Cover
Vol. 25 No. 2 (2025)

Published: December 31, 2025

Pages: 120-128

Review Article

Review of Sophisticated for Thermal Management Systems in Battery Cooling

Abstract

The transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is a crucial step towards mitigating climate change and addressing the global energy crisis. The increasing use of lithium-ion batteries in EVs is attributed to their superior power density and efficiency. However, ensuring optimal battery performance and safety necessitates effective thermal management due to the significant heat generated during operation. Current cooling systems face challenges in maintaining the desired temperature range and uniformity. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art techniques in battery thermal management, focusing on phase change material (PCM) cooling and different cooling methods. This study, in accordance with its developments, compares the advantages and limitations of various cooling methods as potential solutions for next-generation EVs. It highlights the potential of method cooling, which, while promising, needs further research to establish its commercial viability and aims to guide future advancements in battery thermal management for next-generation EVs. Under both typical and extreme usage scenarios, direct cooling may enhance the necessary battery performance and serve as an innovative method for managing the temperature of electric vehicle batteries. The primary challenge of this technique lies in its suitability for commercial application. This article is organized to cover the thermal properties of lithium-ion batteries, the main issues associated with lithium-ion battery heat, a discussion of reversible and irreversible heat generation and their effects on battery performance, as well as strategies for preventing and mitigating thermal runaway in battery systems. Finally, it summarizes the key recommendations for future research on battery thermal management.

References

  1. European Court of Auditors, Special Report 01/2024: Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Passenger Cars. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.
  2. J. Wang, Y. Li, and Y. Zhang, "Research on carbon emissions of road traffic in Chengdu City based on a LEAP model," Sustainability, vol. 14, no. 9, May 2022. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095625
  3. M. Şen, M. Özcan, and Y. R. Eker, "A review on the lithium-ion battery problems used in electric vehicles," Next Sustainability, vol. 3, p. 100036, Jan. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.NXSUST.2024.100036
  4. F. S. Hwang, S. A. T. S. M. Z. H. A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L. M. N., "Review of battery thermal management systems in electric vehicles," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 192, p. 114171, Mar. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSER.2023.114171
  5. M. K. Mahek, M. Alkhedher, M. Ghazal, M. A. Abdelkareem, M. Ramadan, and A. G. Olabi, "Effects of control volume outlet variation on axial air cooling of lithium-ion batteries," International Journal of Thermofluids, vol. 19, p. 100373, Aug. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IJFT.2023.100373
  6. C. Wu, Y. Sun, H. Tang, S. Zhang, W. Yuan, L. Zhu, et al., "A review on the liquid cooling thermal management system of lithium-ion batteries," Applied Energy, vol. 375, p. 124173, 2024.
  7. M. A. Rahman, R. Zairov, N. Akylbekov, R. Zhapparbergenov, and S. M. M. Hasnain, "Pioneering heat transfer enhancements in latent thermal energy storage: Passive and active strategies unveiled," Heliyon, vol. 10, no. 19, p. e37981, Oct. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.HELIYON.2024.E37981
  8. S. Shahid and M. Agelin-Chaab, "Development and analysis of hybrid cooling concepts for an electric battery pack," Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 73, p. 108952, Dec. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EST.2023.108952
  9. A. Gharehghani, M. Rabiei, S. Mehranfar, S. Saeedipour, A. M. Andwari, A. García, C. M. Reche, "Progress in battery thermal management systems technologies for electric vehicles," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 202, p. 114654, Sep. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSER.2024.114654
  10. Y. Deng, C. Feng, E. Jiaqiang, H. Zhu, J. Chen, M. Wen, H. Yin, "Effects of different coolants and cooling strategies on the cooling performance of the power lithium-ion battery system: A review," Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 142, pp. 10-29, Sep. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.APPLTHERMALENG.2018.06.043
  11. J. Chen, S. Kang, E. Jiaqiang, Z. Huang, K. Wei, B. Zhang, H. Zhu, Y. Deng, F. Zhang, G. Liao, "Effects of different phase change material thermal management strategies on the cooling performance of the power lithium-ion batteries: A review," Journal of Power Sources, vol. 442, p. 227228, Dec. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JPOWSOUR.2019.227228
  12. W. Wu, S. Wang, W. Wu, K. Chen, S. Hong, and Y. Lai, "A critical review of battery thermal performance and liquid based battery thermal management," Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 182, pp. 262-281, Feb. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ENCONMAN.2018.12.051
  13. A. A. H. Akinlabi and D. Solyali, "Configuration, design, and optimization of air-cooled battery thermal management system for electric vehicles: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 125, p. 109815, Jun. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSER.2020.109815
  14. C. Aswin Karthik, P. Kalita, X. Cui, and X. Peng, "Thermal management for prevention of failures of lithium-ion battery packs in electric vehicles: A review and critical future aspects," Energy Storage, vol. 2, no. 3, Jun. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1002/est2.137
  15. A. K. Thakur, R. Sathyamurthy, R. Velraj, R. Saidur, A. K. Pandey, Z. Ma, P. Singh, S. K. Hazra, S. W. Sharshir, R. Prabakaran, S. C. Kim, S. Panchal, H. M. Ali, "A state-of-the art review on advancing battery thermal management systems for fast-charging," Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 226, May 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2023.120303
  16. P. R. Tete, M. M. Gupta, and S. S. Joshi, "Developments in battery thermal management systems for electric vehicles: A technical review," Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 35, Mar. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2021.102255
  17. G. Murali, G. S. N. Sravya, J. Jaya, and V. Naga Vamsi, "A review on hybrid thermal management of battery packs and it's cooling performance by enhanced PCM," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 150, p. 111513, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSER.2021.111513
  18. Z. Y. Jiang, H. B. Li, Z. G. Qu, and J. F. Zhang, "Recent progress in lithium-ion battery thermal management for a wide range of temperature and abuse conditions," International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 47, no. 15, pp. 9428-9459, Feb. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IJHYDENE.2022.01.008
  19. M. M. Hamed, A. El-Tayeb, I. Moukhtar, A. Z. el Dein, and E. H. Abdelhameed, "A review on recent key technologies of lithium-ion battery thermal management: External cooling systems," Results in Engineering, vol. 16, p. 100703, Dec. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RINENG.2022.100703
  20. C. Roe, X. Feng, G. White, R. Li, H. Wang, X. Rui, C. Li, F. Zhang, V. Null, M. Parkes, Y. Patel, Y. Wang, H. Wang, M. Ouyang, G. Offer, B. Wu, "Immersion cooling for lithium-ion batteries A review," Journal of Power Sources, vol. 525, p. 231094, Mar. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JPOWSOUR.2022.231094
  21. G. Zhao, X. Wang, M. Negnevitsky, and C. Li, "An up-to-date review on the design improvement and optimization of the liquid-cooling battery thermal management system for electric vehicles," Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 219, p. 119626, Jan. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.APPLTHERMALENG.2022.119626
  22. K. Maher, A. Boumaiza, and R. Amin, "Understanding the heat generation mechanisms and the interplay between joule heat and entropy effects as a function of state of charge in lithium-ion batteries," Journal of Power Sources, vol. 623, p. 235504, Dec. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JPOWSOUR.2024.235504
  23. S. Sarkar, M. T. Amin, M. M. El-Halwagi, and F. Khan, "Thermal behavior of LiFePO4 battery at faster C-rates and lower ambient temperatures," Process Safety and Environmental Protection, vol. 186, pp. 118-133, Jun. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PSEP.2024.03.095
  24. J. Liu, S. Yadav, M. Salman, S. Chavan, and S. C. Kim, "Review of thermal coupled battery models and parameter identification for lithium-ion battery heat generation in EV battery thermal management system," International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 218, p. 124748, Jan. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IJHEATMASSTRANSFER.2023.124748
  25. K. A. Murashko, A. V. Mityakov, V. Y. Mityakov, S. Z. Sapozhnikov, J. Jokiniemi, and J. Pyrhönen, "Determination of the entropy change profile of a cylindrical lithium-ion battery by heat flux measurements," Journal of Power Sources, vol. 330, pp. 61-69, Oct. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JPOWSOUR.2016.08.130
  26. N. Damay, C. Forgez, M. P. Bichat, and G. Friedrich, "A method for the fast estimation of a battery entropy-variation high-resolution curve Application on a commercial LiFePO4/graphite cell," Journal of Power Sources, vol. 332, pp. 149-153, Nov. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JPOWSOUR.2016.09.083
  27. S. Panchal, I. Dincer, M. Agelin-Chaab, R. Fraser, and M. Fowler, "Experimental investigation and simulation of temperature distributions in a 16Ah-LiMnNiCoO2 battery during rapid discharge rates," Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 53, no. 3, pp. 937-946, Mar. 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-016-1870-x
  28. S. Panchal, "Experimental Investigation and Modeling of Lithium-Ion Battery Cells and Packs for Electric Vehicles," Ph.D. thesis, Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, ON, Canada, 2016.
  29. Y. Xie, W. Li, X. Hu, C. Zou, F. Feng, and X. Tang, "Novel mesoscale electrothermal modeling for lithium-ion batteries," IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 2595-2614, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPEL.2019.2927014
  30. Y. Dai and A. Panahi, "Thermal runaway process in lithium-ion batteries: A review," Next Energy, vol. 6, p. 100186, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nxener.2024.100186
  31. "Abstracts," Fuel and Energy Abstracts, vol. 64, no. 4, pp. 362-455, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fueleneab.2023.06.002
  32. G. Ji, L. He, T. Wu, and G. Cui, "The design of fast charging strategy for lithium-ion batteries and intelligent application: A comprehensive review," Applied Energy, vol. 377, p. 124538, Jan. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.APENERGY.2024.124538
  33. B. Chidambaranathan, M. Vijayaram, V. Suriya, R. Sai Ganesh, and S. Soundarraj, "A review on thermal issues in Li-ion battery and recent advancements in battery thermal management system," Materials Today: Proceedings, vol. 33, pp. 116-128, Jan. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.MATPR.2020.03.317
  34. J. Jaguemont and J. van Mierlo, "A comprehensive review of future thermal management systems for battery-electrified vehicles," Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 31, p. 101551, Oct. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EST.2020.101551
  35. P. Kumar, D. Chaudhary, P. Varshney, U. Varshney, S. M. Yahya, and Y. Rafat, "Critical review on battery thermal management and role of nanomaterial in heat transfer enhancement for electrical vehicle application," Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 32, p. 102003, Dec. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EST.2020.102003
  36. J. R. Patel and M. K. Rathod, "Recent developments in the passive and hybrid thermal management techniques of lithium-ion batteries," Journal of Power Sources, vol. 480, p. 228820, Dec. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JPOWSOUR.2020.228820
  37. L. F. Cabeza, A. Frazzica, M. Chafer, D. Vérez, and V. Palomba, "Research trends and perspectives of thermal management of electric batteries: Bibliometric analysis," Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 32, p. 101976, Dec. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EST.2020.101976
  38. P. Qin, J. Sun, X. Yang, and Q. Wang, "Battery thermal management system based on the forced-air convection: A review," eTransportation, vol. 7, p. 100097, Feb. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ETRAN.2020.100097
  39. H. Fayaz, A. Afzal, A. D. M. Samee, M. E. M. Soudagar, N. Akram, M. A. Mujtaba, et al., "Optimization of thermal and structural design in lithium-ion batteries to obtain energy efficient battery thermal management system (BTMS): A critical review," Archives of Computational Methods in Engineering, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 129-144, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11831-021-09571-0
  40. G. Zhao, X. Wang, M. Negnevitsky, and C. Li, "An up-to-date review on the design improvement and optimization of the liquid-cooling battery thermal management system for electric vehicles," Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 219, p. 119626, Jan. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.APPLTHERMALENG.2022.119626
  41. A. A. H. Akinlabi and D. Solyali, "Configuration, design, and optimization of air-cooled battery thermal management system for electric vehicles: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 125, p. 109815, Jun. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSER.2020.109815
  42. N. Ghaeminezhad, Z. Wang, and Q. Ouyang, "A review on lithium-ion battery thermal management system techniques: A control-oriented analysis," Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 219, p. 119497, Jan. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.APPLTHERMALENG.2022.119497
  43. J. Liu, S. Yadav, M. Salman, S. Chavan, and S. C. Kim, "Review of thermal coupled battery models and parameter identification for lithium-ion battery heat generation in EV battery thermal management system," International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 218, p. 124748, Jan. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IJHEATMASSTRANSFER.2023.124748
  44. N. Javani, I. Dincer, G. F. Naterer, and B. S. Yilbas, "Heat transfer and thermal management with PCMs in a Li-ion battery cell for electric vehicles," International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 72, pp. 690-703, 2014.
  45. Y. Li, Y. Du, T. Xu, H. Wu, X. Zhou, Z. Ling, and Z. Zhang, "Optimization of thermal management system for Li-ion batteries using phase change material," Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 131, pp. 766-778, 2018.