Why choose liquid cooling as the cooling solution for energy storage technology
The temperature control system is an important guarantee for energy storage safety. With the increase of installed capacity of energy storage power stations, safety issues have become the core limiting factor for the current large-scale promotion and application of energy storage. How to achieve energy storage security is a highly valued issue in the entire industry and even the country. Among them, liquid cooling technology is the most concerned. So, why is liquid technology more favored by the market?
Liquid cooling refers to the use of liquid in contact with a heat source for cooling. According to the different contact heat exchange methods between the coolant and the server, it can be divided into direct liquid cooling and indirect liquid cooling. Indirect liquid cooling is mainly based on cold plate liquid cooling technology, while direct liquid cooling is mainly based on immersion liquid cooling technology. The basic components of the energy storage liquid cooling system include: liquid cooling plate, liquid cooling unit (optional heater), liquid cooling pipeline (including temperature sensor and valve), high and low voltage wiring harness; Cooling liquid (ethylene glycol aqueous solution), etc.
The technical routes for energy storage thermal management mainly include air cooling, liquid cooling, heat pipe cooling, and phase change cooling, among which heat pipe and phase change cooling technologies are not yet mature. In low-power scenarios, air cooling remains mainstream, while in medium to high power scenarios, liquid cooling technology dominates. The liquid cooling system has advantages such as high specific heat capacity and fast cooling, which can effectively control the temperature of the battery and ensure the stable operation of the energy storage battery.
Liquid cooling technology allows the coolant to be directly directed towards the heat source, achieving precise temperature control and efficient heat dissipation through convection of the coolant, greatly reducing the risk of temperature runaway and fire. In contrast, air cooling technology requires a fan to blow air through the radiator, resulting in relatively low heat dissipation efficiency.
There is data indicating that the heat dissipation capacity of liquids is 3000 times that of the same volume of air, and the thermal conductivity is 25 times that of air. Therefore, compared to air cooling technology, using liquid cooling technology can achieve rapid heat dissipation and conduction, improve temperature control efficiency, reduce the occurrence of thermal runaway, and make temperature transfer faster and better. In addition, in terms of box protection, the container design of the liquid cooling system can support a higher level of IP protection compared to the air cooling system, which can effectively cope with adverse weather effects such as sandstorms.
In terms of energy conservation, energy storage liquid cooling utilizes heat exchange between refrigerants and battery cells. In contrast, air cooling technology is affected by factors such as environmental temperature and wind speed, making it difficult to control. To achieve the same average battery temperature, air cooling requires 2-3 times higher energy consumption than liquid cooling.
Compared to air-cooled systems, with the continuous maturity of liquid cooling system technology and application scenarios, it can better meet the urgent demand of the market for the increasing scale and energy density of energy storage systems. Its advantageous advantages in high energy density, low footprint, low auxiliary energy consumption, and fine temperature control will attract more attention.
