Low temperature preheating techniques for Lithium-ion batteries: Recent advances and future challenges

The pressure of energy crisis and environmental protection has fueled the rapid development of electric vehicles. The lithium-ion batteries are widely used in electric vehicles because of their advantages such as low self-discharge rate, high energy density, and environmental friendliness, etc. Nevertheless, low-temperature environments greatly reduce the performance of lithium-ion batteries, especially at subzero temperatures. Charging at low temperature will induce lithium deposition, and in severe cases, it may even penetrate the separator and cause internal short, resulting in an explosion. Therefore, battery preheating techniques are key means to improve the performance and lifetime of lithium-ion batteries in cold climates. To this end, this paper systematically reviews, compares and discuss diverse low temperature preheating techniques for lithium-ion batteries. Moreover, the basic principles of each technique are elaborated, and furthermore, their advantages and disadvantages are analyzed and compared in five dimensions (rate of temperature rise, temperature difference, cost, battery friendliness, and safety and reliability). Finally, based on the proposed analysis method, we select the most promising or disruptive technologies for an outlook, and analyze the real challenges faced by low temperature preheating techniques for lithium-ion batteries and their future development directions.