BMS testing
Prove your BMS handles faults you can't create with real cells.
The Battery Cell Simulator replaces the battery with controlled cell and sensor signals. You create and repeat normal, boundary and fault conditions for EVs, energy storage, robots and drones – without building and abusing real battery packs.1
204 simulated cells, no new tool chain: BMS testing inside an existing CANoe setup.
- What for
- Teams that must show their BMS detects and handles faults – in EVs, energy storage, robots and drones.
- What it does
- Simulated cells and sensors repeat normal, boundary and fault conditions; published project: 204 simulated cells inside an existing CANoe setup.
- Not for
- Electrochemical characterisation of cells or packs.
A BMS that misses an unsafe cell state in the field turns a software bug into a safety incident.
Your path to BMS testing
Choose the setup for your BMS test
It starts with the application and a relevant project configuration; then we agree the technical requirements for your own setup.
15-minute demo. An engineer shows your BMS test case on a real Battery Cell Simulator.Written quotation. Cell channels, sensor and fault simulation and integration for your task – then you order.Delivery and start. Commissioning and training are agreed in the quotation.
Cells and controller
The cells store energy. The BMS monitors and protects them.
- Monitor cell conditionsThe BMS monitors voltage at each series position, alongside temperature and other safety-relevant signals.
- Protect the battery systemThe BMS detects unsafe conditions and triggers protective action against overcharge, deep discharge and overheating.
- Simulate cells and sensorsThe test system emulates cell voltages and sensor signals, allowing you to test BMS responses without real battery cells.
- Automate repeatable testsApply supported operating states and fault combinations with defined, repeatable inputs to validate BMS behaviour.
Conceptual battery-system illustrations. A Battery Cell Simulator simulates cell and sensor signals when you test the BMS.
Application-specific priorities
Match BMS tests to the battery application
Shared BMS functions come first; operating profiles, interfaces and safe-state behaviour of the final application follow.
Cell and sensor behaviour combine with high-voltage control, fast charging, regenerative braking, thermal management, isolation, contactors and vehicle communication.
- Dynamic current and temperature profiles
- CMC or CSC chain faults and sensor plausibility
- Coordination with VCU, OBC and EVCC
Characterize analog front ends and monitoring ICs before integrating a complete battery pack. Faults in conversion, diagnostics and communication carry into later designs. With simulated cells you find them before a battery pack exists.
- Linearity, channel matching, noise and timing
- Open-wire and communication-chain diagnostics
- Regression across devices, lots and temperature
Address long service life, rack and cluster structures, standby behaviour, parallel strings, module replacement and flat-voltage chemistries.
- Drift, imbalance and self-discharge
- Rack communication, isolation and contactors
- Ageing distributions, service states and recovery
Shows how the BMS handles high actuator peaks, regenerative load changes and frequent docking. Account for compact batteries, limited cooling space and the safe states required during critical motion.
- Voltage sag and power-limit decisions
- Thermal and communication faults in motion
- Controlled derating, stop and dock behaviour
Shows how the BMS distinguishes a transient voltage sag from an unsafe battery state. Verifies the remaining-power information under high discharge and rapidly changing loads.
- Cold, aged or imbalanced cells
- Emergency return or landing signals
- Vibration, temperature and wiring faults
Configurable models, open interfaces and repeatable electrical conditions support new cell chemistries, estimation algorithms, balancing concepts and safety strategies.
- Parameter sweeps and algorithm comparison
- Open-loop and closed-loop HiL
- Traceable datasets and rapid reconfiguration
Anonymized project examples
BMS validation and production testing in customer projects
You can compare published BMS configurations with 120 simulated cells in February 2025, 204 cell channels in September 2024 and 72 cells in December 2024. Each article describes the documented project configuration.
Over 2 months and thousands of test hours
A Tier 1 BMS development HIL setup integrated 240 simulated cells and 16 temperature channels to enable continuous start-stop cycles, rest periods, and fault-injection scenarios.
240 simulated cells · 28 temperature channels
An OEM test architecture combined 240 simulated cells and 28 temperature channels with a climate chamber. This allowed environmental stress testing of the BMS without exposing real cells to the same conditions or risks.
5 production lines · 216 cells per production line
Five Battery Cell Simulator systems were integrated into five automated end-of-line stations for functional validation and automated fault diagnosis in series production.
Direct model integration for scalable cell simulation
A university research team integrated its own battery models directly into a 36-cell simulation system, scalable to 48 cells for repeatable algorithm development and validation.
24 simulated cells · 8 temperature channels
A supplier replaced a power-supply-based test setup with an integrated Battery Cell Simulator. The system combined 24 simulated cell channels and 8 temperature channels for automated cell, sensor and fault simulation.
“At TI, we know having the right tools and support makes innovation possible. Our broad portfolio of devices for battery management systems coupled with comemso’s proven results and accuracy with their battery cell simulator helps accelerate design time. comemso offers the ability to test and measure your system on a cell level with high precision.”
“Outstanding technical knowledge of comemso and customer application. High product quality and suitable for research.”
“The flexible simulation of real-world battery conditions with the comemso BCS allows us to automatically test different real-life scenarios from our customers of grid, automotive, and transportation area and identify & eliminate safety-critical factors to improve performance at an early stage.”
How to test a BMS
- Define the controller requirement and expected response.
- Select cell, sensor and supported fault inputs with the necessary range and load conditions.
- Match the Battery Cell Simulator modules, device under test (DUT) supply, fixture/interlocks and automation interface.
- Apply the defined stimulus and capture the actual controller output.
- Compare observation against the pre-agreed threshold, timing and recovery conditions.
- Save the configuration, versions, run identity, data and interpretation.
For BMS HIL (hardware-in-the-loop) integration, distinguish the electrical simulator from the wider HIL environment. Confirm supported control interfaces and external components.
BMS test methods: stimulation, automation, HiL and faults
Test methods
Direct stimulation, automation, models and faults follow the BMS response you need to evaluate.
Deterministic cell and sensor values test measurement accuracy, thresholds, I/O and basic protection logic.
Repeatable sequences cover boundary sweeps, regression, software releases and configuration variants.
Let a battery model react to BMS commands, load profiles and thermal conditions for dynamic algorithm validation.
Controlled electrical, sensor and communication faults. Detection, reaction timing and recovery, measured.
Signal simulation combines with climate chambers, power cycling and long-duration operation.
Development test records lead to fast, traceable checks for manufacturing and final inspection.
Frequently asked questions
BMS testing FAQ
What is BMS testing?
BMS testing verifies the hardware and software functions that monitor, estimate, balance and protect a battery system. Apply normal operating conditions, limits, electrical faults and communication failures, then check the response and recovery.
How can a BMS be tested without a real battery?
A programmable cell and sensor simulator supplies the electrical inputs expected by the BMS. Engineers set cell voltages, temperatures, current signals and supported faults directly, without waiting for a physical pack to reach each state.
Which BMS functions should be validated?
Typical scope includes measurement, state estimation, balancing, contactor and pre-charge control, isolation monitoring, diagnostics, communication, wake and sleep behaviour, protection thresholds and recovery.
What is the difference between BMS testing and battery testing?
BMS testing validates the controller, algorithms, interfaces and protection decisions. Battery-cell testing characterises electrochemical cells or packs, including capacity, power, ageing and thermal behaviour. comemso focuses on the BMS controller and uses emulated cell signals; it does not characterise battery chemistry.
How do BMS manufacturers ensure the quality and safety of their products?
BMS manufacturers verify defined controller requirements with battery management system testing. They keep each requirement, test case, observed response and release decision linked in the test record.
Engineers apply controlled cell deviations, balancing conditions and supported sensor faults, then check the required protection response, diagnostics, communication and recovery.
Follow the BMS test procedure. Select the Battery Cell Simulator configuration.
How can BMS sleep behaviour and undervoltage response be tested together?
Define the permitted standby current, intended sleep state and required response to a cell undervoltage condition. Apply controlled cell and sensor signals, introduce a supported undervoltage condition and record current consumption, diagnostics and wake/sleep behaviour.
Compare the result with the controller requirement and repeat the test after software or hardware changes. That application requirement defines whether the BMS should remain awake or return to sleep.
Customer projects, success stories and technical articles related to this page.
- Success storyTexas Instruments: precise cell-level BMS testingMark Ng from Texas Instruments describes precise cell-level testing with the comemso Battery Cell Simulator.
- Success storyAalborg University: battery research with comemsoProf. Dr. Remus Teodorescu on the comemso Battery Cell Simulator in research, with the Aalborg COMEMSO-platform video.
- Customer project204-Cell BMS Test Bench with CANoeA truck and bus manufacturer integrates a 204-cell BMS test bench with 16 NTC channels, insulation monitoring tests and fault simulation into CANoe.
- Customer projectBMS Testing with Open InterfacesA battery research team combines Battery Cell Simulation and comframe with its own test software, using open interfaces for BMS development.
BMS testing with a defined simulation boundary
BMS testing starts with defined inputs and expected responses. The BMS tester provides the selected cell boundary. BMS simulation adds a battery model, automation and BMS feedback to that electrical stimulation. The record shows which values came from the model, which physical outputs were measured and which decision the BMS made.
A battery cell simulator replaces the real cell connections. For a traceable fault test, change one condition at a time and repeat the same sequence after the correction. The BMS test record must also identify connection, contact and enable failures in the setup. Then an invalid measurement is not reported as a DUT failure.
BMS-controller test planning
It starts with the battery architecture, operating scenarios and required monitoring, balancing and protective responses.