The future of sustainable transportation is battery-powered

Can a battery know it’s in trouble before anyone else does?

Professor Mahesh Krishnamurthy, Vin and Caren Prothro Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is an electrical engineer, researcher and innovator in smarter, safer lithium-ion batteries.

In July, Krishnamurthy delivered the keynote address at the 2026 IEEE International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Future Electric Transportation (SEFET) in Nagpur, India. His address, titled “Leveraging AI to Develop Safe and Reliable Fast Charge-Capable Li-Ion Battery Packs,” describes a physics-based and AI-enabled solution to the EV industry’s biggest challenge — enabling fast charging without compromising safety or battery life.

Now more than ever, mounting climate concerns bring unprecedented demand for electrified alternatives to consumer and industry transportation. With a vast and growing market, from passenger vehicles and delivery vans to aircraft and robotics, we tend to think that the problem of charging is solved.

But, for the new frontier of sustainable energy to take hold, we need lithium-ion batteries that can out-compete the gas-powered market. Consumers expect an electric vehicle to charge like filling a gas tank, but this kind of speed, known as fast charging, leaves batteries vulnerable to degradation and thermal runaway, an internal overheating that may trigger explosions.

As we push for better batteries and faster, more convenient charging, we risk pushing the technology to its limit.

“Fast charging is one of the biggest barriers to widespread electrification,” Krishnamurthy explained. “A little over 10 years ago, we began asking a fundamental question: How can we make lithium-ion batteries charge faster without sacrificing safety or battery life?”

Historically, approaches to electrified transportation engineering have been, more or less, reactive — batteries fail, overheat, age and lose capacity due to temperature, use or stress, and engineers respond to challenges as they come up.

But what if electrified systems were anticipatory, predicting problems before they arise and using that data to create smarter, safer batteries?

With engineers and students at the Lyle ASPEN Lab, Krishnamurthy is building physics-based and AI-enabled battery management systems (BMS) that continue to adapt throughout the lifetime of the battery. His work looks at the battery problem as part of a larger, electrified machine, which can be continuously monitored and refined with artificial intelligence and digital twin technology.

These insights point to electric vehicles with faster charging, but his work also imagines a future where all commercial and industry technologies can be both safer and more sustainable. Drones monitoring a forest fire, for instance, risk losing capability when their batteries are exposed to extreme temperatures and strong winds. When longevity and effectiveness are most critical, AI-enabled BMS can improve reliability even as traditional systems fail.

“I believe the future of transportation lies in optimizing the entire electrified powertrain, rather than studying batteries in isolation,” Krishnamurthy explained. “Our research goes beyond battery management to include AI-enabled electric machine design, power electronics, and digital twins that work together to make transportation systems more efficient, more powerful, and most importantly -- safer.”

Returning to share his work with sustainable energy leaders at IEEE, an industry he’s shaped for decades with the founding of the IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference (ITEC) and the IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification journal, was more than meaningful.

“It was a great honor to deliver the keynote,” Krishnamurthy emphasized. “To me, it reflects the growing importance of the work we are doing at SMU Lyle and the opportunity we have to help shape the next generation of electrified systems.”

Pursuing that vision, Krishnamurthy co-founded CellSafeIQ with Mohammad Qasem, who recently earned his doctorate with ASPEN and SMU Lyle. The startup is currently participating in the Spears Launch Accelerator with SMU Cox to bring AI-enabled battery management systems (BMS) to industry. For Krishnamurthy, this represents the first step in building better batteries, and ultimately, a sustainable, electrified future.

“At the Lyle School of Engineering, we are creating an ecosystem focused on intelligent electrification,” Krishnamurthy said. “Whether the application is electric vehicles, drones, aviation, or robotics, our goal is the same: to develop intelligent systems that are efficient, reliable, safe, and ready for deployment.”


About the Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering

SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering thrives on innovation that transcends traditional boundaries. We strongly believe in the power of externally funded, industry-supported research to drive progress and provide exceptional students with valuable industry insights. Our mission is to lead the way in digital transformation within engineering education, all while ensuring that every student graduates as a confident leader. Founded in 1925, SMU Lyle is one of the oldest engineering schools in the Southwest, offering undergraduate and graduate programs, including master’s and doctoral degrees.

About SMU

SMU is the nationally ranked teaching and research university in the dynamic city of Dallas, and a member of the prestigious Atlantic Coast Conference. SMU’s alumni, faculty and more than 12,000 students in eight degree-granting schools demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit as they lead change in their professions, communities and the world.