KR20150104550A - Battery Module and Battery Pack Comprising the Same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a battery module, as a battery module comprising at least two battery cells, which comprises bus bars for electrical connection between electrode terminals of the battery cells and electrical connection between an electrode terminal of a battery cell and an outside input and output terminal, wherein at least one from the bus bars is composed of a lead-free solder alloy containing tin (Sn) and copper (Cu) as main ingredients.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a battery module,

The present invention relates to a battery module having excellent structural stability and a battery pack including the battery module. More particularly, the present invention relates to a battery module including at least two battery cells, And a bus bar for electrical connection between the electrode terminal and the external input / output terminal, wherein at least one of the bus bars is made of a lead-free alloy containing tin (Sn) and copper (Cu) .

The secondary battery can be used as an energy source for power devices such as electric bikes (E-bike), electric vehicles (EV), and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) as well as mobile and wireless electronic devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras, There is a lot of interest.

In a small device such as a cellular phone or a camera, a small battery pack in which one battery cell is packed is used, while a medium and large-sized device such as a notebook computer or an electric car uses two or more battery cells (hereinafter, A battery pack in which a battery pack in which a plurality of battery packs are connected in parallel and / or in series is packed.

However, lithium secondary batteries, which are widely used in such secondary batteries, have a disadvantage in that they have excellent electrical characteristics, but have low safety. For example, in a lithium secondary battery, decomposition reaction of an active material and an electrolyte, which are battery components, is caused in an abnormal operation state such as overcharging, overdischarge, exposure to a high temperature, electric short, and the like, heat and gas are generated, May further accelerate the decomposition reaction to cause ignition or explosion.

The safety problem of such a lithium secondary battery is more serious in a middle- or large-sized battery pack having a multi-cell structure. Since a plurality of battery cells are used in a battery pack of a multi-cell structure, an abnormal operation in some battery cells can cause a chain reaction with other battery cells, and the resulting ignition and explosion can lead to serious accidents Because.

The battery pack having such a structure is exposed to explosion and fire when the internal lithium secondary battery is overheated due to the overcurrent, and a short circuit of the internal electrical connection due to an external impact is also generated. There is a problem that can occur.

Particularly, since the bus bar is generally made of copper and fixed to the battery module, when the battery module vibrates to generate relative motion between the battery cell and the battery module, a relatively large external impact, such as an electrode terminal and a bus bar, So that there is a disadvantage that the structure for preventing fire in the battery module due to an external short circuit is weak.

For this reason, it is necessary to provide a protection device at the level of the battery pack in order to prevent a phenomenon that the safety is deteriorated, such as gas leakage, ignition, explosion, etc., in the battery module due to an external impact.

Accordingly, there is a high need for a battery module capable of fundamentally preventing a safety accident such as leakage and ignition due to an external shock to an electrical connection part of the battery cell while solving the above problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and the technical problems required from the past.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a battery module in which at least one bus bar among bus bars constituting a battery module is formed of a tin-based alloy having a melting point relatively lower than that of a copper material, The present invention also provides a battery module and a battery pack including the same that can greatly improve the safety of the battery module by blocking electrical connection as a fuse.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a battery module comprising at least two battery cells, wherein an electrical connection between the electrode terminals of the battery cells and an electrical connection between the electrode terminal and the external input / And at least one of the bus bars is made of a lead-free alloy containing tin (Sn) and copper (Cu) as main components.

Therefore, the battery module according to the present invention can prevent a fire due to internal ignition of the battery module due to an external short circuit by using a tin-based alloy having a low melting point as a material of a part of the bus bar Safety is improved.

In one specific example, the bus bar comprising tin and copper as a main component is adjustable in accordance with electrical properties and mechanical properties to be imparted. Specifically, the content of the tin is 80 to 98 wt% May be a material having a content of 2 to 20 wt% and further containing at least one metal selected from the group consisting of nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn) and silver (Ag).

When the content of tin is 80 wt% or more, good tensile strength characteristics can be maintained, and the content of copper which affects electrical conductivity, melting point and tensile strength is more preferably 4 to 15 wt%.

The content of the additional metal may be adjusted according to electrical and mechanical properties to be imparted to the bus bar. Preferably, the content of the metal may be 0.01 to 10 wt%, and the remaining components may be tin and copper.

Here, the wt% is a unit based on the total weight of the material constituting the bus bar. By controlling the content of tin and copper as described above, good tensile strength characteristics of the bus bar can be obtained, and resistance Can be suppressed to as low as several percent or less.

As another example, the bus bar containing tin and copper as a main component may be configured to have a melting point in the range of 150 to 300 캜.

If the melting point is higher than 300 ° C, the overcurrent is not effectively blocked, and if the melting point is lower than 150 ° C, the bus bar may break due to the normal operation of the battery module.

The bus bar containing tin and copper as a main component is preferably a bus bar constituting an external input / output terminal. In some cases, only a part of the bus bar may be made of a material containing tin and copper as main components, and this case is also interpreted to be included in the present invention.

The battery module according to the present invention is characterized in that, in one specific example, battery cells in which positive terminals and negative terminals are vertically bent in opposite directions as electrode terminals are stacked in two or more in a mutually connected series, A pair of end plates mounted on an upper surface and a lower surface of the battery cell stack in which electrode terminals are aligned in one direction and having a fastening portion formed on one side thereof, The module case includes a heat sink mounted on one of the battery cells and surrounds an outer surface of the battery cell stack body. The module case is mounted on an electrode terminal portion of the battery cells in the module case, Wherein at least one bus bar of the bus bars is made of a lead-free alloy containing tin (Sn) and copper (Cu) as a main component, A bar assembly, an electrically insulating bus bar cover surrounding the bus bar assembly, and a wire cover surrounding the front surface of the bus bar cover.

The heat dissipation member may be a structure in which a heat dissipation member is further interposed between the battery cell stack and the heat sink, and the heat dissipation member may be formed of a thin plate-like plate material.

The battery cell is preferably a plate-shaped battery cell so as to provide a high deposition rate in a limited space. For example, the battery cell may have a structure in which an electrode assembly is embedded in a battery case of a laminate sheet.

Specifically, the battery cell is a pouch-shaped secondary battery in which an electrode assembly having a positive electrode / separator / negative electrode structure is sealed inside a battery case together with an electrolyte solution, and is a plate-shaped battery cell having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped structure with a thin width. The pouch type secondary battery is generally composed of a pouch type battery case. The battery case includes an outer covering layer made of a polymer resin having excellent durability, a barrier layer made of a metal material exhibiting barrier properties against moisture, air, And an inner sealant layer made of a polymer resin that can be fused.

In one specific example, in the mutually adjacent battery cells of the battery cells, the positive terminal of the first battery cell and the negative terminal of the second battery cell are provided with a welding surface contacting one bus bar in a state in which they are not overlapped with each other And the vertical bending structure may be formed.

The positive terminal of the first battery cell and the negative terminal of the second battery cell may preferably have a structure in which the width of the terminal contacting the bus bar is equal to or less than half the width of the terminal contacting the battery cell body .

In one specific example, the battery cell has a structure in which a positive terminal and a negative terminal are formed together at one end, and the battery cell stack has a structure in which the positive terminal and the negative terminal are adjacent to each other, Or may be a laminated structure in a folded state.

In another specific example, the outer surface of the battery cell stack may have a structure in which one or more clamps are formed to improve cooling efficiency.

The clamp may have a structure in which a recessed groove is formed along the vertical center axis, for example, protruding from the outer surface of the battery cell stack body in the vertical direction, and both ends of the clamp are coupled to the fastening portion of the end plate Lt; / RTI >

In this structure, one or more plate-like cooling fins may be interposed between the battery cells constituting the battery cell stack.

Meanwhile, at the corner of the battery cell stack body, at least one bushing for mounting the battery cell stack body may be formed in an external device or a pack case.

The battery cell laminate may have a structure in which the battery cell laminate is preferably integrally constrained to the module case by a fastening member. For example, the fastening member may be a long bolt, to be.

In one specific example, the bus bar assembly includes a rectangular-shaped assembly main body mounted on a module case and electrically insulative, and a structure including at least one bus bar mounted on the rectangular main body in a state that the front and rear surfaces thereof are opened Lt; / RTI >

In another specific example, the bus bar assembly includes a plurality of bus bars, and the bus bars may be formed of a metal plate whose both ends are coupled to the assembly body.

In this structure, the bus bars constituting the external input / output terminal among the bus bars may have a structure including an external input / output terminal portion coupled to the assembly main body with one end portion extended.

Meanwhile, the electrical connection of the bus bar to the electrode terminal can be achieved by welding the outer surface of the electrode terminal with the inner surface of the electrode terminal in close contact with the surface of the bus bar.

The welding may preferably be achieved by irradiating the outer surface of the electrode terminal with a laser.

The present invention also provides a battery pack in which at least two battery modules are mounted in a pack case, and a device using the battery module or the battery pack as a power source.

As a specific example of the device in which the battery pack according to the present invention can be used, an electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, or a power storage device having a limited mounting space and exposed to frequent vibration, .

It goes without saying that battery packs used as power sources for automobiles can be manufactured in combination according to a desired output and capacity.

Electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and the like using a battery pack as a power source are known in the art, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted in this specification.

As described above, in the battery module according to the present invention, the bus bar connected to the electrode terminal of the battery cell is made of a tin-type copper alloy having a melting point relatively lower than that of the copper material, It acts as a fuse and breaks quickly, so that the electrical connection is cut off and the safety of the battery module can be ensured.

1 is a perspective view of a battery cell mounted on a battery cell stack according to the present invention;
Fig. 2 is an exploded schematic view of Fig. 1; Fig.
3 is an exploded perspective view of a battery module according to one embodiment of the present invention;
4 is an exploded perspective view of the battery cell stack;
5 is a perspective view of the battery module;
6 is a front view of a bus bar assembly according to the present invention;

Hereinafter, a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited by the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an exemplary battery cell mounted on a battery cell stack of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded schematic view of FIG.

Referring to these drawings, a plate-shaped battery cell 10 includes an electrode assembly 210 including an anode, a cathode, and a separator disposed between the anode and cathode tabs 220 The electrode terminals 321 and 322 electrically connected to the electrodes 230 and 230 are sealed to be exposed to the outside.

The battery case 20 includes a case body 15 including a concave shaped storage portion 14 on which the electrode assembly 210 can be seated and a lid 13 integrally connected to the body 15 have.

The electrode assembly 210 having the folding structure, the stacking structure or the stacking / folding structure is formed such that a plurality of the anode tabs 220 and the plurality of the anode tabs 230 are fused to each other and connected to the electrode terminals 321 and 322 Lt; / RTI > When short circuit occurs between the heat sealer and the electrode terminals 321 and 322 when the heat sink 144 and the lid 13 of the case body 15 are thermally fused by a heat sealer An insulating film 240 is attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the electrode terminals 321 and 322 in order to prevent the electrode terminals 321 and 322 and ensure the sealing property between the electrode terminals 321 and 322 and the battery case 20.

The case body 15 and the lid 13 are constituted by an outer resin layer 16, a barrier metal layer 17 and an inner resin layer 18. The inner resin layer 18 is formed on the outer surface of the case body 15 And a heat and pressure from a heat sealer (not shown) applied to the outer surface of the lid 13.

A sealing portion is formed by thermally fusing the abutment 144 of the case main body 15 and the contact portion of the lid 13 in a state where the electrode assembly 210 impregnated with the electrolyte is seated on the housing portion 12.

3 is an exploded perspective view schematically illustrating a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 schematically shows an exploded view of the battery cell stack of FIG. 3, and FIG. A perspective view of the battery module of FIG.

Referring to these drawings, a battery module 100 includes a battery cell stack body 200 in which a plurality of battery cells including a battery cell 10 are mounted on a plate-shaped frame 303, A bus bar assembly 105 and a wire cover 104. The bus bar assembly 105 includes a bus bar assembly 300, a module case 115 including an upper end plate 101 and a lower end plate 113 and a pair of heat sinks 103, ).

The outer surface of the battery cell stack body 200 is mounted so as to be enclosed in a module case 115 including an upper end plate 101, a lower end plate 113, and a pair of heat sinks 103, The heat sinks 103 are coupled to the upper end plate 101 and the lower end plate 113 in a structure that covers the outer surface of the battery cell stack body 200.

A bus bar assembly 300, a bus bar cover 105, and a wire cover 104 are sequentially mounted on the front surface of the battery cell stack 200.

More detailed contents of the battery module 100 will be described below.

First, a plurality of battery cells including the battery cell 10 are mounted and stacked on a plate-shaped frame 303, which is a hollow frame.

The battery cell stack 200 is stacked vertically with the electrode terminals vertically bent such that the sixteen battery cells including the battery cell 10 are connected in series.

The module case 115 has upper and lower end plates 101 and 101 on upper and lower surfaces of the battery cell stack body 200 so that the battery cell stack 200 can be securely mounted and electrode terminals of the battery cells are protruded. And a pair of heat sinks 103 are mounted on the side surfaces of the heat sinks 113 so that the front surface of the heat sinks 103 is opened.

A bus bar assembly (not shown) electrically connects the electrode terminals (not shown) of the sixteen battery cells including the battery cell 10 to the front open portion of the module case 115 on which the battery cell stack 200 is mounted 300 are mounted.

An electrically insulating bus bar cover 105 is mounted on the front surface of the bus bar assembly 300 and a wire cover 104 is mounted on the front surface of the bus bar cover 105 in order to protect the electrical connection portion.

The support bar 110 for restraining the battery cell stack 200 is coupled to the upper end plate 101 and the lower end plate 113.

The support bar 110 has a bolt inserting part 112 formed thereon and a long bolt (not shown) is inserted through the bolt inserting part 112 to stack the battery cells with one long bolt The upper end plate 101 and the lower end plate 113 are integrally fastened together.

A bushing 111 for fixing the battery cell stack 200 to an external device (not shown) is formed at the corner of the upper end plate 101 and the lower end plate 113.

A plate-like heat dissipating member 108 is interposed between the battery cell stack body 200 and the heat sink 103 so as to transfer heat generated from the battery cells to the outside, A clamp 109 is additionally formed on the side surface of the plate frame 303 in the vertical direction to improve the cooling efficiency between the sixteen battery cells including the battery cell 10.

The clamp 109 is provided with an indentation groove (not shown) along the center axis to prevent the outer shape change due to the expansion or the like of the battery cell stack body 200. Both ends of the clamp 109 are connected to the upper end plate 101 and the lower end plate 113 so that the battery cell stack body 200 is firmly fixed to the module case 115.

The bus bar assembly 300 is mounted on the front surface of the plate frame 303 of the battery cell stack 200. Bus bars 350 for electrically connecting the electrode terminals of the battery cells to the bus bar assembly 300 ).

At least one of the bus bars 350 acts as a fuse that melts and releases electrical connection when the battery cell stack 200 is overheated and tin Sn and copper Cu ) And a lead-free alloy containing no lead (Pb) harmless to the environment and the human body, and has a melting point of about 150 to 300 ° C. The range of the melting point corresponds to a lower melting point of any one of the aluminum, copper or nickel-coated copper constituting the bus bar, so that rapid interruption to an external short circuit is possible.

The structure of the bus bar assembly 300 to which the bus bar is coupled will be described later in more detail.

An insulating bus bar cover 105 having a temperature detecting means 106 and a voltage detecting means 107 for measuring the voltage or temperature of the battery cells is formed on the front surface of the bus bar assembly 300, And a wire cover 104 is mounted on the front surface in order.

FIG. 6 is a schematic front view of a bus bar assembly according to the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a schematic rear view of a battery cell.

1 through 5, the bus bar assembly 300 includes a positive electrode terminal 322 protruding from the front surface of the battery cell stack 200 and a battery cell 322 disposed at the uppermost end of the negative electrode terminal 321, The battery cell includes sixteen battery cells including a cell 10, a bus bar 350 coupled to an electrode terminal portion of the battery cells, and external input / output terminals 301 and 302 coupled to an end portion of the bus bar 350 .

External input / output terminals 301 and 302 are formed on the upper surface of the bus bar assembly 300 in the same direction. The bus bar 350 is formed on the joint surface of the bent portion in a state where the cathode terminal and the cathode terminal do not overlap each other Welded.

The bus bar welded to the negative electrode terminal 321 of the battery cell 10 located at the uppermost position is connected to the external input / output terminal 302 and the bus bar welded to the lowermost battery cell (not shown) And is connected to the external input / output terminal 301 by being bent in the vertical upward direction while being coupled to the front surface of the main body of the bus bar assembly 300. Therefore, when all or a part of the extended portion 351 is composed of a lead-free alloy containing tin (Sn) and copper (Cu) as main components and containing no lead (Pb) harmless to the environment and human body as described above, The electrical connection is released as the extension 351 of the bus bar ruptures against the short circuit.

Meanwhile, the bus bar assembly 300 includes sixteen battery cells 10 stacked in the vertical direction, including the battery cell 10 positioned at the uppermost position, and the first battery cell 500 and the second battery cell 600 adjacent to each other have.

The first battery cell 500 is provided with a positive electrode terminal 510 and a negative electrode terminal 520 having a terminal width W1 in contact with the battery cell main body, The end portion of the anode terminal 510 having the terminal width W2 of the size W2 is vertically bent in the downward direction and the end portion of the anode terminal 520 having the terminal width W2 of 1/2 the terminal width W1 Are vertically bent in the upward direction.

Similarly, in the second battery cell 600, the terminal width W1 is formed in a state in which the positive electrode terminal 610 and the negative electrode terminal 620 having the terminal width W1 in contact with the battery cell body protrude from the main body, An end portion of the positive electrode terminal 610 having a terminal width W2 of 1/2 of the width is vertically bent downward and a negative terminal terminal W2 having a terminal width W2 of 1/2 the terminal width W1 620 are vertically bent in the upward direction. For reference, the first battery cell 500 of FIG. 7 is shown in a reversed shape of the first battery cell 500 of FIG.

The portion where the cathode terminal 510 of the first battery cell 500 is vertically bent downward and the portion where the anode terminal 620 of the second battery cell 600 is vertically bent upward do not overlap with each other A portion where the negative terminal 510 of the first battery cell 500 is vertically bent upward is formed such that the positive terminal 322 of the uppermost battery cell 10 overlaps with the vertically downward bent portion of the battery cell 10, The portion where the positive electrode terminal 610 of the second battery cell 600 is vertically downwardly bent is a portion where the negative electrode terminal 710 of the battery cell adjacent to the lower side is vertically bent upward So as to form a contact surface with respect to the bus bar.

The negative electrode terminal 321 of the battery cell 10 positioned at the uppermost end of the battery cell stack 200 and the positive electrode terminal 311 of the battery cell (not shown) located at the lowermost end of the battery cell stack 200 are structurally connected to a terminal Width W1 and are connected to external input / output terminals 301 and 302 connected to an external power device (not shown) at one end thereof, respectively.

The bus bar 350 is formed such that the portion where the positive terminal 510 of the first battery cell 500 is vertically bent down and the portion where the negative terminal 620 of the second battery cell 600 is perpendicular And is welded to the upwardly bent portion.

Similarly, a bus bar is welded to a vertically downward bent portion of the positive electrode terminal 322 of the battery cell 10 located at the uppermost position adjacent to the vertically upwardly bent portion of the negative electrode terminal 520 of the first battery cell 500 And the bus bar is welded to a portion where the cathode terminal 620 of the second battery cell 600 is vertically bent downward and a portion where the anode terminal 710 of the battery cell (not shown) is bent up vertically, A plurality of battery cells including a first battery cell 500 and a second battery cell 600 stacked in a vertical direction are stacked in an electrical serial manner by a plurality of bus bars 350, The connection is made.

While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments.

Claims (26)

A battery module comprising at least two battery cells, the battery module comprising bus bars for electrical connection between electrode terminals of the battery cells and for electrical connection between an electrode terminal of the battery cell and an external input / output terminal, wherein at least one Is made of a lead-free alloy containing tin (Sn) and copper (Cu) as main components. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the content of the tin is 80 to 98 wt% and the content of the copper is 2 to 20 wt% in the bus bar containing tin and copper as main components. The battery module according to claim 2, further comprising at least one metal selected from the group consisting of nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), and silver (Ag). The battery module according to claim 3, wherein the content of the metal is 0.01 to 10 wt%, and the remaining components are tin and copper. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the bus bar containing tin and copper as a main component has a melting point in the range of 150 to 300 캜. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the bus bar including tin and copper as a main component is a bus bar connected to an external input / output terminal. The battery module according to claim 1,
A battery cell laminate comprising: a plurality of battery cells stacked in a state that battery cells in which a positive terminal and a negative terminal are vertically bent in mutually opposite directions are connected in series;
A pair of end plates mounted on an upper surface and a lower surface of the battery cell stack in which electrode terminals are aligned in one direction and having a fastening portion formed on one side thereof and a pair of end plates mounted on at least one of side surfaces of the battery cell stack A module case enclosing an outer surface of the battery cell stack body, the module case including a heat sink;
Wherein at least one bus bar of the bus bars is made of tin (Sn) and copper (Cu) as a main component A bus bar assembly comprising a lead-free alloy comprising;
An electrically insulating bus bar cover surrounding the bus bar assembly; And
A wire cover surrounding a front surface of the bus bar cover;
The battery module comprising: The battery module according to claim 1, further comprising a heat dissipating member interposed between the battery cell stack and the heat sink. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the battery cell is a plate-shaped battery cell and the electrode terminal is a plate-shaped structure. The battery module according to claim 9, wherein the battery cell has a structure in which an electrode assembly is embedded in a laminate battery case. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein, in adjacent battery cells of the battery cells, a positive terminal of the first battery cell and a negative terminal of the second battery cell are provided with a welding surface contacting one bus bar And the battery module is bent in a vertical direction. The battery cell stack according to claim 1, wherein the battery cell has a structure in which a positive terminal and a negative terminal are formed together at one end, And the battery module is stacked in a folded state. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein one or more clamps are formed on an outer surface of the battery cell stack to improve cooling efficiency. 14. The battery module according to claim 13, wherein the cramp protrudes from the outer surface of the battery cell stack in the vertical direction and has a recessed groove formed along the vertical center axis. 15. The battery module according to claim 14, wherein both ends of the clamp are coupled to the fastening portions of the end plates. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein one or more plate-like cooling fins are interposed between the battery cells constituting the battery cell stack. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein at least one bushing for mounting the battery cell stack is formed on an external device or a pack case at a corner of the battery cell stack. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the battery cell stack body is integrally fixed to the module case by a fastening member. The plasma display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the bus bar assembly comprises:
A rectangular assembly body mounted on the module case and electrically insulated; And
Bus bars mounted on the rectangular body in a state that the front surface and the rear surface are opened;
The battery module comprising: 20. The battery module according to claim 19, wherein the bus bars are metal plates whose both ends are coupled to the assembly body. 21. The battery module according to claim 20, wherein the bus bars constituting the external input / output terminal among the bus bars include an external input / output terminal portion coupled to the assembly main body with one end thereof extended. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the electrical connection of the bus bar to the electrode terminal is achieved by welding the outer surface of the electrode terminal with the inner surface of the electrode terminal in close contact with the surface of the bus bar. . 23. The battery module according to claim 22, wherein the welding is accomplished by irradiating a laser to an outer surface of the electrode terminal. The battery pack according to any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein at least two battery modules are mounted on the pack case. The device according to claim 1, wherein the battery module or the battery pack according to claim 24 is used as a power source. 26. The device of claim 25, wherein the device is an electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle or a power storage device.

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