Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 June 2013
The application of magnetography as a novel method to determine the state of charge (SoC) of commercial Li-ion Batteries is reported. The method is non-invasive and nondestructive and suitable to be applied during normal operation. It is based on spatially resolved measurement of the magnetic field B, induced by the changing current flow during cycling. A standardized measurement setup and procedure for conventional AMR-sensors has been developed, offering high reproducibility (∼0.1%) and the chance to characterize the different spatial components of the magnetic field (Bx, By, Bz). The percentage deviation of the B-distributions for different SoCs for a given current load reveals significant differences. A change of B of up to 20% between SoCs of 90% and 10% is found. The influence of current density at different SoC reveals a constant magnetic susceptibility χ at low SoC and a field dependent χ at high SoC. Both effects are attributed to the change of the magnetic properties upon varying the amount of intercalated lithium in the transition metal (LixNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2) based intercalation cathode. The method can be used to provide an additional parameter for SoCestimation to battery management systems.