Application of a heat spreader plate and metal foam for battery thermal management in different cases

Effective temperature management is crucial to ensuring the safety, performance, and lifespan of lithium-ion batteries, especially as electric vehicles become more prevalent globally as part of sustainable transport efforts. Significant temperature increases during cycling may reduce efficiency, promote irregular aging, and raise safety concerns. This study aims to improve heat transfer for batteries operating under natural convection at reliable operating temperatures, without requiring maintenance or additional costs at high discharge rates of 7C to 10C. First, the numerical models of the lithium-ion battery and the metal foam are validated through experimental studies. After that, an innovative approach is presented that uses a heat spreader plate and heat spreader metal foam, either separately or in a hybrid, for battery thermal management. It investigates the effect of heat spreader plate thickness (0.5–2 mm), heat spreader metal foam thickness (0.5–2 mm), porosity (5–40), pore per inch (0.899–0.958), hybrid structures (1 to 8 cases), and different coolants (air, mineral oil, synthetic, and natural esters) on battery thermal management. The thermocouple measurements and infrared camera images are evaluated in the experimental study. At the same time, the battery surface temperatures, temperature homogeneity, temperature contours, and velocity vectors are discussed in the numerical model. The results show that increasing the thickness of the heat spreader plate from 0.5 to 2 mm leads to 17.5% and 16% decreases in maximum temperatures at 7C and 10C discharge rates, respectively, at 100% discharge depth. The battery temperatures depend on the varying thicknesses rather than the changing positions of the heat spreader plate and heat spreader metal foam that form the hybrid structures. On the battery surface with a heat spreader plate and with a heat spreader foam, mineral oil reduces the maximum battery surface temperature by factors of 1.6 and 1.92, respectively, compared to air. Increasing the pore per inch at a given ε reduces temperature homogeneity on the battery surface. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd.