Technical and economic analysis of liquid immersion cooling for lithium-ion battery energy storage system

doi:10.19799/j.cnki.2095-4239.2025.0203

Abstract

Abstract:

The immersion cooling battery energy storage system (BESS) has attracted increasing attention due to its excellent heat transfer performance and high battery consistency. However, comparative research on the economic feasibility of immersion cooling remains limited. This paper conducts an economic analysis based on the characteristics of immersion cooling BESS. The study begins with a technical comparison of immersion cooling BESS, examining key features, system structures, and components of pack immersion, cluster immersion, BESS cabinet, and BESS container. Subsequently, based on the overall system structure and the costs of main components, along with heat generation calculation models and economic analysis models, the economics of four immersion energy storage configurations are evaluated. Furthermore, the paper analyzes the impact of battery lifespan changes under immersion thermal management on system economics and calculates the influence of immersion fluid costs and structural factors. The results indicate that, under certain conditions, the economic metrics of immersion energy storage systems—such as payback time (PBT), net present value (NPV), and internal rate of return (IRR)—fall within a reasonable range. For instance, the pack-immersed battery container system exhibits a static PBT of 4.65 years, a dynamic PBT of 5.81 years, an NPV of CNY 4.3409 million, and an IRR of 18.14%, highlighting the economic advantages of immersion energy storage systems.

Key words: lithium-ion battery energy storage, immersion cooling, economic analysis, battery lifespan

CLC Number:

TM91

Jijin LIN, Qian LIU, Tao QU, Jingkun LI, Dongyong HUANG, Xiaoqing ZHU, Xing JU. Technical and economic analysis of liquid immersion cooling for lithium-ion battery energy storage system[J]. Energy Storage Science and Technology, doi: 10.19799/j.cnki.2095-4239.2025.0203.

Figures/Tables 26

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Table 1

Table 2

Calculation formula and results of each physical quantity of energy storage container[11-14]"

项目	符号	计算公式	值
电池集装箱的发热功率	P₁	$P 1 = I 2 R$	43,200 W
电池集装箱的温升热量	Q_x	$Q = c m △ t 1$	91,584 kJ
电池集装箱的冷却功率	P_2x	$P 2 = k (P 1 - Q / t 2)$	39,624 W
当量天空温度	t_s	$t s = 0.0552 (t e + 273) 1.5 - 273$	24 °C
太阳辐射当量温度	t_sol,eq	$t s o l, e q = ρ × I H / α e$	48.35 °C
辐射换热系数	α_er	$α e r = ε × 5.67 × [(t e + 273) / 100] 4 - [(t s + 273) / 100] 4 t e - t s$	5.0
天空辐射当量温度	t_sky,eq	$t s k y, e q = α e r (t e - t s) (1 - C H × H - C M × M) α e$	7.85 °C
天空辐射修正系数	ε	$ε = 1 + t s k y, e q - t s o l, e q t i - t e$	7.75
辐射净输入热量	P_net	$P n e t = ε K T S Δ t 2$	5,900 W
电池集装箱总发热量	P	$P = P 2 x + P n e t$	48,826 W

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	整包浸没	整簇浸没
热管理单元	电池包	电池簇
初始投资成本	较高	较低
运维成本	较低	较高
密封复杂度	较复杂	较简单
设计复杂度	较简单	较复杂
浸没液用量	较少	较多

符号	含义	数值/单位
P₁	电池集装箱的发热功率	43,200 W
C	电池的比热容	1 kJ/(kg·K)
m	电池质量	5.3 kg
Δt₁	电池温升	5 °C
k	安全系数	1.3
t₂	充放电时间	2h
t_e	室外干球温度	34 °C
ρ	外表面的太阳辐射吸收系数	0.25
I_H	水平面的太阳辐射照度	967 W/m²
α_e	外部对流换热系数	5 W/(m²·K)
ε	半球发射率	0.8
C_H	低云量修正系数	0.68
H	低云量昼夜平均值	0.13
C_M	中云量修正系数	0.47
M	中云量昼夜平均值	0.27
t_i	室内干球温度	28 °C
K_T	集装箱的换热系数	2.3461 W/(m²·K)
S	箱体换热面积	67.07 m²
Δt₂	箱体内外温差	30 °C

浸没储能系统	储能柜（整包浸没） 5*1P52S	储能集装箱（整包浸没） 1181P52S	储能柜（整簇浸没） 1*1P260S	储能集装箱（整簇浸没） 11*1P416S
IP68壳体数量	5电池包箱体	88电池包箱体	1电池簇箱体	11电池簇箱体
浸没液体积	350L	4,200L	500L	8,000L
冷水机功率	5.7kW	56kW	5.7kW	56kW
离心泵	小功率	大功率	小功率	大功率
管路	二级分流	三级分流	二级分流	三级分流

	整包浸没的储能柜系统	整簇浸没的储能柜系统	整包浸没的储能集装箱系统	整簇浸没的储能集装箱系统
电池模组	12.49	11.99	260.20	241.50
储能逆变器(PCS)	1.86	1.79	38.84	36.04
能量管理系统(EMS)	0.37	0.36	7.77	7.21
变压器	1.12	1.07	23.30	21.63
组装成本	0.56	0.54	11.65	10.81
电缆	0.56	0.54	11.65	10.81
电池管理系统(BMS)	1.68	1.61	34.95	32.44
浸没液(碳氢浸没液)	1.75	2.50	21.00	40.00
热管理回路	1.13	1.03	11.06	9.20
总价	21.51	21.42	420.42	409.64

	静态投资回收期SPBT，年	动态投资回收期DPBT，年	净现值NPV，万元	内部收益率IRR，%
整包浸没的储能柜系统	6.14	8.37	10.02	12.13
整簇浸没的储能柜系统	6.09	8.28	10.20	12.26
整包浸没的储能集装箱系统	4.65	5.81	434.09	18.14
整簇浸没的储能集装箱系统	4.47	5.53	457.19	19.04