A powerful alliance of leading European organisations and UK innovators has come together to revolutionise how lithium-ion batteries are designed, tested, and simulated.
In a significant step towards harmonising battery technology across Europe, representatives from five major organisations – AVL, BMW Group, Fortescue ZERO, SINTEF, and TNO – have joined forces with UK-based battery start-ups and researchers from the Faraday Institution to form the new Battery Parameter eXchange (BPX) Steering Group.
Their mission: to guide the evolution of BPX, an open standard for physics-based lithium-ion battery models.
This collaborative initiative aims to streamline the development of battery models by providing a unified definition of parameters used in physics-based battery modelling.
By creating a common language and set of practices, the BPX standard is designed to cut costs and accelerate innovation across the battery supply chain.
What is BPX?
BPX is an open standard created to support physics-based battery modelling by defining commonly used parameters in a clear and standardised format.
This initiative is intended to reduce costs and simplify the battery model supply chain by enabling broad industry adoption.
BPX has been developed by the Faraday Institution with contributions from experts involved in its Multi-Scale Modelling project.
Many of those involved, including members from Ionworks and About:Energy, are closely connected to the PyBaMM and DandeLiion modelling communities and are former Faraday Institution Entrepreneurial Fellows.
With over 330 downloads since its beta release (v0.4) in December 2023, the BPX standard has already begun making a meaningful impact across academia and industry.
A newly released BPX version 1.0 brings a suite of technical upgrades, including:
- A defined equation set for single particle models with electrolyte
- Support for thermodynamic degradation modes and general hysteresis models
- More flexible user-defined parameters
- A new ‘initial state’ parameter section
- Use of partial BPX files and a broader range of operations
These enhancements reflect close engagement with the battery modelling community and an industry-wide push for interoperability and precision.
Steering Group: A diverse pool of expertise
The BPX Steering Group is composed of leading battery modellers and technical experts from both academia and industry. Members include:
- Dr Simon Clark, SINTEF – developer of BattINFO ontology
- Dr Edmund Dickinson, About:Energy – a key player in cell data and simulations
- Professor David Howey, University of Oxford – Faraday Institution researcher
- Dr Edwin Knobbe, BMW Group
- Dr Ivan Korotkin, University of Southampton – creator of DandeLiion
- Tom Maull, Elysia – Fortescue’s UK-based battery intelligence software team
- Dr Robert Timms, Ionworks – co-creator of PyBaMM
- Dr Robert Triebl, AVL – expert in simulation software for automotive applications
- Dr Steven Wilkins, TNO – senior research scientist in applied research
This high-calibre group will advise on the technical roadmap for BPX, ensuring the standard keeps pace with industry needs and emerging battery technologies.
Commenting on the landmark initiative, Edwin Knobbe commented: “BMW Group is pleased to be supporting the development of battery modelling standards to mature industry’s use of modelling tools towards cost and efficiency gains.”
Future vision and industry involvement
Currently funded through the Faraday Institution’s research and commercialisation initiatives, BPX is expected to transition into a membership-funded standards body in the coming years.
This future organisation will be guided by an executive board, with the current Steering Group evolving into a formal technical advisory board.
The Faraday Institution, which plays a central role in the UK’s Battery Innovation Programme, continues to champion battery modelling as a cornerstone of the nation’s ‘frontier industries’ within the broader Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan.
Industry organisations interested in shaping the future of battery modelling are encouraged to contact the Faraday Institution directly.
Meanwhile, all battery modellers are invited to submit feature requests and feedback via GitHub, where the Steering Group actively reviews and integrates community input.
