A standard DC power supply can only push energy into your device under test; a bidirectional supply can also pull energy back out of it, and that second capability is what battery and cell test actually requires. Charging a cell is a straightforward sourcing job, but discharging it under controlled conditions, the other half of every cycle test, means the supply has to behave like a load while still being programmable like a source.
What Bidirectional and Regenerative Mean Here
A «bidirectional» DC supply operates in all four quadrants: it can source positive voltage and current for charging, and sink current while a device pushes energy back into it for discharging, without needing a separate electronic load. On «regenerative» models, the energy absorbed during discharge is converted back to clean AC and fed toward the grid or the supply's own bus instead of being burned off as heat, which matters a great deal once you are cycling packs at kilowatt-level power for hours at a time.
The Kewell S7000 Series
The Kewell S7000 family is built specifically for this job, in Normal, Pro and Ultra configurations that add progressively more control and monitoring features on top of the same power stage. The low-voltage version covers packs and modules up to 100 V, from the entry 100 V / 400 A / 10 kW configuration up to 100 V / 600 A / 15 kW. For higher-voltage pack and system-level test, the high-voltage version scales from 750 V up to 2000 V, with power ratings from 7.5 kW to 30 kW depending on configuration.
Where This Fits in a Battery Test Program
- Cell and module formation, where precise, repeatable charge and discharge cycles at defined C-rates directly affect capacity and cycle life results.
- Pack-level charge/discharge cycling, where the high-voltage S7000 configurations avoid stacking multiple lower-voltage sources in series.
- Round-trip efficiency measurement, where sourcing and sinking through the same calibrated instrument removes a source of measurement error that two separate units would introduce.
When to Look at Chroma Instead
For system-level and grid-interactive test above what the S7000 range covers, Chroma's 62000D series extends bidirectional, regenerative operation up to 1800 V, and units in the family can be paralleled for higher power test benches. Which platform makes sense depends on your voltage range, whether you need to parallel units for future expansion, and your existing automation environment, three things our team can help you work through before you commit to a configuration.
ALLdata has supported battery and energy storage test programs across research, automotive and industrial customers for years. See the full range in the Power Equipment collection, or request a quote and tell us your voltage range and cycling profile so we can point you to the right configuration.