Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Professor Jun-gyo Seo (Department of Secondary Battery Engineering) and his research team are undertaking the development of autonomous operation technology for energy storage systems (ESS) that can operate reliably in extreme environments.

The team announced on the 30th that it recently won a research contract from the Standards Research Headquarters of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) for "Analysis of Autonomous ESS Operation Technologies for Extreme Environments and Development of Control Procedures" and will begin technical development.

As climate change expands ESS installation environments into harsh conditions such as extreme heat and extreme cold, experts have pointed out limits to ensuring both safety and efficiency using traditional personnel-centered maintenance approaches alone. In particular, lithium-ion battery-based ESS can pose serious risks, including thermal runaway, if temperature control is inadequate. This has driven a sustained demand for autonomous operation technologies specialized for extreme environments.

To overcome these limitations, Professor Seo's team will first comprehensively analyze domestic and international ESS operation and control technologies and standards. They plan to systematically compare control technology differences between normal and extreme environments.

On that basis, they will establish ESS operating modes, control parameters, and decision criteria, and develop autonomous operation control procedures that reflect interconnection requirements among the Battery Management System (BMS), Power Management System (PMS), and Energy Management System (EMS).

They will also develop emergency operation measures to maintain ESS stability under extreme environmental conditions. These will include defining items such as protection-mode transitions and procedures for restarting after power restoration to respond to emergencies such as grid outages, grid disconnections, and communication failures.

Through this, the project aims to move beyond reactive, post-incident operations and establish a preventive ESS operation framework that manages risks in advance.

In particular, the research results are expected to be used to develop standard control procedures that secure both operational efficiency and safety of ESS in extreme environments. They are also expected to serve as essential foundational data for future enhancement of domestic and international ESS standards and certification systems.

Professor Jun-gyo Seo, the Principal Investigator (PI), stated, 'Securing autonomous operation technology that enables ESS to make independent decisions and operate safely even in extreme environments is essential.' He added, 'Through this research, we will improve battery safety and power system reliability simultaneously and produce tangible outcomes that lead to international standardization of related technologies.'