Driving the future: A comprehensive review of automotive battery management system technologies, and future trends

To date, a variety of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) have been utilized in the EV industry, with lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries emerging as a dominant choice. Li-ion batteries have not only captured the automotive market but have also exponentially been used in stationary energy storage sectors, thanks to their extended service life, high power, and volumetric density. The surge in Li-ion battery demand, increasing by approximately 65 % from 330 GWh in 2021 to 550 GWh in 2022, is primarily attributed to the exponential growth in electric vehicles sales. However, despite extensive research in academia and industry on Battery Management Systems (BMS), several gaps persist. Challenges include optimizing battery utilization within real-world operational limits, adapting BMS concerning chemical changes within batteries, e.g., aging, addressing the complexities of cell balancing in future battery packs, restricting fast charging below room temperature, limitations in fault tolerance capabilities, and the tendency to oversize for safety margins. Furthermore, the integration of efficient models (i.e., physics/data) with cutting-edge sensing technology remains a challenge as current BMS are often isolated and disconnected, narrowing the operational limits of battery systems for EV and stationary energy storage applications. This paper conducts a comprehensive review covering all possible aspects of BMS soft- and hardware solutions for EV applications, focusing on technical performance, safety, and reliability. Topics covered physics- and data-based modelling approaches for edge and cloud, state-of-X (SoX) estimation methods, charging strategies, balancing techniques, fault diagnostics, safety considerations, warranty management, and Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) capabilities. Additionally, the paper sheds light on emerging technologies and future opportunities in this related field. • Review of future-proof BMS focusing on hardware, software, safety and performance. • BMS real-world challenges: modelling, aging, fault tolerance and fast charging. • Future technologies: V2X, battery swapping, advanced SoX and cyber-secured BMS.