SYSTEM AND METHOD OF UTILIZING DC-DC CONVERTERS TO IMPROVE POWER DENSITY AND IMPROVE BATTERY UTILIZATION

1 . An energy storage system, comprising:

a plurality of energy storage nodes, wherein each of the plurality of energy storage nodes includes a battery storage element;

a plurality of DC-DC converters connected in parallel, each of said plurality of DC-DC converters being connected to a corresponding one of the energy storage nodes; and

a controller coupled to the plurality of DC-DC converters and configured to execute a power balancing protocol including:

collecting and recording electrical data from each of the plurality of DC-DC converters,

calculating an average power output for the plurality of DC-DC converters based on the electrical data,

calculating a required change in a no-load voltage value for each of the plurality of DC-DC converters, and

updating the no-load voltage value for each of the plurality of DC-DC converters based on the calculated required change in the no-load voltage value for each of the plurality of DC-DC converters.

2 . The energy storage system of claim 1 , wherein the required change in the no-load voltage value for each of the plurality of DC-DC converters is calculated to eliminate a power variation by using a closed loop proportional integral (PI) controller.

3 . The energy storage system of claim 1 , wherein the no-load voltage value for each of the plurality of DC-DC converters is based on a no-load voltage in a droop curve.

4 . The energy storage system of claim 3 , wherein the no-load voltage value for each of the plurality of DC-DC converters is based on a no-load voltage defined as an output voltage value at zero output current in the droop curve.

5 . The energy storage system of claim 1 , further comprising power conversion systems configured to convert direct current into alternating current, wherein each of the plurality of DC-DC converters is connected between a corresponding one of the plurality of energy storage nodes and a corresponding one of the power conversion systems via a DC bus.

6 . The energy storage system of claim 5 , wherein the power balancing protocol further includes grouping the electrical data by groups of the plurality of DC-DC converters connected to the same power conversion system, and executing the power balancing protocol separately for each group of the plurality of DC-DC converters.

7 . The energy storage system of claim 6 , wherein the controller is configured to execute the power balancing protocol separately for all groups of the plurality of DC-DC converters.

8 . The energy storage system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of DC-DC converters is connected to a separate rack of a corresponding one of the plurality of energy storage nodes.

9 . The energy storage system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of DC-DC converters is arranged in an enclosure of a corresponding one of the plurality of energy storage nodes.

10 . The energy storage system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of data collection sensors configured to collect operational data.

11 . The energy storage system of claim 10 , wherein the operational data comprises the electrical data.

12 . The energy storage system of claim 11 , wherein the electrical data comprises at least one of current and voltage or power output of the power conversion system.

13 . A method, comprising:

connecting a plurality of parallel DC-DC converters to a plurality of energy storage nodes;

collecting and recording electrical data from each of the plurality of parallel DC-DC converters;

calculating an average power output for the plurality of parallel DC-DC converters based on the electrical data;

calculating a required change in a no-load voltage value for each of the plurality of parallel DC-DC converters; and

updating the no-load voltage value for each of the plurality of parallel DC-DC converters based on the calculated required change in the no-load voltage value for each of the plurality of parallel DC-DC converters.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the required change in the no-load voltage value for each of the plurality of DC-DC converters is calculated to eliminate a power variation by using a closed loop proportional integral (PI) controller.

15 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising connecting power conversion systems configured to convert direct current into alternating current, wherein each of the plurality of DC-DC converters is connected between a corresponding one of the plurality of energy storage nodes and a corresponding one of the power conversion systems via a DC bus.

16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising grouping the electrical data by groups of the plurality of parallel DC-DC converters connected to the same power conversion system.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising calculating the average power output and the required change in the no-load voltage value separately for each group of the plurality of parallel DC-DC converters.

18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising updating the no-load voltage value separately for each group of the plurality of parallel DC-DC converters based on the calculated required change in the no-load voltage value for each group of the plurality of parallel DC-DC converters.

19 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising operating the plurality of parallel DC-DC converters in a droop control mode.

20 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the no-load voltage value for each of the plurality of DC-DC converters is based on a no-load voltage in a droop curve.