Current research on this topic is still in its infancy. Future developments look into multi-sensing approaches compatible with the battery environment that ideally can be integrated into existing battery components. By measuring various relevant parameters (including temperature, volume expansion, intercalation strain, cell pressure and other optical and acoustic parameters) that are linked to the degradation mechanisms (such as dendritic growth, metals dissolution and interface dynamics) the state of the entire battery and its components can be deducted.
Special focus will be on the miniaturisation and integration of these stable sensing technologies in a cost-effective way, compatible with the current manufacturing processes. Finally, efficient communication between the BMS and the sensors needs to be established, which will act upon the readings. Approaches currently being investigated are wireless sensors, which don’t add to the weight but add the wireless communication redundancy, or optic fibre cabling, which adds to the weight slightly, but typically has higher reliability.