The rapid expansion of battery technologies in electric vehicles, renewable energy storage, and consumer electronics demands comprehensive safety strategies across all system levels. This review assesses the safety aspects of battery management systems (BMS), with a focus on lithium-ion batteries, while also addressing emerging concerns in sodium-ion, lead-acid, and nickel-based chemistries. Thermal runaway, a primary hazard in rechargeable batteries, is examined through electrochemical degradation, thermal abuse, and mechanical failure modes. The effectiveness of passive thermal management, utilizing phase change materials (PCMs) and composite PCM structures, is evaluated against active air cooling under high-power and overuse scenarios. Results show that passive protection can reduce propagation temperatures by more than 60°C and delay or prevent thermal events in adjacent cells, while smart BMS algorithms improve the State of Health (SoH) by up to 20% compared to conventional protocols. This study also explores innovative BMS architectures that integrate real-time monitoring, predictive diagnostics, and embedded control systems. Particular attention is given to the estimation and use of SoH, which quantifies battery degradation based on capacity loss, resistance growth, and electrochemical response. While lithium-ion systems remain the primary focus, the review highlights how BMS approaches must adapt to the unique failure mechanisms, thermal behavior, and design constraints of sodium-ion, lead-acid, and nickel-based batteries. This comprehensive assessment offers insight into developing scalable, chemistry-specific safety solutions that are critical for next-generation energy storage technologies.
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2025 The Author(s). Battery Energy published by Xijing University and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.
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