China EV Battery Cooling Market - Strategic Insights and Forecasts (2026-2031)

China EV Battery Cooling Market is anticipated to expand at a high CAGR over the forecast period.

The China EV battery cooling market is developing alongside the country's large-scale transition toward electrified transportation. The market covers thermal-management technologies and components used to control the operating temperature of traction batteries in battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Cooling performance is increasingly connected with battery safety, charging speed, power output, energy efficiency, durability, and usable vehicle range.

China represents an unusually important environment for this market because battery production, vehicle manufacturing, charging infrastructure, and supporting component supply chains are concentrated within the country. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China's new energy vehicle production reached 16.626 million units in 2025, while sales reached 16.49 million units, representing year-on-year increases of 29% and 28.2%, respectively. The government reported that NEVs accounted for 49.42% of newly registered automobiles during the first half of 2026, demonstrating the continuing penetration of electrified vehicles into the country's vehicle fleet.

The technical requirements placed on battery cooling systems are also changing. Battery packs are being designed for higher energy density, faster charging, higher power output, compact packaging, and more sophisticated vehicle architectures. These changes increase the importance of maintaining cell temperatures within an appropriate operating window and limiting temperature differences between cells and modules. The resulting demand is moving beyond basic heat dissipation toward integrated thermal-management systems combining cooling plates, pumps, valves, heat exchangers, sensors, refrigerant circuits, control software, and battery-management systems.

Liquid cooling is particularly important for high-performance battery applications because a liquid-based heat-transfer circuit can provide controlled and relatively uniform heat removal. However, air cooling remains relevant where simplicity, low system cost, low component count, and lower thermal loads are prioritized. Other approaches, including phase-change materials, heat pipes, refrigerant-based systems, thermoelectric methods, and hybrid architectures, can complement or supplement conventional cooling technologies depending on battery chemistry, vehicle architecture, power requirements, and operating environment.

China EV Battery Cooling Market Analysis

• Growth Drivers

The expansion of China's EV battery cooling market is closely linked to the growth of the country's NEV industry. China remained the world's largest NEV market in 2025, with production of 16.63 million vehicles and sales of 16.49 million vehicles, according to CAAM data cited by Chinese government authorities. The scale of vehicle production creates recurring demand for battery packs and, consequently, for thermal-management components integrated into those packs.

The installed vehicle base is becoming equally important. By the end of June 2026, China had 48.97 million NEVs, representing 13.19% of all automobiles in the country. Pure electric vehicles accounted for 68.77% of the NEV fleet. This large installed base creates a substantial aftermarket and replacement opportunity for thermal-management components, pumps, valves, hoses, cooling plates, sensors, and related service requirements as vehicles age.

Battery charging performance is another major demand driver. Higher charging rates can increase heat generation inside cells and interconnections, making thermal control an important element of fast-charging battery design. The relationship between charging speed and temperature management is evident in recent battery developments. CATL's April 2026 technology announcements included its third-generation Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery, while the company stated that temperature rise is a critical consideration in balancing charging speed and battery life. CATL also introduced a third-generation Qilin Battery and other multi-chemistry battery technologies at its 2026 Super Technology Day.

BYD's March 2026 launch provides another direct example. Its second-generation Blade Battery was designed with a lithium-ion high-speed channel and a full-spectrum intelligent thermal-management system intended to reduce heat generation and improve heat dissipation. BYD reported that the battery can support 10% to 70% charging in five minutes and 10% to 97% charging in nine minutes. The company also reported a 5% increase in energy density compared with the first generation.

The growth of charging infrastructure reinforces this driver. China's charging network reached 21.01 million charging points by the end of February 2026, representing 47.8% year-on-year growth, according to the National Energy Administration. Public charging points reached 4.834 million, while private charging points reached 16.176 million. A larger and increasingly capable charging network creates the infrastructure environment required for greater use of fast-charging vehicles and therefore increases the importance of battery thermal management.

Regulatory requirements provide another structural driver. GB 38031-2025, China's revised national standard for electric-vehicle traction battery safety requirements, was issued on March 28, 2025, and became effective on July 1, 2026. The standard is administered under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Standardization Administration of China. Its implementation increases the importance of engineering solutions capable of managing battery safety and thermal-event risks.

• Challenges and Opportunities

The principal challenge is balancing cooling performance with system cost, mass, packaging space, reliability, and energy consumption. A battery cooling system cannot be assessed only by its ability to remove heat. Automotive manufacturers must also consider the efficiency of pumps and compressors, pressure losses, leakage risks, electrical consumption, crash durability, manufacturability, serviceability, and integration with the vehicle's broader thermal-management architecture.

Liquid cooling illustrates this trade-off. It can provide efficient and controlled heat transfer, but it requires additional components and interfaces compared with a basic air-cooling architecture. Cooling plates, pumps, valves, pipes, heat exchangers, sensors, coolant, seals, and electronic controls all add design and manufacturing requirements. These components must operate reliably over long vehicle lifetimes and across a wide range of temperatures and driving conditions.

Air cooling retains an opportunity in applications where thermal loads are comparatively moderate or where manufacturers prioritize simplicity and cost. However, the increasing power density of modern traction batteries can increase the performance gap between passive or forced-air systems and more advanced liquid-based solutions. The resulting market is therefore unlikely to move toward one universal cooling architecture. Instead, technology selection will remain dependent on battery chemistry, pack design, vehicle segment, charging performance, cost targets, and operating conditions.

Another opportunity is the development of integrated thermal-management systems. Instead of treating battery cooling as a stand-alone subsystem, vehicle manufacturers increasingly connect battery cooling with cabin heating and cooling, power-electronics cooling, motor thermal management, and heat-pump systems. This approach can improve overall energy efficiency by recovering and redirecting heat within the vehicle.

Advanced materials also create opportunities. Aluminum remains important for cooling plates and heat exchangers because of its combination of thermal conductivity, weight, corrosion resistance, manufacturability, and established automotive supply chains. New surface treatments, extruded channels, brazed structures, advanced thermal interface materials, and lightweight designs can further improve heat-transfer performance without proportionally increasing system mass.

• Raw Material and Pricing Analysis

The China EV battery cooling market depends on aluminum, copper, polymers, elastomers, electronic sensors, pumps, valves, heat exchangers, thermal interface materials, coolants, and specialized manufacturing equipment. Aluminum is particularly important for cooling plates and heat-transfer components because vehicle manufacturers seek lightweight structures with high thermal conductivity and reliable corrosion performance.

Pricing is influenced by both material costs and system complexity. A cooling system containing a larger number of valves, pumps, sensors, heat exchangers, and control functions can have a higher bill of materials than a simpler forced-air architecture. At the same time, China's large automotive production volumes allow component suppliers to pursue scale economies through localized tooling, automated production, standardized interfaces, and high-volume procurement.

The battery supply chain also influences cooling-system development. CATL reported in its 2025 annual report, released in March 2026, that lithium-ion battery sales reached 661 GWh in 2025, up 39% year on year, while global production capacity reached 772 GWh at the end of 2025. The scale of battery production creates a large industrial ecosystem around battery packs and supporting thermal-management components.

Raw-material availability alone, however, should not be interpreted as a guarantee of lower cooling-system prices. The final system cost also depends on manufacturing yield, design complexity, quality-control requirements, energy costs, logistics, automation levels, warranty requirements, and OEM qualification processes.

• Supply Chain Analysis

China's EV battery cooling supply chain benefits from proximity between battery manufacturers, vehicle OEMs, automotive component suppliers, electronics companies, metal processors, and thermal-management specialists. This geographic and industrial concentration can shorten development cycles and support rapid design iteration between vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers.

The upstream supply chain includes aluminum and copper producers, polymer and elastomer suppliers, coolant manufacturers, semiconductor and sensor suppliers, and machinery manufacturers. The intermediate stage includes cooling-plate producers, pumps, valves, heat exchangers, hoses, thermal interface materials, compressors, and control modules. At the downstream stage, these components are integrated into battery packs or broader vehicle thermal-management systems and validated by automotive manufacturers.

Battery-pack architectures are also changing the supply chain. Cell-to-pack and cell-to-body designs can reduce the number of conventional module components while increasing the importance of precisely engineered interfaces between cells, structural components, cooling systems, and vehicle bodies. Consequently, cooling-system suppliers increasingly need design capabilities rather than simply component-manufacturing capabilities.

China's battery recycling policies are also beginning to influence the longer-term supply chain. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and five other government departments issued new rules for the recycling and comprehensive utilization of retired NEV power batteries, effective April 1, 2026. The rules establish lifecycle traceability and strengthen producer responsibilities for battery recovery. The government reported that China's comprehensive utilization of retired NEV power batteries exceeded 400,000 tonnes in 2025, up 32.9% year on year.

This development is relevant to battery cooling because future battery-pack design will increasingly need to consider maintenance, disassembly, traceability, reuse, recycling, and material recovery. Cooling-system components that are easier to separate, identify, and recycle can become strategically valuable as circular-economy requirements strengthen.

• Government Regulations

Government policy is an important structural factor for the China EV battery cooling market because battery safety, vehicle electrification, charging infrastructure, and battery lifecycle management are all subject to increasingly detailed requirements.

China EV Battery Cooling Market Segment Analysis

• By Vehicle Type: Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs)

Battery electric vehicles represent the most important vehicle category for the China EV battery cooling market because their propulsion system depends entirely on a high-capacity traction battery. The battery must support energy delivery during acceleration, sustained driving, regenerative braking, and high-power charging without exceeding acceptable temperature limits.

The scale of China's BEV fleet provides strong structural support for this segment. By the end of June 2026, pure electric vehicles accounted for 68.77% of China's 48.97 million NEVs, equivalent to more than 33 million pure electric vehicles. This installed base is complemented by continued new-vehicle sales, creating demand for cooling systems at both vehicle-production and aftermarket levels.

BEV battery packs also increasingly need to support fast-charging applications. As charging power rises, thermal-management performance becomes more closely connected to charging duration, battery durability, safety, and usable performance. The introduction of BYD's second-generation Blade Battery demonstrates how battery design, charging performance, and thermal management are becoming increasingly integrated. BYD reported that its new battery uses a lithium-ion high-speed channel and full-spectrum intelligent thermal management to support its high-speed charging performance.

CATL's 2026 technology roadmap similarly illustrates the relationship between battery performance and thermal control. At its April 2026 Super Technology Day, CATL presented its third-generation Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery, third-generation Qilin Battery, Qilin Condensed Battery, second-generation Freevoy Super Hybrid Battery, and Naxtra sodium-ion battery. CATL specifically highlighted temperature rise as a critical factor affecting charging performance and battery life.

For cooling-system suppliers, this creates opportunities to provide higher-performance cooling plates, optimized coolant channels, compact pumps, valves, sensors, heat exchangers, and integrated controls. The emphasis is shifting toward cooling uniformity as well as total heat-removal capacity. Temperature differences between individual cells can create uneven aging and performance variation, making precise thermal distribution increasingly important.

• By Cooling Type: Liquid Cooling

Liquid cooling is a major technology segment because it offers a high degree of controllability for battery-pack thermal management. A liquid coolant can circulate through channels or cooling plates positioned close to battery cells, absorbing heat and transferring it to a heat exchanger or other thermal-management component. This architecture is particularly attractive where battery packs operate under high power loads or need to support rapid charging.

The technology is increasingly being integrated into broader vehicle thermal-management systems rather than operating as an isolated battery circuit. Depending on vehicle architecture, battery cooling can interact with the cabin HVAC system, heat pump, power electronics, motor, compressor, condenser, chiller, and coolant loops. Such integration can reduce redundant components and improve overall energy efficiency.

Recent company developments demonstrate the direction of the technology. Hanon Systems announced in March 2026 that it was supplying a highly integrated cooling entity for electric vehicles. The system combines an eCompressor, electronic expansion valve block, water-cooled condenser, internal heat exchanger, chiller, air-conditioning lines, and pressure and temperature sensors in a compact thermal-management module. Hanon stated that the integrated architecture is designed to reduce system complexity, improve thermal performance, and improve energy utilization.

Valeo is also expanding its thermal-management technology portfolio. At CES 2026, the company presented an integrated EV platform combining compact thermal-management systems optimized for aerodynamic efficiency and fast charging with electric drive and power-electronics technologies. In June 2026, Valeo and Calyos announced a memorandum of understanding to develop passive two-phase cooling solutions for mobility and other applications, indicating continued interest in advanced thermal-management architectures beyond conventional cooling approaches.

Liquid cooling nevertheless faces challenges related to system complexity, sealing, coolant compatibility, packaging, pump energy consumption, manufacturing tolerances, and lifecycle reliability. These challenges are creating opportunities for suppliers to develop compact cooling plates, lower-pressure systems, improved connectors, integrated valves, intelligent controls, and lightweight heat-transfer structures.

The competitive advantage will increasingly come from the ability to combine thermal performance with manufacturability. In China's high-volume automotive environment, a technically superior cooling system must also meet aggressive cost targets, automated production requirements, quality standards, and OEM validation cycles.

China EV Battery Cooling Market Competitive Environment and Analysis

The competitive environment consists of battery manufacturers, automotive thermal-management companies, component suppliers, HVAC specialists, aluminum-processing companies, and vertically integrated EV manufacturers. Competition is increasingly based on thermal performance, system integration, cost, manufacturing scale, reliability, response to OEM requirements, and the ability to support high-speed charging.

• Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL)

CATL is an important influence on China's battery thermal-management ecosystem because of its scale in power batteries and continued development of high-performance battery architectures. The company's 2025 annual report, released in March 2026, reported lithium-ion battery sales of 661 GWh, up 39% year on year, and global production capacity of 772 GWh at the end of 2025. CATL also reported RMB 22.1 billion in R&D investment during 2025.

In April 2026, CATL unveiled multiple battery innovations, including the third-generation Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery and third-generation Qilin Battery. The company linked fast charging and battery longevity to control of temperature rise and heat dissipation. These developments are strategically relevant to the cooling market because higher charging rates and energy-density targets require increasingly precise thermal management.

CATL also expanded its battery ecosystem in 2026. In April, CATL, BAIC Group, and CAES signed a strategic cooperation agreement covering battery-swapping vehicle models, integrated supercharging and battery-swapping infrastructure, and full-lifecycle battery management. CATL stated that its battery-swapping network had exceeded 1,470 stations in 99 Chinese cities by April 2026, with a target of more than 3,000 stations by the end of the year.

• BYD Co., Ltd.

BYD is a significant force in the Chinese EV battery ecosystem because it combines battery development, vehicle manufacturing, power electronics, and thermal-management integration. Its Blade Battery architecture demonstrates the importance of designing battery structure, safety, cooling, and packaging together.

In March 2026, BYD introduced the second-generation Blade Battery and FLASH Charging technology. The company reported 10% to 70% charging in five minutes and 10% to 97% in nine minutes. BYD also reported that the new battery increased energy density by 5% compared with the first generation and incorporated a lithium-ion high-speed channel and full-spectrum intelligent thermal-management system to reduce heat generation and improve heat dissipation.

The development is significant for the cooling market because ultra-fast charging raises the importance of heat-generation control, heat-transfer pathways, cell temperature uniformity, and system-level thermal control. BYD's planned expansion of FLASH Charging infrastructure also provides a supporting ecosystem for high-power charging vehicles, with the company targeting 20,000 FLASH charging stations in China by the end of 2026.

China EV Battery Cooling Market Developments

• June 2026: Valeo and Calyos signed a memorandum of understanding to develop and industrialize passive two-phase cooling solutions for mobility and data-center applications. The development expands the range of advanced cooling technologies being considered for high-thermal-load applications and complements Valeo's existing automotive thermal-management portfolio.

• April 2026: CATL unveiled multiple battery technologies at its Super Technology Day in Beijing, including the third-generation Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery and third-generation Qilin Battery. CATL highlighted temperature-rise control and heat dissipation as important factors in balancing extreme fast charging with battery life, reinforcing the importance of advanced thermal management in next-generation battery systems.

• April 2026: CATL, BAIC Group, and CAES signed a strategic cooperation agreement covering battery-swapping vehicle development, integrated supercharging and battery-swapping infrastructure, and full-lifecycle battery management. CATL reported more than 1,470 battery-swapping stations across 99 Chinese cities at the time and expected the network to exceed 3,000 stations by the end of 2026.

• March 2026: BYD unveiled its second-generation Blade Battery and FLASH Charging technology. The company reported 10% to 70% charging in five minutes and 10% to 97% in nine minutes. The new battery incorporates a lithium-ion high-speed channel and full-spectrum intelligent thermal-management system designed to reduce heat generation and improve heat dissipation. BYD also announced plans for 20,000 FLASH charging stations in China by the end of 2026.

• March 2026: Hanon Systems announced that it was supplying a highly integrated cooling entity for electric vehicles. The module combines an eCompressor, electronic expansion valve block, water-cooled condenser, internal heat exchanger, chiller, air-conditioning lines, and pressure and temperature sensors into a compact thermal-management solution designed to reduce system complexity and improve thermal performance and energy utilization.

China EV Battery Cooling Market Scope: