Navigating the intricacies: A critical review of numerical modeling in battery research and design

The intricate interplay of multi-scale and multi-physics phenomena within battery systems poses a substantial challenge in harmonizing microscopic electrochemical processes. This complexity impedes the advancement of innovative designs for large-scale transportation and energy storage applications, frequently culminating in prohibitively high costs. Anticipating the real-world impact of laboratory-developed batteries on industrial devices remains largely an elusive endeavor. Nonetheless, physics-based numerical inquiries have emerged as a promising approach to illuminating the interactions across various battery domains and scales, ranging from the individual cell to the system level. Physical models, grounded in a set of assumptions, may result in critical inaccuracies when based on ill-informed predictions, a particular risk within the nuanced sphere of battery design, which is fraught with complex physical and chemical interactions. This paper endeavors to clarify the subtleties of numerical models utilized in battery research and design. It seeks to demystify the development of battery models by drawing on physical expressions from scholarly works to map the interconnections among diverse models. This paper provides an insight into the subject, delineating the essential electrochemical governing equations, equivalent circuit models, degradation mechanisms, and methodologies for multi-physics integration, thereby establishing a robust framework for the exploration and creation of cutting-edge battery technologies.