Qnovo is piloting a new software application designed to give automakers, fleet operators and insurers additional information about the condition and potential residual value of EV batteries.

Built on the Qnovo Battery Genome platform, the application analyzes a battery’s electrochemical history, including charging behavior, operating history, environmental exposure and cell-level variation. Qnovo said the software uses those data to identify signs of accelerated aging and potential defects and project how a battery is likely to age.

For fleets, that type of battery health information could become increasingly relevant as more EVs reach the used market and organizations make decisions about vehicle replacement, remarketing and residual values.

Looking Beyond EV Age and Mileage

Battery condition can vary between EVs with similar ages and mileage because of differences in charging, operating conditions and environmental exposure.

Qnovo’s software is intended to provide additional information about those differences by running in the vehicle, where it can access more detailed battery data than may be available through an aftermarket inspection.

“Since the Battery Genome runs in the vehicle where the rich data lives, we know with added certainty what the battery is doing and what it is not doing,” said Nadim Maluf, CEO of Qnovo. “That gives the OEM more insight over what is out in the field and more confidence in every assessment.”

Residual value is one of the outputs generated by the application, according to Qnovo.

When asked how much of the uncertainty around used-EV values today can be traced back to not knowing the true condition of the battery, Qnovo co-founder and CEO Nadim Maluf said it all goes back to information.

"Used-EV value uncertainty is fundamentally an information problem: we don’t know the true condition of the battery.
Fire is the extreme edge of that uncertainty.  In the U.S., NIST estimated 5000+ xEV fires (possibly as many as 10,000+ fires). China reports 1.85 fires per 10,000 EVs.

That uncertainty extends well beyond the extreme case of fire. If we cannot confidently determine the health, degradation, defects and remaining life of an individual battery, the buyer has to price the unknown. In effect, that uncertainty gets baked into the used-EV price as a wider risk premium: buyers discount the vehicle not necessarily because its battery is bad, but because they cannot confidently know that it is good. Better battery intelligence narrows that uncertainty—and therefore should narrow the risk premium embedded in used-EV values."z

Battery Passports Add Another Consideration

The pilot also comes as the European Union prepares to introduce digital battery passport requirements for certain batteries beginning in 2027.

Qnovo said battery passports can provide baseline information about a battery but argues that additional in-vehicle data can help identify accelerated degradation or defects that may not be apparent from more limited information.

“Battery passports are a welcome step towards transparency, but without a better understanding of the battery, it opens OEMs to liability,” Maluf said.

Qnovo is positioning the new application as an extension of its existing automotive software, which includes Adaptive Fast Charging and Health and Safety Diagnostics.

The company plans to demonstrate the application at The Battery Show North America in Detroit, Oct. 13-15.