Nuvation Energy Grid Battery Controller User manual

Nuvation Energy Grid Battery Controller
Installation Guide
Document ID: NE-IG-003 | Revision: 2.0, 2020-03-13
© 2020 Nuvation Energy

Table of Contents
Important Safety Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ê1
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ê2
1.1. About this Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ê2
2. System Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ê3
3. Grid Battery Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ê5
3.1. Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ê5
3.2. Mechanical Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ê5
3.3. Electrical Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ê7
3.3.1. DC Power Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ê7
3.4. Network Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ê8

Important Safety Information
The content in this document must be followed in order to ensure safe operation of Nuvation
Energy BMS.
Do NOT energize the system until all connections to the Cell Interface and
Power Interface modules have been made.
Insulated handling is required of any connector carrying potentials over 600 V
DC relative to chassis.
Properly insulate or remove any unused wires. Unused wires can couple
excessive system noise into Nuvation Energy BMS which can disrupt
communication and lead to undesirable behaviors.
Please be aware of high voltages present in your system and follow all
necessary safety precautions.
The provided module enclosures are not fire enclosures.

Depending on battery chemistry, there might be a nominal voltage per cell
which adds up in series and is always present. There are many different
battery chemistries with different current capacities, and so high voltage with
high current capacity may be present while connecting Nuvation Energy BMS.
You must use proper electrical safety precautions when handling any part of
Nuvation Energy BMS.
Neither Nuvation Energy or any of its employees shall be liable for any direct,
indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, personal or consequential harm or
damages (including, but not limited to, procurement or substitute goods or
services; loss of use, data, or profits; or business interruption) however caused
and on any theory of liability, whether in contract, strict liability, or tort
(including negligence or otherwise) arising in any way out of the use of this
product.

Nuvation Energy BMS relies on your system charger to charge the battery
cells; do not leave your charger off while Nuvation Energy BMS is powered
from the stack for prolonged periods of time. Nuvation Energy BMS should be
shut down when the system is in storage to minimize the drain on the cells.
Nuvation Energy Grid Battery Controller - Installation Guide
Document ID: NE-IG-003 1Rev 2.0, 2020-03-13

1. Introduction
Thank you for choosing Nuvation Energy BMS.
Nuvation Energy BMS is an enterprise-grade battery management system with features that extend
battery life, ensuring pack-level safety, data-analytics, and remote management.
The Nuvation Energy Grid Battery Controller aggregates information and provides a unified interface
to a large multi-stack battery system.
You can take advantage of the highly configurable browser-based user interface and custom-tune
Nuvation Energy Grid Battery Controller to your specific target application.
1.1. About this Guide
This Nuvation Energy Grid Battery Controller: Installation Guide provides instructions to connect your
Nuvation Energy Grid Battery Controller to your Nuvation Energy BMS.
Once you have successfully completed the installation process, please follow instructions in the
Operator Interface Manual: Multi-Stack for accessing and configuring the Multi-Stack Operator
Interface.
We thrive on your feedback and what we build is driven by your input. Please submit support
tickets to [e-mail].
Nuvation Energy Grid Battery Controller - Installation Guide
Document ID: NE-IG-003 2Rev 2.0, 2020-03-13

2. System Overview
Nuvation Energy Grid Battery Controller aggregates information in a multi-stack energy storage
system and provides a unified interface for monitoring, updating and controlling the individual stacks
and even external hardware.
Figure 1. Example Nuvation Energy BMS multi-stack configuration
Depending on the system, the individual stacks will be managed by either a Nuvation Energy High-
Voltage BMS (via the Stack Controller) or a Nuvation Energy Low-Voltage BMS (via the Battery
Controller).
The Grid Battery Controller aggregates information from each of the Stack Controller modules or
Battery Controller modules in the system and provides a unified interface to the pack as a whole.
Nuvation Energy Grid Battery Controller - Installation Guide
Document ID: NE-IG-003 3Rev 2.0, 2020-03-13

Figure 2. Example single-stack managed by a Stack Controller and connected to a Grid
Battery Controller
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Document ID: NE-IG-003 4Rev 2.0, 2020-03-13

3. Grid Battery Controller
3.1. Overview
Nuvation Energy Grid Battery Controller provides two crucial battery-level software interfaces for
large, multi-stack battery applications:
1. Modbus TCP:
•Unified view of the entire battery conforming to open energy standards.
•Conforms to MESA Models: S801, S802 and S803
•Used directly by inverters and other grid infrastructure implementing the MESA standard
2. Web-based configuration and diagnostics:
•Hosts web-based tools that can be accessed from common web browsers
•Used to provision firmware upgrades, configure settings and view diagnostic information for
the entire battery system
A few key system-level features that are also provided are:
▪System-wide statistics for voltages, temperature and currents
▪Current limiting algorithms for multi-stack battery systems
▪State-of-Charge algorithms for multi-stack battery systems
▪NTP client for BMS time synchronization
The Grid Battery Controller uses a Linux-based operating system with special provisions in place to
guarantee the performance and responsiveness required for real-time inverter control.
3.2. Mechanical Dimensions
The overall dimensions of the Grid Battery Controller are 210 mm X 65 mm X 140 mm. It is sold
standard with a DIN clip, enabling it to be securely mounted to EN50022-compliant DIN rail. Extra
space should be provided around the module to allow for cable connections, easy
installation/maintenance and to provide adequate fan-less cooling. The spatial clearance is illustrated
on the restricted area diagram
The Grid Battery Controller weighs approximately 2.5 kg.
Nuvation Energy Grid Battery Controller - Installation Guide
Document ID: NE-IG-003 5Rev 2.0, 2020-03-13

Figure 3. Grid Battery Controller DIN Clip Location
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Document ID: NE-IG-003 6Rev 2.0, 2020-03-13

Figure 4. Grid Battery Controller Restricted Areas
3.3. Electrical Connections
Grid Battery Controller has standard connectors excluding the DC power connector.
3.3.1. DC Power Connector
The DC power connector provides a nominal 24VDC to the Grid Battery Controller, but will tolerate an
input voltage between 19.2V and 28.8V. At 24V, it consumes no more than 2.5A.
Nuvation Energy Grid Battery Controller - Installation Guide
Document ID: NE-IG-003 7Rev 2.0, 2020-03-13

The external supply has its negative input connected to earth ground through the
Grid Battery Controller’s chassis.
Table 1. DC Power: MINI-COMBICON DSUB Connector
Phoenix Contact 1841909
Manufacturer Phoenix Contact
Housing 1841909
Housing material Polyamide UL94V-0
Circuits 3
Wire gauge range AWG16-24 stranded
Table 2. DC Power Connector Pin Assignment
Pin Connection Description Connected to Device
1 GND External Power Supply Input Negative Connect to external 24Vdc
power supply negative
2 No Connect Not Connected No Connect
3 +24V External Power Supply Input Positive Connect to external 24Vdc
power supply positive
3.4. Network Connections
The Grid Battery Controller has two ethernet ports on it’s front panel labeled ETH1 and ETH2. These
ports manage two separate network connections which are named described as the external and
internal networks. The ETH2 port connects to the external network. The external network provides
services such as DHCP and NTP for the Grid Battery Controller. An external controller or integration
software would communicate to the Grid Battery Controller over this network. The ETH1 port connects
the Grid Battery Controller to its internal network. The internal network allows the Grid Battery
Controller to connect to and communicate with the Nuvation Energy High-Voltage Stack Controller for
each stack in the battery pack. For more details on how to configure the network settings on these
ethernet ports, refer to the Software Reference Manual: Multi-Stack available online at
https://www.nuvationenergy.com/technical-resources
Nuvation Energy Grid Battery Controller - Installation Guide
Document ID: NE-IG-003 8Rev 2.0, 2020-03-13


The external and internal networks of the Grid Battery Controller should remain
separated for the best operation of the battery pack. Excessive network traffic on the
internal network can interfere with the Grid Battery Controller management of the
stacks.
Nuvation Energy Grid Battery Controller - Installation Guide
Document ID: NE-IG-003 9Rev 2.0, 2020-03-13

From time to time Nuvation Energy will make updates to Nuvation Energy BMS in response to
changes in available technologies, client requests, emerging energy storage standards, and other
industry requirements. The product specifications in this document, therefore, are subject to change
without notice.
© 2020 Nuvation Energy
Nuvation Energy Grid Battery Controller - Installation Guide
Document ID: NE-IG-003 10 Rev 2.0, 2020-03-13