Domestic researchers have developed a cooling technology capable of resolving the heat generation problem that occurs during the rapid charging and discharging of lithium-ion batteries. The potential for application in the electric vehicle and energy storage system (ESS) sectors is being discussed, as this method involves directly spraying a non-conductive liquid onto the battery pack, enabling stable thermal control while significantly reducing coolant usage compared to conventional full immersion cooling.

A research team led by Principal Researcher Jin-seop Kim of the Heat Pump Research Center at the Carbon Neutrality Machinery Research Institute of the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials announced on the 14th that they have developed a spray-type immersion cooling technology that directly cools lithium-ion battery packs.

The research team explained that by directly spraying a non-conductive coolant onto the surface of the battery pack to remove heat, the battery pack temperature can be maintained stably even under rapid charging and discharging conditions.

The existing full immersion cooling method involves submerging the entire battery pack in coolant; while this provides high cooling efficiency, it has the disadvantage of incurring weight and cost burdens due to the large amount of liquid used.

The research team stated that the newly developed spray method is structured to spray the coolant only where necessary, and can reduce liquid usage by approximately 85% compared to existing methods.

The research team stated that this technology can be applied to electric vehicle battery packs and ESS.

The explanation is that it can suppress the rise in battery temperature in a rapid charging environment to lower the risk of fire, while also contributing to the miniaturization and weight reduction of the cooling system.

Principal Researcher Kim Jin-seop stated, “Spray-type immersion cooling is a method that can simultaneously increase cooling efficiency and liquid usage efficiency,” adding that it “has raised the possibility of practical application for battery thermal management technology.”