Liquid-cooled Energy Storage Systems for High Tension Industrial Use

Lithium-ion-based Energy Storage Systems (ESS) have been on the rise for high-tension industrial applications. High-tension power is defined as power provided at medium voltage (up to 35kV). High tension power consumers generally consume large capacity power and generally require more power than what low tension power can handle.

Liquid-cooled ESSs are popularly produced in China and shipped globally, and Indian companies have also begun manufacturing such systems.

Advantages of Liquid-cooled ESS:

• Low system footprint due to 52S1P battery packs. An all-in-one 418kWh battery system requires only 1.75 m² of floor space.

• Higher precision of cooling control across the whole system. Faster cooling effect with lower power consumption due to contact-based cooling.

• Battery packs have an IP67 rating, making the system more robust. Battery packs used in air-cooled systems have only an IP20 rating to allow the air to pass inside, and they have fans acting as exhaust to remove hot air. The hot air coming out of the exhaust needs to be channelled in a way that it does not stay back inside the container.

Uses of Energy Storage Systems for High Tension Industrial Applications include:

• Use it every day to charge during low-cost off-peak power and discharge during high-cost peak power time.

• Use it every day with low-cost access to rooftop Solar PV or open access Solar PV energy for on-grid projects.

• Use it every day for off-grid applications; it pairs with Solar PV, which is popular in remote locations without grid access. If pairing Solar PV with a battery, it is important to use inverters with similar AC voltages; for example, an 800V Solar PV inverter can be paired with this all-in-one 418kWh battery system.

• Use it during a power outage. It can also integrate with a diesel generator (DG), with the ESS operating for the first few hours until it reaches a low battery state, and then the DG can take over. If the power cut pattern is well known, ESS can even replace the DG entirely.

• Use it during peak power requirements when the grid connection power is not enough. It comes in handy when the enterprise is running some extra loads for a short period.

Points of Consideration while Using ESS:

• It is very important to perform a preventive health checkup of the battery as per the battery manufacturer’s suggestion.

• Do not let the ESS remain at a very low SoC (state-of-charge) level for a long time.

• Keep a note of the fire suppression system tank’s expiry date and have it refilled timely.

• Most of the all-in-one battery systems have an IP54-rated outer enclosure and can be installed outdoors. But it is better to have a top cover to prevent rain and direct sunlight. Refer to the below image to understand more.

About 215kW/418kWh ESS:

• This model is the most popular liquid-cooled model for high-tension industrial applications; it uses 314Ah LFP cells. This model is an upgrade of the previously produced 200kW/372kWh model that used 280Ah LFP cells.

• 314Ah LFP cells have minimum 8,000 cycles at 0.5C/0.5C at 25°C operation. At the system level, these cells can achieve at least 6,000 cycles or 15 years (whichever comes first) when active cooling is enabled.

• There are 314Ah LFP cells with a minimum of 10,000 cycles at 0.5C/0.5C at 25°C operation, and they can achieve at least 8,000 cycles or 20 years (whichever is earlier) at a system level when active cooling is enabled.

• It uses eight battery packs of 52S1P configuration, and the system nominal voltage is 1331.2V (8*52*3.2V). The battery operates between 1040V (8*52*2.5V) and 1497.6V (8*52*3.6V) on the DC side. Since PCS operates up to 1500V, the full charging voltage per cell is limited to 3.6V.

• The PCS operates between 1000V and 1500V on the DC side and provides 690V/800V AC 3-phase power output.

• The same voltage architecture is used in 20ft containers, with the most popular model being a 5.016 MWh-capacity DC block using 12 clusters of 418kWh.

• The battery pack has aluminium plates at the bottom where the liquid coolant (a mix of deionised water and glycol) flows to control the cells’ temperature. There is inlet and outlet piping for each battery pack, and they lead to the liquid cooling unit.

• The PCS provides 215kW AC power at 690V at 100% capacity and 250kW AC power at 800V at 100% capacity. The PCS has the ability to continuously operate for up to 110% of rated power at its respective AC voltage outputs.

• This product is modular. Multiple units of these systems can be paralleled to increase the overcapacity for a project. EMS can communicate with each other, where one of them will act as a master EMS. Sometimes, an industrial computer is used to control all the EMS for a project with multiple ESS.

• EMS used in the ESS has online connectivity and can be remotely controlled.

• The system can also include a UPS to power critical loads, such as a fire suppression system and BMS, for a while.

• These systems come with a 5-year standard warranty for the whole system, and an extended warranty may be available from the manufacturer at an additional cost. An extended warranty may not always cover the warranty for the whole system.

• A 215kW/418kWh system weighs around 4500 kg.

About the author

Rahul Bollini, Bollini Energy

Rahul is an R&D expert in Lithium-ion cells with 10 years of experience. He founded Bollini Energy to assist in deep understanding of the characteristics of Lithium-ion cells to EV, BESS, BMS and battery data analytics companies across the globe. Contact | +91-7204957389; bollinienergy@gmail.com.

This article was first published in EVreporter Feb 2026 magazine.

Also read: Liquid-cooled Energy Storage Systems for Commercial and Industrial Use