Experts are working on a ‘defence-grade cybersecure’ battery management system. 

The $1.46 million battery management system BMS project is jointly funded and developed by lithium-ion battery manufacturer Energy Renaissance with Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, and the Innovative Manufacturing CRC (IMCRC).

The system will monitor and report on batteries' usage, lifespan and faults through a mobile network to Energy Renaissance and their customers.

Communicating through an inverter, the system will enable secure real time data, analytics and remote management to drive down the risk of battery failure and operating costs for grid-scale energy storage users. 

A BMS is the ‘nerve centre’ of a battery. It can make batteries safer, more affordable and optimised to operate in high temperature environments. 

Brian Craighead from Energy Renaissance says the partnership is working on a secure system that could be used in “critical energy storage infrastructures”.

“Software designed and developed in Australia has a strong global reputation and we’ve built a history and track record as an industry,” Mr Craighead says.

“Through this project, we will demonstrate the advantage that Australian intellectual property can bring to a highly competitive energy storage market where a superior Battery Management System is critical for the operating efficiency of a battery.”

The collaboration has been seen as the latest step in establishing an Australian battery manufacturing sector. 

Energy Renaissance has a 4,500 sqm purpose-built facility in Tomago, NSW, to manufacture Australian-made batteries that are safe, secure, affordable and can perform in hot climates. The company is working on batteries to power stationary (grid and microgrid, renewables, community storage, mining electrification, Defence SilentWatch applications) and transport (buses, light commercial and industrial vehicles) applications.