Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) continue to advance battery chemistries, components, and other hardware that are expanding the range of applications suitable for electrification. However, as Lucia Salcido, Senior Product Manager at Flux Power, emphasized during the panel discussion, “The Realities of Battery Technology in Modern Electrification,” at the 2026 Future of Electrification (FOE) Conference, hardware alone is no longer enough. Instead, she argued that software will play an increasingly important role in unlocking the full potential of battery technology.
The following Q&A highlights Salcido’s perspectives on battery management, software-driven innovation, and the trends shaping the future of electrification.
Q: How do you see the development of LTO versions in the future?
Lucia Salcido: Lithium Titanate (LTO) chemistries will become more common, but on an uncertain timeline. Because LTO chemistries can power more demanding duty cycles, industries like ground support equipment (for terminal and tarmac operations at airports) often make inquiries. LTO also delivers excellent performance in extreme temperature ranges compared to Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) chemistries.
However, LTO remains a newer chemistry, and its total cost of ownership (TCO) hasn’t lowered enough for many OEMs or fleet operations to pursue wider adoption. While price points will likely keep OEMs building around LFP batteries or other common chemistries for now, market competition also requires innovating nonmaterial solutions that enhance or amplify existing performance in the meantime.
Q: With all this incapability of interoperability, are there any initiatives in the industry to standardize data analytics and characterizations?
Lucia Salcido: Standardizing data and analytics will require OEMs and partners to develop an interconnecting protocol between charger management systems and energy management systems. The on-road electric vehicle (EV) space accomplishes this via the Open Charge Point Protocol, sending all data to the charger management system.
Some standardization is occurring in industrial and off-highway applications, particularly for material handling and ground support equipment. However, many OEMs still need solutions for interconnecting different systems via APIs to see the full scope of what’s going on within those systems and their
broader environment. For example, if a battery and its charger register different charge currents, standardized data analytics enables easier comparison and simpler diagnosis. Similarly, fleet managers could analyze telemetry data from interconnected systems by pulling some details from each into one dashboard.
Q: What are the most common performance or reliability challenges that you are seeing in real-world deployments?
Lucia Salcido: Thermal management for vehicles and equipment represents the most common challenge. When designing a new battery system, it’s crucial to consider a broad range of application environments and extremes. OEMs need to think about thermal management not just from a heating perspective, but from a cooling perspective. This also includes any heating that battery cells experience during charging and severe thermal shocks, like travelling in and out of cold storage.
Demand for fast charging continues rising, but some operations cannot support it, depending on the operating temperature for vehicles and the environmental temperature where they’re stored and charged. The ability to create or fine-tune better charging profiles is crucial to supporting fast charging without sacrificing temperature stability.
Q: How do you see battery technology evolving over the next three to five years in practical applications?
Lucia Salcido: Hardware alone won’t be enough; software is the future of battery technology, including leveraging AI and large language models. OEMs will increasingly prioritize software interconnectivity for data-driven decision-making and optimized operations. Battery systems can already inform charging practices. State of health algorithms will better help with managing predictive maintenance and replacement cycles. These machines will help predict their usage and improve efficiencies from a software perspective, via monthly reports and insights.
Electrification’s learning curve when transitioning from other technologies remains significant for users, but the actionable insights surfaced by software will diminish that barrier within the next two to three years.
Q: Any final comments?
Lucia Salcido: OEMs trying to establish or reinforce market leadership will find more performance improvements by expanding their focus beyond batteries’ material innovation and hardware improvements. The right software won’t offer ‘better’ chemistries, but it will deliver bigger impacts than better baseline battery specifications.
Learn more About Flux Power
As a Charged by Delta-Q partner, Flux Power helps OEMs and fleet operators optimize electrified equipment through advanced battery solutions, intelligent battery management, and software-driven insights. The Charged by Delta-Q program identifies battery solutions that have been tested and validated for compatibility with Delta-Q charging technologies, helping support reliable performance and uptime.
By combining energy storage innovation with real-world application expertise, Flux Power supports reliable, efficient, and scalable electrification. To learn more about Flux Power’s battery solutions and approach to electrification, visit www.fluxpower.com.
