Different approaches for lifetime prediction for electrochemical energy storage devices are discussed with respect to their general concepts. Examples for their implementation and advantages and disadvantages are given. The models are based on: (a) physical and chemical processes and their interaction as regards ageing effects; (b) weighting of the Ah throughput whenever the operating conditions deviate from the standard conditions used for determining the lifetime under laboratory conditions; (c) an event-oriented concept from mechanical engineering (Wohler curves) which is based on a pattern recognition approach to identify severe operating conditions. Examples and details are explained for lead-acid batteries. The approaches can be applied to other electrochemical technologies including fuel cells. However, it is beyond the scope of this paper, to describe the models in all mathematical details. The models are used in system design and identification of appropriate operating strategies and therefore they must have high computational speed to allow for a comparison of a large number of system variations. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.