Patent ID: 8765276

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: a plurality of battery modules serially intercoupled together, each battery module including a housing with an anode connector and a cathode connector and each battery module further including a processing sub-system having a memory and an identifier stored in said memory and used as a unique address among the plurality of battery modules, wherein an anode connector of a first module is coupled to a cathode connector of a second module; a ground common to said plurality of battery modules; a battery management system; a network coupling said battery management system to each battery module of said plurality of battery modules; a common-mode measurement system coupled to each battery module and to said ground producing a common-mode voltage relative to said ground for each said battery module; and wherein said identifier for each particular battery module is responsive to said common-mode voltage of said particular battery module: and a variable power-up delay system, coupled to each said battery module and responsive to a powering of said plurality of battery modules and responsive to said common-mode voltages, said variable power-up delay system delaying a power up of each particular battery module as a function of said common-mode voltage of said particular battery module.