Hybrid energy storage system with a low cost digital control

Hybrid energy storage systems can contribute to improve the performance of systems, as for instance, electric vehicles since several features can be implemented. A typical combination is to join batteries and supercapacitors taking advantage of the characteristics of both systems. This type of solution can constitute an effective contribution on shaving the power profile of the batteries, avoiding the current peaks or extending the batteries life time. These features depend on the features associated to the power converter usually used to connect batteries and supercapacitors. In addition, an energy management system and a robust and fast control are required. In this paper, the operating principle and results of a hybrid energy storage system based on a low cost digital control system are presented.