Thermal Management Strategies for Lithium-Ion Batteries in Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicles are now becoming more and more common, rapidly replacing traditional fuel cars. Lithium-ion batteries, as the main power source of electric vehicles, have become the most important part of energy storage technology. However, the performance, safety, and lifespan of these batteries are critically dependent on effective thermal management. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of thermal management strategies for EV batteries. Four primary cooling approaches are reviewed—air cooling, liquid cooling, phase change material cooling, and hybrid systems. Currently, liquid cooling is the mainstream solution to cool the battery because of its superior heat dissipation efficiency and technical maturity. In the future, emerging technologies including refrigerant direct cooling and thermoelectric hybrid systems which are safer, more efficient and longer-lasting are likely to become dominant.