Time-Resolved and Robust Lithium Plating Detection for Automotive Lithium-Ion Cells with the Potential for Vehicle Application

Abstract

Fast charging is a key requirement for customer acceptance of battery electric vehicles. Fast charging of lithium-ion batteries is limited by lithium plating, an undesired side reaction that leads to rapid degradation and poses a potential safety hazard. In order to approach but not exceed the lithium plating current limit during fast charging, a variety of analytical tools have been developed to detect lithium plating. In this publication, we propose a new impedance-based method for the time-resolved detection of lithium plating. The proposed method was demonstrated with an integrated cell monitoring circuit capable of measuring the impedance during cell operation, bringing the feasibility of implementation in an automotive target application within reach. Importantly, the proposed method eliminates the temperature dependence which is an intrinsic problem for impedance-based lithium plating detection in automotive lithium-ion cells, thus making on-board plating detection feasible.