Storage Thermal Management

What it is

A storage container packs megawatt-hours of cells into a small space, and the cells give off heat every time they charge and discharge. Thermal management removes that heat. In liquid cooling, coolant circulates through plates beside the cells and carries the heat to a chiller outside (Goaland 2026 interim report, p. 12). Even temperatures matter: HyperStrong says its liquid cooling keeps cell temperatures consistent so the system can discharge more energy (HyperStrong 2026 interim report, p. 12).

Cooling has had to grow with the systems. Envicool moved from air-cooled cabinet units to liquid-cooled ones in 2020 and delivered liquid cooling for a 5 MWh high-density system in January 2024, followed by 6 MWh-plus solutions in 2025 (Envicool 2026 interim report, pp. 9, 10). Sungrow's PowerTitan 2.0 uses liquid cooling for the whole system (Sungrow 2026 interim report, p. 15).

Why it matters for the chain

Cooling sits inside every energy storage system next to the battery cells and the PCS; Envicool also makes combined cooling units for PCS (Envicool p. 10). Integrators can buy it or design it: HyperStrong lists thermal management among the technologies it develops itself (HyperStrong p. 22), while Envicool describes itself as an important supplier to many storage system makers (Envicool p. 9).

Where China stands

• Envicool (英维克, 002837.SZ) says it was the first maker to enter storage thermal management and that it leads the market (Envicool p. 9).
• Goaland (高澜股份, 300499.SZ) came to storage from liquid cooling for HVDC converter valves and supplies liquid cooling for building-type storage stations (Goaland pp. 12, 18).

Neither reports storage separately: Envicool includes it with telecom and grid cabinets, and Goaland with data centres and servers. Market share figures for this stage are not disclosed in either filing.

Economics

• Envicool's cabinet cooling segment earned 26.77% in the first half of 2026, down 1.32 points, which the company puts down to the regional mix of its storage sales (Envicool pp. 10, 15).
• Goaland's storage, data centre and server cooling line grew 53.41% but earned 11.83% (Goaland p. 23).
• Envicool's overseas revenue earned 48.20% against 20.92% in China (Envicool p. 15).

Our view: storage cooling repeats the pattern seen elsewhere on this chain. Inside China it is a crowded, low-margin component business, and the money is in overseas customers, so a supplier's margin depends more on its export share than on its technology.

What to watch

• Larger systems. Each jump in container capacity, from 5 MWh to 6 MWh and above, needs new cooling designs (Envicool p. 10).
• Data centres. Both companies sell the same liquid cooling technology to data centres, which are growing faster at Envicool than storage cabinets (Envicool p. 15).
• Grid storage policy. Goaland lists grid-side storage policy and installation targets among the main risks to its demand (Goaland p. 30).