A Review on the Current Industrial Uses and the Future Outlook of Battery Thermal Management Systems for Electric Vehicles

Abstract Due to the high-power efficiency of lithium-ion batteries, there is an increased interest in integrating batteries into vehicles to create a more sustainable transportation method. However, batteries require thermal management systems to maintain heat generation within ranges lower than 40 kJ and operation temperatures between 25°C and 40°C. When exposed to extremely high or low temperatures, the battery efficiency decreases, and adverse consequences may occur. To combat this, research is conducted to explore various options to create thermofluidic systems that utilize fluids to regulate the battery pack’s temperatures. Developments in cooling systems have commonly used air as the cooling fluid, but research in recent years is innovating towards liquids to encourage a higher heat dissipation rate. This paper introduces battery thermal management system applications, current technologies and challenges, and innovations for improving existing models. The current technologies discussed involve manufactured systems based on air- and liquid-cooling for cylindrical and prismatic battery cells. We provide information on new engineered fluids for improvements in fluid properties. In addition to this, new directions related to manufacturing techniques or materials are highlighted to showcase potential changes to current systems to integrate complicated cooling channels in a three-dimensional design. This paper thereby aims to summarize the holistic view showing the direction of the field and possible techniques for battery thermal management.