Brose’s new thermal management increases EV range

The German supplier Brose has announced that it will be presenting a holistic system for thermal management at the IAA Mobility in Munich in September. It actively controls the heat distribution in the car and significantly increases the efficiency of electric vehicles.

Brose does not yet provide details of the solution but did give some initial key data. The system is supposed to increase the range of an electric car by up to 15%. With a basic range of 400 kilometers, that would be an additional 60 kilometers.

Range anxiety

“Currently, around a third of motorists worldwide say they are reluctant to buy an electric vehicle because they are concerned about the range,” says Raymond Mutz, executive vice president drives at the Brose Group.

“For this reason, we have expanded our expertise in electric climate compressors to include complete thermal subsystems. As a result, we hope to make an important contribution to the acceptance of e-mobility with our thermal management system.”

The systems are designed specifically for battery-electric vehicles, which do not have a combustion engine to produce heat. Instead, they control heat exchange between outside air, the AC system, battery, and other components.

This is how we make sure, for example, that waste heat from charging the battery is not lost in winter but used to heat the interior instead, says Mutz. This makes the vehicles much more efficient on the road – and extends their range by up to 15%.

Alternatively, the increase in efficiency makes it possible to use smaller batteries, cutting costs and weight. For the development of this concept, Brose is also working together with a German premium manufacturer.

Easy to install

Brose supplies the new thermal systems in the form of compact, pre-tested modules. These contain all the necessary components from the heat pump to the coolant distributor and are easy to assemble. Moreover, since all module components are precisely matched to each other, the unit is said to work particularly efficiently.

Optionally, the system can also be supplied with a hermetically sealed refrigerant circuit. It is delivered pre-filled and maintenance-free by Brose, which eliminates the need to handle potentially hazardous refrigerant at the manufacturers’ assembly line or in the shop.

This lowers costs and speeds up production. What’s more, the modules can also use natural refrigerants, such as propane for greater sustainability. Brose will be exhibiting the new thermal management system at the IAA Mobility (7-12 September) in Munich.