Engineers can build safer, higher-performing electric vehicles and energy storage systems with TI’s new BQ79826Z-Q1 battery monitor

News highlights:

• The industry’s first 26-cells-in-series channel battery monitor delivers best-in-class sensing accuracy, reducing system costs by supporting more cells per device than competing solutions.
• Integrated smart EIS engine enables early warning of thermal runaway from inside battery cells, helping ensure safety in EVs and ESSs.
• Designed to help engineers create safer, higher-performing automotive and industrial applications, the BQ79826Z-Q1 is the latest addition to TI’s portfolio of BMS devices.

Texas Instruments (TI) (Nasdaq: TXN) today introduced the industry’s highest-cell-countbattery monitor with an integrated electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) engine, bringing predictive intelligence,comprehensive dataand real-time diagnostics to battery monitoring in electric vehicles (EV) and energy storage system (ESS) applications.

The BQ79826Z-Q1battery monitor enhances safety and extends battery life by detecting potential failures from within battery cells.The single chipdelivers the highest-cell-count monitoring in its class,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, reducing system complexity and cost without compromising reliability.TI is showcasing this innovation at the 2026 Power Conversion, Intelligent Motion Expo and Conference (PCIM), June 9-11, in Nuremberg, Germany.

“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,” said Wenjia Liu, vice president and general manager, battery management systems (BMS) at TI. “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.”

Delivering safety and performance with EIS technology

Just as an electrocardiogram (EKG) monitors the heart, EIS monitors a battery. It delivers continuous, real-time insight that reveals the battery’s health and warns of issues before they become critical. Integrated EIS technology enables the BQ78926Z-Q1 to detect fault conditions earlier – from inside the cells – helping maintain safety and notifying passengers of potential vehicle hazards such as thermal runaway.

These same benefits extend to ESSs, where reliable battery monitoring is critical to meeting the growing power demands of artificial intelligence data centers. As effective storage solutions become increasingly vital in the grid-to-gate ecosystem, EIS gives engineers real-time visibility into the state of charge and state of health of each battery cell, regardless of system size.

Maximizing efficiency with industry-leading cell count

The performance of an EV or ESS is fundamentally affectedby the quality and efficiency of its batteries.The BQ79826Z-Q1supports up to 26 cells per device, eight more than any competing solution, setting a new industry standard. Fewer monitoring devices means a lower bill of materials, simplified architecture and reduced board space requirements, translating to meaningful cost savingsper channel without sacrificing quality or reliability.

When paired with the BQ79881-Q1 pack monitor and optional TI communications bridge, these devices create a powerful chipset that works across different module sizes, battery chemistries and mechanical designs, giving engineers the flexibility to design once and deploy everywhere. This scalability reduces engineering overhead and accelerates time to market for automotive and energy storage designers.

Calculating charge readings with the best-in-class accuracy

With a voltage accuracy of <2mV across a full temperature range of –40°C to +125°C, higher resolution analog-to-digital converters and ultra-low noise, the BQ78926Z-Q1 enables more accurate state-of-charge calculations, directly addressing one of the biggest concerns for EV drivers: range anxiety. Utilizing 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 anEIS measurement time that is five times faster than previous solutions,this device delivers the highest functional safety voltage reading per cell. Compliance with Automotive Safety Integrity Level D and International Organization for Standardization 26262 givesdesigners a smarter, more efficient path to safer, longer-lasting batteries.

For more information on the BQ79826Z-Q1, see technical article “Enabling the next phase of battery intelligence.”

For more information, see ti.com/BQ79826Z-Q1.