Custom R&D battery test rig
At Gelion
Gelion develops battery technology and needed an accurate, flexible rig to test new prototypes. The specified approach was an Allen-Bradley PLC with a proprietary SCADA package. For an R&D team whose tests keep changing, that had three problems.
Challenges
High cost
PLC hardware and SCADA licences, paid up front.
Vendor lock-in
A closed system that Gelion’s own team could not easily change for new tests.
Inflexible data
An on-premise system that did not connect easily to Gelion’s cloud data.
Solution
We offered to build it as specified, and also proposed a cheaper, more open alternative: industrial hardware for control and safety, with custom software on top. Gelion chose the second.
Industrial controls for safety
The core runs on industrial control hardware, so charge and discharge cycles run safely and unattended.
Custom software
A NodeJS application supervises the tests and provides a web dashboard, in place of a SCADA package.
Built for cloud data
Test data is logged to InfluxDB at high speed and pushed to AWS for long-term storage.
Results
40% lower cost
An estimated 40% saved up front against the PLC and SCADA licence option.
Fast changes
The first usable test controller was delivered in two weeks. New features typically took a week or two.
Unattended testing
Scheduled test sequences run unsupervised, around the clock.
Client testimonial
Göran Klingberg, Project Engineer - Renewable Energy
“Gelion approached ControlX Engineering to develop a battery test controller to be used for a custom development project. Alex was happy to provide the specified hardware and software solution according to our requirements, but he also suggested a more cost-effective and versatile open-source solution which would be easier for us to maintain and modify to meet future needs.
Alex and Thisara have an agile approach to system development, meeting milestone targets and being open and flexible to changing requirements. We continue working with ControlX with confidence in their expertise and collaborative approach to problem solving.”