Graduation Semester and Year
Summer 2025
Language
English
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering
Department
Electrical Engineering
First Advisor
Dr. David Wetz
Second Advisor
Dr. Alexander Johnston
Third Advisor
Dr. Wei-Jen Lee
Abstract
The growing demand for high-power energy storage systems in applications such as artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, industrial backup systems, and grid-level stabilization efforts presents new challenges in technology selection. These loads have a uniquely high continuous or transient power demand that can impact the stability of the electric grid. To mitigate these challenges, energy storage in the form of batteries or supercapacitors has been proposed either as stand-alone or as intelligently controlled grid buffering sources. These same types of energy storage are commonly found in electric vehicles (EV) where they must respond to abrupt throttle and braking behavior, similar to the operational scenarios where transient high power is needed for grid buffering applications. In an EV, battery safety and lifetime are paramount to prevent the user from having to replace it. Since heat is a major driver of battery aging, EV batteries and consumer electronic devices are often operated at low C rates to avoid the heating induced by the high I2R that occur when high currents are supplied. Though similar lifetime demands exist outside of EV applications, the ability to operate batteries at higher C rates and reduce the size of the battery in stationary, land-based power systems may warrant more frequent replacement. Custom designed batteries, especially ones that are intended to be operated at high C rates, are expensive and often require a customized design. Because the high demand for EV batteries is driving today’s battery market, it makes sense to find ways to use those batteries outside of EV applications. The study of EV batteries in use cases outside of a vehicle setting are not well documented and neither is operation at the full rates that they are capable of. The effort described here evaluates the suitability of EV batteries for supplying high-power applications through performance characterization at the cell, module, and battery levels. EV battery units were procured and characterized to study the electrical and thermal behavior when they are operated at multiple C rates, ranging from low to high. The intent is to map the power and energy density of each energy storage device across its usable C rates. The results demonstrate the ability, or inability, of EV batteries to source high power loads. The study is not intended to produce concrete conclusions but rather to present technical information for the reader so that they can understand the feasibility of using EV battery systems to address their own emerging high- power and energy demands. The data is not representative of all available EV batteries on the market but provides a sub-set on which the reader can consider.
Keywords
Characterization, C rate, EV battery, Electric vehicle, Nmc, Lfp, High power
Disciplines
Electrical and Computer Engineering | Power and Energy
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Manker, Maxton K., "Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Batteries for Enabling High Power Loads" (2025). Electrical Engineering Theses. 397.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/electricaleng_theses/397