Review on the thermal management and thermal suppression of high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries based on energy-efficient liquid cooling techniques

In the wake of governmental vigorous promotion, there has been a rapid surge in the adoption of new energy vehicles all over the world. Lithium-ion batteries, as their primary power sources, have received increasing research attention on issues such as energy density, thermal management and safety. Among various cooling techniques in battery thermal management, liquid cooling has been identified as the mainstream technology in light of its high performance and energy efficiency, which can be further classified into direct liquid cooling, indirect liquid cooling and conjugated liquid cooling. For direct liquid cooling, the characteristics and performance related to the dielectric coolants are evaluated. For indirect liquid cooling with aqueous coolants, different liquid cooling arrangements and channel designs for different battery formats are reviewed and discussed. The liquid cooling plates can be flexibly positioned at the bottom of the batteries, on the large surfaces or on the small lateral surfaces of the batteries. For prismatic or pouch batteries, the flow channels can be serpentine, biomimetic, or finned, whereas the cooling channels for cylindrical batteries can be wavy, jacketed, or spiral shaped. Additionally, the conjugated liquid cooling in combination with air cooling, phase change materials (PCMs), heat pipes and thermal insulation materials is reviewed and discussed, especially for the suppression of thermal runaway propagation. The strengths, limitations and constraints of different liquid cooling designs for engineering applications and system integration are assessed and discussed. Suggestions for future battery thermal management technologies are also provided.