The performance of lithium batteries degrades over time. The degradation rate strongly depends on stress conditions during use and even at rest. Thus, accurate and rapid diagnosis of battery state of health (SOH) is necessary for electric vehicle manufacturers to manage their vehicle fleets and warranties. This paper demonstrates a simple method for assessing SOH related to battery energy capability (SOHE). The presented method is based on the monitoring of U-relax over aging. U-relax is the open-circuit voltage of the battery measured after full charging and 30 min of rest. A linear dependence between U-relax and remaining capacity is noted. This correlation is demonstrated for three different commercial battery technologies (different chemistries) aged under different calendar and power cycling aging conditions. It was determined that the difference between two U-relax voltages measured at two different aging states is proportional to SOHE decay. The mean error of the linear model is less than 2% for certain cases. This method could also be a highly useful and rapid tool for a complete battery pack diagnosis. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.