Recent Developments of Thermal Management Strategies for Lithium‐Ion Batteries: A State‐of‐The‐Art Review

The performance of lithium‐ion batteries is quite dependent on temperature and a series of investigations on the battery thermal management system (BTMS) have been reported during the past decades. Herein, the recent developments of BTMS are thoroughly summarized. First, the thermal characteristics of the battery caused by different temperature conditions and temperature nonuniformity are described. Then, the thermal models, including electro‐thermal coupled model and electrochemical–thermal coupled model are briefly presented. Subsequently, various traditional strategies like air cooling, liquid cooling, phase change material (PCM) cooling, and heat pipe cooling are elaborated. With the development of battery technology, BTMS based on a single strategy alone cannot meet the growth of thermal requirements, especially under dynamic and high‐power energy conditions. Hence, a hybrid BTMS that integrates two or more cooling strategies begins to be studied and provide a feasible solution for the problem. The related studies on hybrid BTMS are also systematically reviewed from the perspective of combinations, such as air–PCM, liquid–PCM, heat pipe–PCM, and other hybrid strategies. Besides, the current research on battery preheating strategies is also summarized. Finally, insufficient present studies are pointed out, aiming to provide comprehensive guidance toward the development of battery thermal management. Thermal management system plays an important part in ensuring the performance and safety of Li‐ion batteries. This review summarizes the recent developments of traditional battery thermal management (BTMS) from following perspectives: thermal characteristics and thermal models of battery, achievements of BTMS, and emerging technologies of hybrid BTMS. Some future directions on BTMS are also put forward.