Model-Agnostic Energy Throughput Control for Range and Lifetime Extension of Electric Vehicles via Cell-Level Inverters

TL;DR

This paper introduces a cell-level inverter topology and a model-agnostic control strategy that enhances electric vehicle range and battery lifetime by intelligently managing energy throughput based on cell health.

Contribution

It proposes a novel cell-level inverter and a SOC-SOH-aware control method that extends EV range and battery life without relying on specific degradation models.

Findings

Simulations show 7-38% lifetime improvement over baseline.

The control strategy balances SOC and SOH to optimize energy use.

Results are consistent across different battery chemistries and profiles.

Abstract

A conventional electric vehicle (EV) powertrain relies on a centralized high-voltage DC-AC inverter, thereby limiting cell-level control and potentially reducing overall driving range and battery lifetime. This paper studies an H-bridge-based cell-level inverter topology that performs power conversion at the cell level, enabling independent control of individual cells and expanding the design space for battery management. Leveraging these additional degrees of freedom, we propose a model-agnostic energy-throughput control strategy that extends EV range while improving battery-pack lifetime. Because usable energy (and thus driving range) and lifetime are governed by the cells with the lowest state-of-charge (SOC) and state-of-health (SOH), respectively, the proposed controller preferentially routes energy throughput to healthier cells. Specifically, during charging, it permits cell SOCs to diverge to promote SOH equalization; during discharging, it rebalances SOC to maximize usable capacity under per-cell constraints. The proposed SOC-SOH-aware control strategy is evaluated on two aging models representing lithium manganese oxide and lithium iron phosphate chemistries, using a Tesla Model 3 charge-discharge profile across 14 different parameter settings. Simulations show a 7-38% improvement in lifetime relative to a conventional SOC-only balancing baseline. More broadly, the results suggest a software-defined pathway to extend EV pack life through routine charging, with minimal reliance on specific degradation models or discharge profiles.