Thermal conditioning is necessary to keep the battery operational in a wide range of weather conditions and the way it is implemented impacts the resulting driving range, performance and lifetime.
Poor thermal insulation and poor temperature control of the battery and its enclosure can reduce dramatically the driving range. In Hutchinson's laboratory, it aims to imagine, design, simulate and make systems based on the association of proprietary materials, super insulator and formulated phase change materials which have the ability to maintain the lithium-ion cells, modules and pack in the best possible conditions.
Making a battery compartment insensitive to outside temperatures during parking phases is a simple way to restore the user of an electric vehicle with a significant amount of energy capacity. Testing and demonstration show that a full pack insulation does not require higher performance liquid cooling and a bigger heat pump. Dimensioning out from a sensitivity analysis to maximize the benefits for typical journeys shows positive effects greater than the consequence of increasing weight.