LF Energy recently launched the Battery Data Format (BDF), an open and standardised format designed to make it easier to share, analyse and use battery data across laboratories, equipment and software. SINTEF has contributed to the development via the DigiBatt, a Horizon Europe project.
A common data language for the battery community
Today, battery data are stored in many different structures and file types, making data sharing and collaboration challenging. BDF provides a clear, machine-readable way to structure experimental data, simulation data and metadata alike. This can reduce the time spent on data cleaning and conversion and make collaboration and data sharing much easier.
The BDF is built on semantic standards from the World Wide Web Consortium and the Battery2030+ community that allow the meaning of the data to be easily understood, shared, and re-used by both human researchers and artificial intelligence agents.
Built on broad international collaboration
The format has been developed through extensive international collaboration between researchers, industrial partners and technology companies. BDF is based on a shared terminology that ensures everyone speaks the same language, and it has been tested in tools already used by many laboratories. The format is also integrated into a growing number of established modelling tools, allowing researchers to adopt it without changing their working practices.
Several major players are contributing. Microsoft has releasedan open dataset in the BDF format, and the technology company Ohm has developed a user-friendly tool that automatically converts raw data into BDF. The Swiss research institute EMPA has incorporated the BDF into their robotic battery development platform Aurora, which has already published data from hundreds of experiments. A companion python package (batterydf) is also in development to allow researchers to process their BDF data with their own customized scripts and pipelines.
– When everyone can read and use data in the same way, research becomes faster and more accurate. BDF allows researchers and engineers to spend less time cleaning data and more time innovating,” says Simon Clark, senior researcher at SINTEF.
Supporting the development of green technology
Standardised battery data are crucial for developing new, greener, battery technologies and strengthening global electrification. With BDF, it becomes easier to compare results, build robust models and share data across national borders. The format can reduce costs, shorten development time and make research more reproducible. It will be further developed to support additional data types, including measurement data from industrial processes and field use.
The most important thing about BDF is that the format has been tested in real laboratories. This is not just theory, but a solution that works with real datasets,” says a representative of the Battery Data Alliance.
About BDF
Battery Data Format (BDF) is an open data format for storing battery data. The format has been developed under the Battery Data Alliance, an LF Energy project working to build a global infrastructure for battery data. BDF is freely available and based on open-source software.
Links
DigiBatt (Horizon Europe project)
Battery Data Format Specification
Battery Data Format Python Package
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