Hydrohertz launches Dectravalve, a patented multi-zone battery cooling system that reduces EV fast-charging occasions by as much as 68% whereas enhancing vary, lifespan and security via exact temperature management
Hydrohertz has launched what it claims is a world-first battery cooling expertise that might scale back EV fast-charging occasions by as much as 68 p.c whereas extending battery life and enhancing security.
The corporate’s patented Dectravalve system makes use of clever multi-zone valve expertise to exactly management temperatures throughout totally different elements of an EV battery pack, reasonably than treating it uniformly like typical methods.
“Optimising the working temperature of an EV battery is essential to each its short- and long-term efficiency,” says Hydrohertz CTO Martyn Talbot. “Not like conventional methods which deal with your complete pack uniformly, the Dectravalve permits for focused heating or cooling of particular person modules inside the battery.”
In testing carried out with Warwick Manufacturing Group, a 100kWh lithium iron phosphate battery outfitted with Dectravalve maintained its hottest cell beneath 44.5°C with solely a 2.6°C temperature distinction throughout your complete pack throughout ultra-fast charging.
This contrasts sharply with typical fast-charging situations the place peak cell temperatures can attain 56°C and temperature variations exceed 12°C. When cells surpass 50°C, charging energy should be decreased to forestall lithium plating and long-term injury, considerably extending general cost occasions.
The Dectravalve-equipped battery remained in what the corporate calls the “optimum high-power zone” all through testing, with each module acting at peak effectivity.
“In our testing, we saved battery cells inside simply 2-3°C, which interprets instantly into quicker charging, longer battery life, and critically, enhanced security,” says Talbot.
In response to Hydrohertz, the expertise might scale back a typical 30-minute cost on a 350kW quick charger to roughly 10 minutes, bringing EV charging occasions shut to traditional refuelling. The system might additionally ship as much as 10 p.c extra real-world driving vary by sustaining optimum cell temperatures throughout all working situations.
“The Dectravalve solves a elementary downside of EV battery thermal administration methods – find out how to obtain true unbiased zone management of temperature with out the complexity, weight, and vitality waste of a number of valve arrays,” Talbot says. “Our innovation is elegantly easy: a single, digitally managed unit that may handle 4 or extra cooling zones individually.”
The system works by creating unbiased cooling loops for every zone, stopping heat coolant from leaking between zones and avoiding what Talbot described as a thermal ‘domino impact’ the place hotspots unfold throughout the pack.
Security enhancements are important, with most cell temperatures capped to forestall overheating and decrease dangers of lithium plating and thermal runaway. The expertise additionally extends battery life by decreasing pressure on particular person cells.
The system is chemistry-agnostic and might work with any present or future battery expertise. Hydrohertz says it presents a cheap answer in comparison with creating solely new battery packs, whereas additionally probably boosting residual values of used automobiles and enhancing second-life purposes for battery packs.
