Italian auto supplier Marelli, which has its North American headquarters in Southfield, is introducing a new integrated Thermal Management Module (iTMM) for electric vehicles, which could increase EV efficiency by 20 percent.
The iTMM is engineered to allow the efficient combination of a vehicle’s different thermal circuits into one single component to shape a more efficient thermal management system, ultimately increasing driving range, safety, and flexibility.
Optimized thermal energy management is a key factor especially in electric vehicles, as the cooling and heating needs of components and passengers within the car require high energy consumption.
Greater efficiency can be achieved by managing and controlling properly the three systems that most affect energy usage: the e-powertrain thermal system, the battery thermal system, and the cabin thermal system.
While electric vehicles generally have a number of heat exchangers with a sole function, Marelli’s iTMM modularizes water-cooled heat exchangers, such as the chiller or water-cooled condenser, with a smart valve arrangement.
By using this combined valve, which manages up to six channel combinations, the iTMM connects the three systems, exploiting their synergies and sharing components, to obtain optimized energy management.
This reduces the total system complexity, while ensuring “ideal” cooling of the electric powertrain, high safety, and ultra-fast charging of the battery and an optimal thermal comfort within the cabin.
Another improvement enabled by the iTMM is the efficiency in severe weather conditions and at low temperatures, that allows the increase of the vehicle’s driving range up to 20 percent, when coupled with a heat pump system in winter conditions.
The integrated system has a reduced number of parts, with smaller size and weight, simplifying assembly, offering architecture flexibility within the vehicle, and a competitive system cost. The module meets all the latest market requirements, such as ultra-fast charging with pre-conditioning and compliance with OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) standards, according to Marelli.
In addition to this new technology, Marelli’s thermal solutions division develops a full range of thermal systems to improve vehicle durability and performance, both for internal combustion engine and electric powertrains, maximizing the effectiveness through an efficient control and balance of thermal energy.
