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Battery Safety, Grid Monitoring, Wearable Biosensors, Hydrogen Safety and Quantum-Grade Measurement

Mobility Foresights Industrial Technology Research | Hub Analysis | September 2026

Sensing is expanding fastest where new systems create new risks and new data needs. Four such areas stand out:

• Electric vehicles and battery storage need continuous monitoring to prevent thermal runaway.
• Electricity grids carrying more renewables and data center load need condition monitoring to avoid failures.
• Healthcare is moving measurement onto the body and into the home.
• Hydrogen infrastructure requires leak and embrittlement detection at every stage.

Alongside these, a group of specialty sensors, including quantum magnetometers, Rydberg-atom receivers, radiation detectors and terahertz sensors, is moving from laboratory to field use.

This hub brings together 102 Mobility Foresights market studies across six areas: EV and battery sensing; automotive and cabin sensing; grid, power and current sensing; wearable and medical biosensors; IoT, building and air-quality sensors; and hydrogen, fire and energy-storage safety, plus specialty and quantum-grade sensing. A companion hub covers industrial and process sensors.

Key Takeaways

• Battery safety regulation is creating mandated sensing. Rules such as China's GB 38031-2025, which requires EV batteries not to catch fire or explode after a thermal runaway event, push detection earlier in the failure chain.
• Grid monitoring is being rebuilt around continuous diagnostics. Partial discharge, dissolved gas and thermal sensors protect aging transformers and cables carrying record loads.
• Consumer and medical sensing are converging. Over-the-counter glucose monitors and clinical-grade wearables use the same underlying optical and electrochemical technologies.
• Hydrogen is a new sensing market. Leak detection, embrittlement monitoring and fuel-cell diagnostics are required across production, transport and refueling.
• Quantum sensing is becoming commercial. Magnetometers, Rydberg receivers and atomic clocks are being fielded for navigation, medical imaging and defense.

How We Segment Application-Specific Sensors

1. EV and Battery Sensing

Battery safety is the dominant driver. Regulators are moving from "warn the occupants" to "prevent the fire", which requires detecting problems well before temperature rises. Four reports cover early detection:

• Our battery thermal runaway early detection sensors market report covers the sensors that detect the first signs of cell failure.
• The battery pack gas detection sensors market study covers gas sensing inside packs, which can detect venting before heat spreads.
• The electrolyte leak detection sensors market report covers electrolyte leak detection.
• The battery pack pressure and vent sensors market study covers pressure and vent monitoring.

Cell and pack health monitoring:

• The battery cell temperature sensors market report covers cell temperature sensing.
• The battery impedance monitoring sensors market and EIS analyzers market studies cover impedance-based state-of-health measurement, both onboard and in the laboratory.
• The lithium-ion battery aging and degradation sensors market report covers degradation tracking over a battery's life.
• The solid-state battery interface monitoring sensors market study covers the new measurement needs of solid-state cells, where the electrode interface determines performance.

High-voltage electrical safety and powertrain thermal management:

• The high-voltage battery current sensors market and EV shunt current sensor market reports cover current measurement for state-of-charge and protection.
• The EV battery pack isolation monitoring sensors market study covers insulation monitoring, a mandatory safety function in high-voltage vehicles.
• The inverter temperature sensor modules market and electric vehicle power electronics thermal sensors market reports cover thermal monitoring in SiC and GaN inverters, where switching losses concentrate heat in small areas.

2. Automotive and Cabin Sensing

Regulation is driving in-cabin sensing. Euro NCAP protocols award points for child-presence detection, and radar-based systems can detect an infant's breathing through blankets. Three reports cover cabin sensing:

• Our in-cabin radar occupancy sensors market report covers radar-based occupant detection.
• The automotive ToF cabin sensing market study covers time-of-flight cameras used for occupant and gesture sensing.
• The mmWave sensors and modules market report covers the millimeter-wave modules behind both interior and exterior sensing.

Exterior and safety sensing:

• The automotive thermal imaging sensors market report covers infrared cameras that detect pedestrians and animals in darkness and glare.
• The road surface condition sensors market study covers sensors that detect ice, water and grip, feeding both driver assistance and road maintenance.
• The side crash detection pressure sensor market report covers the pressure sensors that trigger side airbags within milliseconds.
• The wideband oxygen (lambda) sensors market study covers exhaust oxygen sensors, still essential for combustion and hybrid vehicles under tightening emissions rules.

3. Grid, Power and Current Sensing

Grids are carrying more variable renewable generation and rapidly growing data center loads, on infrastructure that is often decades old. Continuous monitoring reduces the risk of failures and fires. Four reports cover asset diagnostics:

• Our partial discharge monitoring sensors market and high-voltage partial discharge sensors market reports cover detection of insulation breakdown in transformers, switchgear and cables, at the system and sensor level.
• The dissolved gas analysis (DGA) sensors market study covers online transformer oil analysis, which reveals internal faults early.
• The substation condition monitoring sensors market report covers substation-wide monitoring.
• The cable temperature monitoring sensors market study covers cable thermal monitoring, which allows operators to load lines closer to their true limits.

Fault and arc detection protect people and equipment:

• The arc flash detection sensors market report covers arc flash detection in switchgear.
• The arc fault detection sensors market study covers arc fault detection in distribution and solar systems, where it is a code requirement in many markets.

Current and power measurement:

• The contactless current sensing sensors market report covers non-invasive current sensors.
• The fiber optic current sensors market study covers optical current measurement used in HVDC and high-voltage substations.
• The HVDC equipment monitoring sensors market report covers monitoring of HVDC converter stations, which are central to long-distance renewable transmission.
• The smart power metering sensor modules market study covers the metering modules in smart meters and submetering systems.

4. Wearable and Medical Biosensors

Continuous glucose monitoring proved that people will wear a biosensor daily, and the first over-the-counter monitors were cleared in 2024. Four reports cover the core technologies:

• Our electrochemical biosensors market report covers the electrochemical sensing behind glucose and other analyte monitors.
• The non-invasive glucose sensors market study covers the long-sought goal of measuring glucose without piercing the skin.
• The capacitive biosensor chips market and photonic biosensors market reports cover capacitive and optical biosensing platforms.
• The lab-on-a-chip biosensors market and microfluidic sensor chips market studies cover miniaturized diagnostic systems.

Vital-sign monitoring is moving onto the body and into clothing:

• The wearable vital sign sensors market report covers wearable vital-sign monitoring.
• The optical heart rate sensor modules market and blood oxygen (SpO2) sensor modules market studies cover the optical modules in watches and clinical monitors.
• The non-invasive blood pressure sensors market report covers cuffless blood pressure measurement.
• The non-contact ECG sensors market study covers ECG sensing without adhesive electrodes.
• The smart textile biosensors market report covers sensors woven into clothing.
• The continuous temperature monitoring sensors market study covers continuous body-temperature monitoring.

Specialized measurement:

• The bioimpedance sensor modules market report covers body-composition and hydration measurement.
• The electrodermal activity (EDA) sensors market study covers stress and arousal sensing.
• The electrochemical breath sensors market report covers breath analysis for metabolic and disease markers.
• The wearable triboelectric sensors for rehabilitation and musculoskeletal monitoring market study covers self-powered motion sensors for physiotherapy.
• The ultrasonic medical imaging sensors market report covers the transducers in handheld and wearable ultrasound.
• The UV dosimeter wearable sensors market study covers personal UV exposure monitoring.

5. IoT, Building and Air-Quality Sensors

The main barrier to large IoT deployments is power and installation cost. Two reports cover the answer:

• The energy harvesting sensors market and self-powered sensor market reports cover sensors that draw energy from light, heat or motion instead of batteries.
• The vibration energy harvesting sensors market study covers harvesting from machine vibration.
• The smart wireless sensor nodes market report covers complete wireless sensing nodes.

Connectivity choices shape the market:

• The LoRaWAN sensor modules market, NB-IoT sensor devices market and Zigbee sensor modules market reports cover the main low-power networks.
• The RFID sensor tags market study covers battery-free sensing tags.
• The UWB positioning sensors market and real-time location system (RTLS) sensors market reports cover indoor positioning and asset tracking.

Buildings are the largest application:

• The occupancy and people counting sensors market and passive infrared (PIR) motion sensors market reports cover occupancy detection used for HVAC and lighting control.
• The smart lighting control sensors market study covers lighting controls.
• The water leak detection sensors market report covers leak detection, a major insurance-driven category.
• The smart elevator condition monitoring sensors market study covers elevator monitoring.
• The capacitive touch sensor controllers market report covers touch interfaces in appliances and control panels.

Indoor air quality became a mainstream concern after the pandemic:

• The indoor air quality (IAQ) sensor modules market report covers multi-parameter IAQ modules.
• The formaldehyde gas sensors market study covers formaldehyde detection.
• The optical dust sensors market and laser particle counter sensors market reports cover particulate measurement in buildings and cleanrooms.
• The IoT pressure sensor market study covers connected pressure sensing across building and industrial IoT.

6. Hydrogen, Fire and Energy-Storage Safety

Hydrogen is colorless, odorless and ignites easily, so sensing is a safety requirement at every stage of its value chain. Three reports cover it:

• Our hydrogen gas sensors market report covers detection across production, storage and use.
• The hydrogen refueling station safety sensors market study covers refueling stations.
• The hydrogen embrittlement monitoring sensors market report covers monitoring of the metal degradation hydrogen causes in pipelines and pressure vessels.
• The fuel cell stack health monitoring sensors market study covers fuel cell diagnostics.

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) have their own safety regime. Off-gas detection can identify a failing cell before flames appear:

• The BESS gas detection sensor market and BESS off-gas detection sensor market reports cover gas detection in storage systems, at the system and off-gas-specific level.
• The grid-scale energy storage safety monitoring systems market study covers complete safety monitoring for large installations.
• The thermal imaging fire detection sensors market report covers thermal cameras used for very early fire detection in warehouses, waste facilities and battery installations.

7. Specialty, Radiation and Quantum Sensing

Quantum sensing has begun to leave the laboratory:

• The quantum magnetometer sensors market report covers atomic and diamond-based magnetometers used in navigation, medical imaging and materials inspection.
• The Rydberg-based sensors market study covers receivers using highly excited atoms to detect radio signals across a very wide frequency range.
• The triaxial magnetometer sensors market and magnetic field mapping sensors market reports cover conventional magnetic sensing.
• The high-precision time synchronization sensors market study covers precision timing, which underpins telecom networks, power grids and financial systems when GPS is unavailable.

Radiation and high-energy detection:

• The nuclear radiation detection sensors market report covers radiation detection for nuclear power, security and medicine.
• The radiation dosimetry sensors market study covers personal and environmental dose measurement.
• The UV photodiode sensors market and UV-C light intensity sensors market reports cover UV measurement, including verification of UV-C disinfection.

Temperature and thermal sensing in demanding conditions:

• The high-temperature thermocouple sensors market report covers thermocouples for furnaces and turbines.
• The high-temperature turbine sensors market study covers turbine instrumentation.
• The fiber optic temperature sensors market report covers distributed temperature sensing along cables and pipelines.
• The non-contact thermal sensors market and infrared thermopile sensors market studies cover infrared temperature measurement.

Safety, EMI and imaging:

• The industrial flame detection sensors market and optical flame detector sensors market reports cover flame detection in oil, gas and chemical plants.
• The industrial safety interlock sensors market study covers safety interlocks.
• The ballistic shock sensors market report covers high-g shock measurement in defense and aerospace testing.
• The electromagnetic interference (EMI) detection sensors market and microwave and RF power sensors market studies cover electromagnetic measurement.
• The terahertz (THz) sensors market report covers terahertz sensing for security screening and materials inspection.
• The benchtop capacitance meters market study covers precision laboratory capacitance measurement.

Where Value Is Created: The Application Sensing Value Chain

Regional perspective

• China. The largest EV and battery market, with new national safety standards driving battery sensing volumes.
• Europe. Euro NCAP cabin-sensing protocols, grid modernization and hydrogen projects support demand.
• United States. Grid investment, data center load growth and consumer health devices are the main drivers.
• Japan and South Korea. Strong positions in sensor components, batteries and hydrogen infrastructure.

What to Watch Through 2032

1. Battery safety standards: how prescriptive regulators become about in-pack gas and pressure sensing.
2. Cuffless blood pressure and non-invasive glucose: regulatory clearances would open very large consumer markets.
3. Hydrogen build-out: the pace of refueling and pipeline projects driving safety sensing.
4. Grid diagnostics: utility adoption of continuous partial discharge and DGA monitoring.
5. Quantum sensor commercialization: magnetometers and Rydberg receivers moving into fielded systems.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do sensors prevent EV battery fires?

Gas, pressure, temperature and impedance sensors detect the early stages of cell failure, often before significant heat is produced, allowing the battery management system to isolate the pack and warn occupants.

What is off-gas detection in battery storage?

Failing lithium-ion cells vent small amounts of gas before thermal runaway. Off-gas sensors detect these gases inside enclosures, providing earlier warning than smoke or heat detectors.

Why is in-cabin radar used in cars?

Radar can detect the breathing of a child left in a vehicle even under a blanket or in a rear-facing seat. Child-presence detection is rewarded in safety-rating protocols such as Euro NCAP.

What is partial discharge monitoring?

Partial discharge is small electrical breakdown inside insulation that precedes failure. Sensors detect its electrical or acoustic signature, allowing transformers, cables and switchgear to be repaired before an outage.

Why is hydrogen sensing important?

Hydrogen is odorless, colorless and flammable over a wide concentration range, so leaks cannot be detected by smell. Sensors are required at production, storage, pipeline and refueling points, and embrittlement monitoring protects metal components.

What are quantum sensors used for?

Quantum sensors such as atomic magnetometers and Rydberg receivers offer very high sensitivity. Applications include navigation without GPS, magnetic imaging in medicine, materials inspection and wideband radio detection.

What do Mobility Foresights sensor reports include?

Each linked report provides market size and multi-year forecasts, technology analysis, segmentation by sensor type, application and region, competitive landscape and company profiles, and recent developments. Customization is available on request.

Work With Mobility Foresights

Mobility Foresights provides syndicated and custom research across automotive, energy, medical, IoT and specialty sensing. Each report linked above can be purchased individually or tailored to a specific technology, application or region. To request a sample or commission a bespoke study, contact our industrial technology research team.