stages of the technologies development; software, hardware & project management.

The key work packages of the project include:

System optimization and control strategy
System Architecture and testing strategy
Testbed development – Build and test end-to-end system on trial rig for version 1 – initial prototype rig full software integration with the hardware
Controller hardware development – a cost-effective hardware platform which can manage the on-site electricity flow to the batteries on the DC side, computation for optimal operation, data storage and communications with a central service provider. This hardware system is developed in an iterative manner, and trialed on the Nimbus site.
Field Trials – the field trial aims to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the BOSCo controller in a domestic set-up where the model will adjust to actual energy consumption profiles. The experiments required a level of energy saving measures in place to facilitate the regulation of electricity imported from the grid and from a renewable source (solar).
Commercialisation – extensive commercial work will need to be done in order to promote and advertise the product through stakeholder engagements touching various sectors (energy, data, electronics, software, manufacturing etc.)