Working prototype, on hold

Battery Cycler

An affordable battery cell cycler for characterising cells in the lab and in the field, and for teaching people how to do it. A first working version exists and it sits just short of certification. Development is on hold, and we are looking for someone to give it a home.

Email info@battery.associates See where it stands

The device works. Certification and out-of-the-box usability are the work that remains.

By Dr. Simon Engelke, Founder and Chair of Battery Associates · Updated 9 August 2026

What it is

Short version

Battery cyclers are the instruments that charge and discharge cells under controlled conditions to measure how they age. Good ones are expensive, and that cost keeps characterisation out of reach for many labs and smaller companies. Battery Cycler is an affordable one, built to work in the lab and in the field and to double as a teaching device, with open-source calibration software. A first working version exists and sits just short of certification.

The problem it was built for

Deciding whether a cell is healthy, degraded or fit for a second life means measuring it, and measuring it properly means cycling it: charging and discharging under controlled conditions while watching capacity and impedance move.

The equipment that does this well is expensive, and that cost sits directly in front of the labs, universities and smaller companies who would otherwise be doing the characterisation. It is one reason it stays cheaper to shred a used pack than to test it.

Two jobs, not one

The design targets a cost-effective cycler for characterising cells in the lab and in the field, and a teaching device for showing people how cell testing actually works. Those two jobs pull in the same direction more than they conflict.

A teaching instrument has to be legible, safe and hard to break. A field instrument has to be portable and tolerant of conditions a bench never sees. Both push toward a simpler, cheaper machine than an OEM test floor would specify, which is exactly the gap in the market.

Open-source software

The calibration and data handling side was designed to be open source, so devices could be set up and operated remotely rather than each one needing a specialist on site.

This is where cheap test equipment usually falls down. A shared codebase does more for accuracy across a fleet of low-cost instruments than another proprietary firmware would.

Who it is for

University research groups, battery labs, startups building packs, second-life operators grading incoming cells, and training providers who want participants to touch real equipment rather than watch a slide about it.

Large industrial customers were always a later target rather than a starting point. The instrument is not trying to displace an OEM test floor.

Straight answer

Where it stands today

Being plain about this saves everyone time. The device works, the project is paused, and anyone taking it on would be finishing engineering work rather than inheriting a business. For the right buyer we will sit down and go through all of it: what was built, how it works, and the design decisions behind it.

What exists

A first working version, built and functioning
A design that reached the point just before certification
The technical approach, the project materials and the open-source software direction
The battery-cycler.com domain and the published project record
Battery Associates' network across battery labs, cell manufacturers and second-life operators
A full walkthrough for the right buyer: everything that has been done, and the designs explained

What does not

Certification. The device is close but has not been through it
Out-of-the-box usability. Real development is needed before a non-specialist can unbox it and work
An active development team. Nobody is working on this today
A production design, a supply chain or a shipping product
Committed customers, orders or a funded pipeline
Any commitment from Battery Associates to fund or staff a restart

Who this might suit

We are not looking for a buyer. We are looking for someone with the right shape to actually build it.

A hardware team looking for a problem

The hard part of starting is done: there is a working device and a defined route to certification. What the project lacked was sustained engineering attention, not a reason to exist.

A research group or university

Affordable cycling capacity is a constraint many labs feel directly, and an instrument that doubles as teaching equipment fits a group that both publishes and runs courses.

A second-life operator

If you already grade incoming cells at volume, the cost of test equipment is a line on your own P&L rather than a market you would have to go and find.

An open-source hardware community

We would rather see this fully open sourced than sitting in a drawer. If a community would carry it further than a company would, that is a legitimate outcome.

Three ways this could work

We have a preference, and we are saying it plainly rather than making you guess. All three are real.

Buy it

You take the working device, the designs, the materials and the domain, and carry it through certification and production yourself. We hand over a full explanation of the work rather than a folder of files. This is our preference, and the terms depend on what you actually want.

Partner on it

You bring the engineering and the route to market, we stay involved on the teaching side. Battery Associates already trains people across the battery value chain, and a teaching instrument fits that better than it fits a hardware business.

Open source it

If nobody wants to commercialise it, we would rather release the design and the software openly than let it sit unused. That is a real option, not a fallback we are saying to look generous.

Get in touch

If you want to take this on, or just want to understand it better before deciding, email us with a short note on who you are and what you would want to do with it. For a serious enquirer we will walk through everything that has been done and explain the designs, so you can scope the remaining work properly.

For the right buyer we will walk through everything: what has been built, what was tried, where the design landed and why, and what we would do next if we were carrying on. You should be able to scope the remaining work properly before you commit to anything.

info@battery.associates

Battery Associates Powering Battery Innovation Limited (CRO 679766), Ireland. We read everything and reply to serious enquiries.

Questions

How far along is it?

A first working version has been built and functions. The design reached the point just before certification, which has not been completed. Beyond certification, it would need real development work before a non-specialist could unbox it and use it without help. It is a working prototype rather than a product.

Is Battery Cycler available to buy as a device?

No. There is no product on sale and no production. What is available is the project itself: the working version, the design, the materials and the software direction, to someone who wants to take it forward.

What would it cost, and are you open to other arrangements?

Ideally we would be paid for it, and we will discuss terms with anyone serious. We are also open to other arrangements: a partnership where someone else takes the engineering, or fully open sourcing the design and software if that gets it used. We would rather it had a home than a price.

What would you actually share with a buyer?

For the right buyer, everything. We will go through what has been built and how it works, walk through the designs and the reasoning behind them, cover what was tried and rejected along the way, and set out what we would do next if we were continuing. The point is that you can scope the remaining engineering accurately rather than buying something you have to reverse engineer.

Would you really open source it?

Yes, if that is the outcome that gets it built and used. The software side was designed to be open source from the start. Opening the hardware design as well is a genuine option if no commercial route appears, and we would rather that than leave a working device unused.

Why was it put on hold?

Battery Associates focused on training and advisory, which is where the business actually operates. Taking a device through certification, production and support is a different company with different skills, and doing it badly alongside everything else would have served nobody.

What would you actually share?

For the right buyer, everything. A full walkthrough of what has been done, why the design went the way it did, what was tried and rejected, where the certification work stands, and the designs themselves. We would want a conversation and a sense of who you are first, but the intent is a proper handover rather than a teaser.

Who do I contact?

Email info@battery.associates with a short note on who you are and what you would want to do with it. A serious enquiry gets a proper conversation and access to the original materials.