Bringing intelligence to battery management systems
Texas Instruments (TI) has introduced the industry’s highest-cell-count battery monitor with an integrated electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) engine, bringing predictive intelligence, comprehensive data, and real-time diagnostics to battery monitoring in EVs and energy storage system (ESS) applications
The BQ79826Z-Q1 battery monitor can improve safety and extend battery life by detecting potential failures from within battery cells. The single chip provides the highest-cell-count monitoring in its class, tracking up to 44% more channels than previous generations. This increase in channels enables the device to reduce the number of components required in a battery pack, decreasing system complexity and cost without compromising reliability.
TI is set to showcase its innovation at the 2026 Power Conversion, Intelligent Motion Expo and Conference (PCIM), June 9-11, in Nuremberg, Germany.
Wenjia Liu, vice president and general manager, battery management systems (BMS) at TI, said, “The electrification of transportation and the rapid expansion of energy storage are redefining what battery performance must deliver, and as a leader in battery management technology, TI is uniquely positioned to meet that challenge. Our high-cell-count battery monitor with a built-in EIS engine helps ‘shine a light’ inside battery cells, delivering rich chemical-state data that enables systems’ software to make informed, real-time decisions on safety and performance of the battery pack, allowing engineers to address the most critical challenges in battery management.”
Providing safety and performance with EIS technology
EIS monitors a battery, delivering continuous, real-time insights to reveal its health and warn of issues before they become critical. Integrated EIS technology enables the BQ78926Z-Q1 to detect fault conditions earlier, from within the cells, helping maintain safety and alerting passengers to potential vehicle hazards.
These same benefits extend to ESSs, where reliable battery monitoring is essential to meet the power demands of AI data centres. As effective storage solutions become crucial to the grid-to-gate ecosystem, EIS provides engineers with real-time visibility into the state of charge and state of health of each battery cell, regardless of system size.
Maximising efficiency with cell count
The performance of an EV or ESS is impacted by the quality and efficiency of its batteries. The BQ78926Z-Q1 can support up to 26 cells per device, eight more than any competing device. Fewer monitoring devices mean a lower bill of materials, a simplified architecture, and reduced board space requirements, leading to cost savings per channel without sacrificing quality or reliability.
When combined with the BQ79881-Q1 pack monitor and optional TI communications bridge, these devices can create a powerful chipset that works across different module sizes, battery chemistries, and mechanical designs, enabling engineers to design and deploy everywhere. This scalability reduces engineering overhead and accelerates time-to-market for automotive and energy storage designers.
Calculating charge readings
With a voltage accuracy of <2mV across a temperature range of –40°C to +125°C, a higher resolution analogue-to-digital converter and ultra-low noise, the BQ78926Z-Q1 facilitates more accurate state-of-charge calculations, addressing one of the biggest concerns for EV drivers: range anxiety.
Using EIS technology, this device enables more accurate temperature and state-of-charge estimation, helping designers achieve longer battery life and faster charging without compromising battery health. With an EIS measurement time that is five times faster than previous solutions, this device provides the highest functional-safety voltage reading per cell. Compliance with Automotive Safety Integrity Level D and International Organisation for Standardisation 26262 gives designers a smarter, more efficient path to safer, longer-lasting batteries.
Innovating what’s next in power at PCIM 2026
Visitors to PCIM can see new products and solutions from TI that are enabling engineers to innovate what’s next in power in Hall 7, Booth No. 652. The new BQ79826Z-Q1 battery monitor will be featured in an EIS-enabled BMS reference design, alongside other innovations such as an 11kW single-stage bidirectional onboard charger, a 50kVA solid-state transformer cell stack with Ethernet and Fast Serial Interface communication and short-circuit protection for silicon carbide power metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors with technology from Flex.
