Improving the efficiency and utilization of battery systems can increase the viability and cost-effectiveness of existing technologies for electric vehicles (EVs). Developing smarter battery management systems and advanced sensing technologies can circumvent problems arising due to capacity fade and safety concerns. This paper describes how efficient simulation techniques and improved algorithms can alleviate some of these problems to help electrify the transportation industry by improving the range of variables that are predictable and controllable in a battery in real-time within an electric vehicle. The use of battery models in a battery management system (BMS) is reviewed. The effect of different simulation techniques on computational cost and accuracy are also compared, and the validity of implementation in a microcontroller environment for model predictive control (MPC) is addressed. Using mathematical techniques to add more physics without losing efficiency is also discussed. (C) The Author(s) 2014. Published by ECS. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse of the work in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. All rights reserved.