en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) has unveiled what it claims is the world's first spray-type immersion cooling technology for lithium-ion battery packs. The technology aims to improve thermal management and fire safety while significantly reducing the amount of dielectric coolant used.

The system was developed by a team led by Dr. Jinsub Kim at KIMM's Heat Pump Research Center. It combines two cooling methods: dielectric liquid is sprayed directly onto the top of battery cells, while the bottom of the battery pack is partially immersed in the same non-conductive fluid. This hybrid approach achieves direct heat removal through liquid contact, while forced convection generated in the partially immersed area enhances overall cooling performance.

In tests conducted on lithium-ion battery packs at a 4C charge/discharge rate, the technology maintained cell temperatures below 35°C. This temperature is a critical threshold for minimizing thermal degradation and reducing the risk of thermal runaway.

According to reports, traditional immersion cooling systems require fully submerging the battery pack, adding significant weight, cost, and coolant volume. KIMM's method can reduce dielectric fluid consumption by approximately 85%, using only 10% to 20% of the coolant required by conventional immersion cooling while maintaining comparable or better thermal performance.

This reduction in coolant usage is significant for weight-sensitive transportation applications, particularly electric vehicles, marine battery systems, and high-power commercial vessels seeking rapid charging between operations. Lower coolant volume also reduces system costs and simplifies packaging.

Beyond the mobility sector, the technology could also be applied to stationary energy storage systems and data centers, where lithium-ion battery safety concerns are growing. Since the dielectric fluid is non-flammable, it not only cools the battery cells but may also help suppress flame spread in the event of a thermal incident.

Unlike traditional air-cooled or liquid-cooled battery systems that rely on heat sinks or cold plates for indirect heat dissipation, spray-type immersion cooling allows the coolant to come into direct contact with the battery cells, significantly improving heat transfer during high-power operation.

Looking ahead, KIMM researchers plan to use artificial intelligence to identify new dielectric fluids with optimized thermophysical properties to further enhance cooling performance.

The research was conducted under South Korea's Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment's core technology development project for energy demand management and was published in Applied Thermal Engineering (Volume 282, 2026).

For the maritime industry, as battery-powered ferries, offshore vessels, harbor craft, and hybrid propulsion systems continue to grow in size and charging power, technologies that can simultaneously improve thermal management, reduce system weight, and lower fire risk may become an increasingly important component of next-generation battery architectures.