Keeping Batteries Cool
Continental technology protects electric car batteries against heat
In the summer, temperatures reaching ever higher levels on hot days. This also affects the sensitive batteries installed in electric vehicles. Continental offers a solution that safeguards the performance of these batteries, while also enhancing their sustainability.
The electric vehicle market is booming, with a million electric cars rolling onto the global market every month. Each one is equipped with a high-performance battery that, like the entire vehicle electronics, is extremely temperature-sensitive. Electric vehicles perform best at optimal temperatures. That’s when the battery, the electronic systems, the electric motor and the charging process operate at their most efficient.
If a battery gets too cold, its power drops; if it gets too hot, its service life is reduced. Depending on the outside temperatures, the batteries therefore either need to be either heated or cooled. Continental’s optimized thermal management system is ideally suited for this task.
Lightweight, compact and wear-resistant
The solution, which uses products and fluids from Continental, comes into its own in electric vehicles and is far more sophisticated than comparable systems in combustion engines. It involves line systems and connections that enable the exchange of thermal energy between a number of vehicle components. The thermal management system keeps the temperature of vehicle batteries within the optimal range, extending the service life of the battery, increasing the vehicle’s range and ensuring greater overall safety on the road.
With their ultra-lightweight thermoplastic material, the coolant hoses also significantly reduce vehicle weight. Moreover, since these hoses are compact and wear-resistant, save energy compared with rubber hoses during production and are easy to recycle, they improve the vehicle’s overall carbon footprint – further improving the sustainability of the thermal management system.
Materials expertise for enhanced sustainability
Occupant well-being is also improved because the line systems help regulate the temperature in the passenger compartment. Our innovative solutions for thermal management bring significant advantages, including greater range, optimized battery performance and better efficiency, as well as improved comfort.
Status: August 2023