Phase change cold storage materials empowered cold store systems

The market demand for cold store systems, a critical component of modern cold chain logistics, is expanding rapidly. Phase change cold technology offers a low-carbon route to energy savings for cold store systems and is now a major research focus. This paper outlines how the cold storage technology works, systematically reviews the characteristics of three types of phase change materials (PCM), and provides a comparative analysis of their advantages and disadvantages. It elaborates on key techniques for enhancing material properties, and it also details primary encapsulation strategies to address engineering challenges. This paper categorizes cold store systems into active and passive types, identifying the refrigeration unit and external heat ingress as the primary sources of energy consumption. Based on this classification, it clearly outlines three specific application scenarios for integrating PCM within these cold store systems. The paper provides a comprehensive summary and analysis of the current development prospects and challenges of phase change cold storage technology. It proposes that future research should prioritize the development of high-performance PCM, the optimization of cold storage panel arrangement, and studies on system-level integration.