To be honest, we all have energy storage issues. How do we keep going after getting winded from walking up ten flights of stairs? Where is that additional kick coming from to complete our destination? How do we find our stored energy?
On a technological scale, engineers face the same issues when it comes to designing power management systems. When the initial power is made, engineers must develop energy storage solutions to maintain stability for continued reliability.
Renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydro can be captured on a grid-level energy storage system. These energy sources then must be stored and ultimately managed for on-demand distribution. Using a more familiar example, it's the same with electric and hybrid vehicles—power is captured, stored, and then used at the push of a button.
For design engineers, lower-scale solutions can be as simple as battery connectors for modular energy storage cabinets, deploying electric double-layer storage capacitors (EDLCs), or dutifully testing and monitoring batteries with evaluation tools.
In this week's New Tech Tuesdays, we'll look at new products from HARTING, Vishay / BC Components, and Renesas Electronics that address energy storage solutions.
HARTING Han® S Modular Battery Storage Connectors are designed for modular energy storage cabinets. The single-pole connectors with flexible hoods have up to 200A and 1,500V rating. These compact connectors are designed for easy installation with safety locking features. The angled-plug connections can be installed on the front of a module in a storage cabinet rather than the legacy rear-mount method for easy pivoting. The design also complies with the latest standards for stationary energy storage systems, including UL 4128.
Vishay / BC Components 220 EDLC ENYCAP™ Capacitors are double layer energy storage capacitors with available power and energy versions. These polarized high capacity and energy density capacitors carry a 2.7V rating and are available in a through-hole (radial) version. They feature rapid charge and discharge capabilities, are maintenance-free, and are AEC-Q200 qualified. The ENYCAP capacitors are ideal for applications such as power backup, burst power support, storage devices for energy harvesting, micro-UPS power source, and energy recovery.
Renesas Electronics RTKA489204DK0000BU Battery Manager Evaluation Kit facilitates testing of the RAA489204 Li-ion battery pack analog front-end ICs. The RAA489204 can be used to monitor cell voltage, temperature, cell balance control, and has significant fault detection capabilities. The eval kit supports both stand-alone and daisy-chained configurations to test systems with up to 420 cells while providing robust board-to-board communications. The evaluation kit includes a resistor divider power supply board for cell voltage generation.
Renewable energy storage systems can be difficult to design. An energy source must be captured, stored, and then managed for on-demand distribution. Design engineers now have a variety of products available for connecting, testing, and evaluating their energy storage solutions, including the HARTING Han S Modular Battery Storage Connectors, the Vishay / BC Components 220 EDLC ENYCAP Capacitors, and the Renesas Electronics RTKA489204DK0000BU Battery Manager Evaluation Kit.
Tommy Cummings is a freelance writer/editor based in Texas. He's had a journalism career that has spanned more than 40 years. He contributes to Texas Monthly and Oklahoma Today magazines. He's also worked at The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, San Francisco Chronicle, and others. Tommy covered the dot-com boom in Silicon Valley and has been a digital content and audience engagement editor at news outlets. Tommy worked at Mouser Electronics from 2018 to 2021 as a technical content and product content specialist.