Price, size, weight, and material availability are a major obstacle to the installation of large-capacity batteries into electric vehicles/SUVs.
In the near future, there will be a number of electric vehicles with a mileage exceeding 500 miles on the market. But when used with high-power chargers, manufacturers must also work hard to cope with the challenges brought by heat.
Fast electric car charging requires cooler cables（via)
In terms of battery packs, electric vehicle manufacturers usually choose solutions based on water-cooled heat dissipation to take into account safety and charging efficiency.
At the same time, the high-power DC charger must also be equipped with a fairly thick cable to maintain its components within a safe operating temperature range, and Tesla even introduced a water-cooled heat dissipation design for the third-generation overcharge.
In a new study funded by Ford, Purdue University researchers introduced another prototype charging cable that they had developed in the laboratory for two years. The feature is that it can circulate the heat generated by the cable’s work through gas-liquid conversion. Take it out.
It turns out that the heat dissipation efficiency of this system is far better than the currently deployed EV supercharged water cooling solution.
Specifically, the current prototype has been able to cope with currents exceeding 2400A. For the current required for “5-minute charging”, Purdue University’s new solution is 1000A higher, and it is also more than 4.5 times the highest power charger deployed on the market.
The researcher pointed out: “The industry’s most advanced EV fast charging can only provide up to 520 amperes of current. For the wider consumers, the current of most chargers equipped with their cars is generally less than 150 amperes.”
For Ford, the project is obviously very attractive. For reference, the upcoming 2022 Ford F-150 Lighitng supports DC fast charging up to 150kW. If the charger is powerful enough, this electric pickup can charge from 15% to 80% in about 41 minutes.
However, if we smoothly combine car overcharging outlets and other technological enhancements, we are expected to complete EV recharge more quickly in the future, and eventually make the time experience of EV charging close to that of traditional gas stations.