The heartbeat of every electric vehicle is its battery pack, which can propel a driver and passengers up to 400 miles or more. But on that journey, a battery monitor is a key ingredient of the battery management system, ensuring the battery is safely managed, optimized, and protected from dangers like thermal runaway. To take that monitoring to a new level, Dallas-based Texas Instruments has launched the industry’s first 26-cells-in-series channel battery monitor, which can watch over an EV battery “just as an electrocardiogram (EKG) monitors the heart.”
TI said its new BQ79826Z-Q1 is 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 in energy storage systems, as well.
Single chip ‘enhances safety and extends battery life’
TI’s new battery monitor features a single chip that enhances safety and extends battery life by detecting potential failures from within battery cells, TI said, delivering the highest-cell-count monitoring in its class and tracking up to 44% more channels than previous generations.
With this increase in channels, the device significantly decreases the number of components required in a battery pack, the company added—”reducing system complexity and cost without compromising reliability.”
TI is showcasing the innovation this week at the 2026 Power Conversion, Intelligent Motion Expo and Conference in Nuremberg, Germany.
Wenjia Liu, VP and GM of battery management systems at TI, said EVs 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,” Liu added in a statement, “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.”
TI said its new battery monitor delivers continuous, real-time insight that reveals a battery’s health and warns of issues before they become critical. Integrated EIS technology enables it to detect fault conditions earlier—from inside the cells—helping to keep the battery safe and notifying passengers of potential vehicle hazards such as thermal runaway, TI said.
Monitoring energy storage systems for AI data centers
The monitor extends those benefits energy storage systems, too—a growing market as companies race to meet the power demands of AI data centers. EIS gives engineers “real-time visibility into the state of charge and state of health of each battery cell,” regardless of system size, TI said.
The BQ79826Z-Q1 supports up to 26 cells per device, TI said, setting a new industry standard with eight more than any competing solution. The company said fewer monitoring devices means a lower bill of materials, simplified architecture, and reduced board space requirements,—”translating to meaningful cost savings per channel without sacrificing quality or reliability.”
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