BOSTON, June 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Conventional battery pack sensors measure the voltage, current and temperature of cells within the pack. However, it is increasingly clear that additional sensors would significantly enhance safety and allow for early warning and even prevention of thermal runaway, and in turn battery fires, in electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESS). Gas sensors, pressure sensors, moisture sensors, humidity sensors and aerosol sensors can all play a role.
The market for these sensors is growing and is expected to exceed US$200 million by 2036, with gas sensors making up over 73% of the market, according to research from the new report by market intelligence firm IDTechEx, “Advanced Battery Pack Sensors and Remote Monitoring 2026-2036: Technologies, Markets and Forecasts“.
Thermal runaway describes a chain reaction that occurs in batteries, caused by component damage or environmental conditions. High temperatures or short circuits are leading causes. An initially high temperature causes battery component degradation, which in turn leads to exothermic reactions that release more heat. This extra heat then fuels further reactions, increasing the temperature of the cell. This leads to further degradation, and the cycle continues. Without sufficient thermal management, thermal runaway can propagate between cells, leading to battery fires, which can risk lives and damage vehicles.
Conventional methods of detecting thermal runaway focus on current, voltage, and temperature sensing. While these are usually sufficient when the vehicle is in use, they provide no warning when parked due to the lack of power supply to the sensor nodes. In addition, they are not always effective in preventing thermal runaway propagation, nor do they allow for the detection of gases after cell venting, which can still be dangerous even when runaway propagation is prevented. Advanced sensors add additional avenues for runaway detection and can allow for monitoring of cell venting. The ideal sensors for runaway detection are gas sensors, pressure sensors, and aerosol sensors as all three of these are produced during battery pack degradation. Gas sensing is especially interesting, as it allows for the detection of cell venting and provides earlier and more reliable warnings than pressure or aerosol detection.
Currently, regulations around the world require only that electric vehicle users be given a 5 minute warning before any fire or smoke enters the passenger area of the vehicle. This places no responsibility on battery pack developers to provide a warning of the presence of dangerous gases in the pack, e.g., through gas or pressure sensing and monitoring of cell venting events. The result is various electric vehicle fires that occurred while the vehicle was parked, when conventional sensor deployments were offline. Even when the vehicle is not in use, the risk to life is legitimate. However, without further regulations, most automotive developers will continue to use only conventional sensors in order to avoid (relatively small) additional costs.
It is expected that in the coming decade, additional regulations will be put into place, requiring the use of advanced sensors in battery packs, for both electric vehicles and energy storage systems. The full advanced sensors market for battery packs includes a wide array of sensor technologies.
IDTechEx predicts that over the next ten years, the market will have expanded significantly, and advanced battery pack sensors will see widespread adoption across the automotive and energy storage industries. For more information, see the associated report, “Advanced Battery Pack Sensors and Remote Monitoring 2026-2036: Technologies, Markets and Forecasts” at www.IDTechEx.com/ABP.
About IDTechEx
IDTechEx provides trusted independent research on emerging technologies and their markets. For more information, contact research@IDTechEx.com or visit www.IDTechEx.com.
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SOURCE IDTechEx
