Michael Theiler presents approaches to fault diagnosis in battery systems

The IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology (ICIT 2026) took place in Monterrey, Mexico, from March 4 to 6, 2026. ICIT (https://icit2026.ieee-ies.org/) is one of the most important conferences of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society. It provides a forum for scientists and engineers from around the world to exchange the latest research findings and ideas in the field of industrial electronics. Our ELS research group was also represented this year. On the first day of the conference, as part of the session “Data-driven Fault Diagnosis, Detection, and Control in Industrial Systems,” Michael Theiler presented his findings on the topic “Cross-Cell Monitoring for Fault Detection in Battery Systems: Sensitivity to Initial Cell-to-Cell Variations.”

The presentation focused on how initial cell-to-cell variations affect the early detection of anomalies in battery systems. The work thus examines an influencing factor that is often only marginally considered in research but is of central importance for the practical design and evaluation of data-driven diagnostic methods.

“Our work shows that simple threshold-based methods for fault detection in battery systems quickly reach their limits due to unavoidable cell-to-cell variations,” emphasizes Michael Theiler. “Principal component analysis allows these variations to be specifically accounted for in industrial practice, thereby increasing the safety of the battery system by detecting failures earlier and more accurately.”

In addition to the numerous scientific presentations, the conference also offered other highlights. Participants enjoyed interesting tutorials, keynote speeches, and the official banquet on March 5, where researchers had the opportunity to exchange ideas.
Participating in ICIT was very valuable for us. We are proud that we were able to share our findings with other researchers on an international level.