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  • Perspective
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A thermal perspective on battery safety

Nature Reviews Clean Technology volume 1, pages 511–524 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Electrochemical energy storage is one of the primary technologies for energy storage, making batteries essential in applications such as electric vehicles and energy storage stations. For the battery itself, achieving resistance to extreme temperatures is a critical objective. However, there are no battery materials or systems that can be deemed absolutely safe or performance-temperature-independent. In this Perspective, we discuss battery safety from a thermal point of view and emphasize the importance of battery thermal management. Battery thermal management ensures that electrochemical reactions occur within an optimal temperature range, suppressing side reactions and delaying or even preventing thermal runaway. This equilibrium is essential for improving battery efficiency and extending its operational lifespan. When absolute safety cannot be assured in battery materials and systems, thermal management becomes the primary barrier to battery thermal risks. However, owing to the extremely rapid rate of exothermic side reactions, the importance of fire suppression becomes evident when thermal runaway cannot be contained, leading to fire accidents. The control of heat generation, effective thermal management and robust fire suppression strategies are key to ensure battery thermal safety and will have a crucial role in the development and large-scale application of batteries.

Key points

  • Thermal issues are a critical challenge in battery safety, directly determining the prevention efficacy of thermal runaway-induced hazards.

  • Effective thermal runaway mitigation requires dual approaches: internally suppressing heat generation through electrochemical optimization and externally enhancing heat dissipation via thermal management.

  • Thermal management serves as the fundamental prerequisite for normal battery operation and proactive prevention of thermal hazards.

  • Fire suppression acts as the ultimate safeguard against battery thermal accidents, limiting fire propagation through physical or chemical intervention.

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Fig. 1: Interdependent thermal management, thermal runaway mitigation and fire suppression strategies for battery thermal safety.
Fig. 2: Thermal runaway mechanism and propagation process in batteries.
Fig. 3: Three-tier strategies for ensuring battery thermal safety.
Fig. 4: Fire suppression for batteries.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos 52176092 and 52311530086), the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (No. 2022YFE0207900), the Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of Hebei Province (No. E2024202056), the S&T Program of Hebei (No. E2024202293) and the Science Research Project of Hebei Education Department (No. JZX2024003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hebei Engineering Research Center of Advanced Energy Storage Technology and Equipment, School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, China

    Zhonghao Rao  (饶中浩), Peizhao Lyu  (吕培召), Menghan Li  (李孟涵) & Xinjian Liu  (刘新健)

  2. State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Power Distribution Equipment and System, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, China

    Zhonghao Rao  (饶中浩), Peizhao Lyu  (吕培召), Menghan Li  (李孟涵) & Xinjian Liu  (刘新健)

  3. State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Green Vehicle and Mobility, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Xuning Feng  (冯旭宁)

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The authors contributed equally to all aspects of the article. All authors contributed substantially to discussion of the content, wrote the article and reviewed and/or edited the manuscript before submission.

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Rao, Z., Lyu, P., Li, M. et al. A thermal perspective on battery safety. Nat. Rev. Clean Technol. 1, 511–524 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44359-025-00073-x

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