A review of phase change materials for vehicle component thermal buffering

•A review of latent heat thermal energy storage for vehicle thermal load leveling.•Examined vehicle applications with transient thermal profiles from 0 to 800°C.•>700 materials from over a dozen material classes examined for the applications.•Recommendations made for future application of high power density materials. The use of latent heat thermal energy storage for thermally buffering vehicle systems is reviewed. Vehicle systems with transient thermal profiles are classified according to operating temperatures in the range of 0–800°C. Thermal conditions of those applications are examined relative to their impact on thermal buffer requirements, and prior phase change thermal enhancement studies for these applications are discussed. In addition a comprehensive overview of phase change materials covering the relevant operating range is given, including selection criteria and a detailed list of over 700 candidate materials from a number of material classes. Promising material candidates are identified for each vehicle system based on system temperature, specific and volumetric latent heat, and thermal conductivity. Based on the results of previous thermal load leveling efforts, there is the potential for making significant improvements in both emissions reduction and overall energy efficiency by further exploration of PCM thermal buffering on vehicles. Recommendations are made for further material characterization, with focus on the need for improved data for metallic and solid-state phase change materials for high energy density applications.