A comprehensive review on cold energy storage: Research status and performance optimization of ice storage technology

Global energy demand is growing continuously, and emission reduction pressures in the construction industry have become increasingly pronounced. Ice storage, a latent heat storage technology with high energy storage density, is characterized by energy regulation capabilities and low-carbon advantages. It has emerged as a key solution in refrigeration fields, especially construction. This study systematically reviews the principles and research progress of two major technical systems, static ice storage and dynamic ice storage. Static ice storage focuses on encapsulated ice storage and ice-on-coil storage, while dynamic ice storage centers on ice slurry storage. The optimization methods of static ice storage mainly include two aspects, structural design and additives. Research on dynamic ice storage covers production and optimization, as well as flow and heat transfer characteristics, focusing on parameters such as pressure drop, rheological properties, and heat transfer coefficient. Existing research has achieved certain optimization results. For example, static ice storage can shorten the solidification time of PCM by at least 20% through appropriate methods, and the new preparation methods of ice slurry cold storage technology can make the cooling capacity reach 4 times that of traditional methods. This study summarizes the development status, existing challenges, and application potential of the two types of technologies, providing references and insights for the future research directions of ice storage technology.