Smart batteries: materials, monitoring, and artificial intelligence

Addressing critical limitations of conventional lithium-ion batteries, including resource scarcity, safety risks, and environmental concerns, the advent of smart batteries represents a transformative leap in energy storage. This comprehensive review highlights their defining characteristics of stability, safety, sustainability, and sensibility (4S) by synergistically integrating responsive materials, high-precision sensing, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven management. We critically examine recent breakthroughs in responsive materials capable of self-protection, self-healing, self-adaptation, self-adjusting, self-diagnosis, and self-charging across all battery components, including electrolytes, separators, electrodes, binders, and current collectors. Furthermore, we detail state-of-the-art sensing techniques for real-time safety monitoring and advanced AI algorithms for predictive lifetime management, offering unprecedented control over battery performance and safety. Finally, this review delineates critical challenges and outlines interdisciplinary future research directions, bridging materials science, advanced diagnostics, and predictive analytics. By enabling enhanced performance, safety, and environmental compatibility, smart batteries are poised to revolutionize energy storage technologies globally, driving sustainable energy transitions and unlocking new paradigms for intelligent power systems.