Developing electric vehicle prototypes requires efficient thermal management, but finding a manufacturer that specializes in custom cooling plates is extremely challenging. The challenges lie in product design experience, co-supplier development cycles, procurement costs, MOQ, etc., too more. But don’t let overheating hinder your innovation.
Let’s explore the key considerations in selecting a specialised manufacturer and understand the intricacies of custom cooling plates.
Cooling plates manage heat within electric car batteries, stabilizing temperature and enhancing performance. Making sure your batteries don’t get too hot is crucial, especially since 70% of lithium-ion battery failures are caused by the temperature!
Cooling plates are usually flat or serpentine structures facilitating heat dissipation in different type battery systems (prismatic, pouch, cylindrical), allowing engineers to validate battery performance and ensure design success in electric car prototypes.
In the prototype phase, you need accurate data, and the cooling plates provide a great way to test in a controlled environment to reduce your risks and gather excellent information to make improvements. One study at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory showed battery life could be improved up to 50% with good thermal management. The cooling plates do a great job of managing the temperature, preventing overheating and ensuring prototypes operate safely, meeting desired performance standards.
As you innovate new vehicle designs, you need to customize stuff, but why are custom cooling plates essential for your electric car prototypes?
Custom cooling plates address specific design constraints and thermal requirements of EV prototypes. They ensure optimal heat dissipation tailored to unique battery configurations and space limitations. Even for the same cell type, if the layout and heat exchange requirements are different, the design of the cold plate will be different, let alone different cell types.
The off-the-shelf cooling solutions may not fit the new layouts, or your battery pack design is different in your prototype. Custom battery pack cooling plates allow you to figure out the best thermal management solution for your vehicle without compromising on how you want it to work. The manufacturers that specialize in custom solutions will work with your engineers to design and make cooling plates to meet what you need them to do.
Material choice in cooling plates impacts thermal performance, design flexibility, cost, and durability, impacting the overall project timeline and budget. Aluminium, with a thermal conductivity of 237 W/m·K, and copper, at 401 W/m·K, are common choices due to their excellent heat conductivity.
EV battery cooling plates are typically made of aluminum due to their excellent lightweight properties (about one-third the weight of copper), thermal conductivity, low density, and corrosion resistance, which are ideal for automotive applications. According to a study published in the Journal of Power Sources, aluminum cooling plates can reduce overall vehicle weight by up to 15%, enhancing efficiency without significant loss in thermal performance.
Copper works better for conducting heat, but it’s heavy and expensive. Of course, it depends on what you need to do with specific thermal requirements and design considerations of the EV prototype. The advanced manufacturers can help you figure out what material you need based on the cold plate design calculations you do to design the cold plate.
Creating a really effective cold plate for your electric vehicle prototypes is a matter of precision, performance, and flexibility. You have to think about thermal dynamics and mechanical constraints with how it works to give you the end performance you need out of the thing. How can engineers approach this task? Or how do you go about doing that?
Engineers should perform thermal simulations and calculations to design cold plates that meet the prototype’s cooling requirements. Factors include battery size, coolant flow rate, thermal expansion, channel geometry, battery pack structural flexibility and the best liquid cooling tube size.
Design involves calculating heat loads, selecting appropriate materials, and optimizing channel designs for uniform cooling. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can simulate performance before manufacturing. Collaborating with a cold plate liquid cooling manufacturer experienced in EV applications can streamline this process, ensuring efficient and practical designs.
Understanding the manufacturing process of cold plates helps in selecting the right partner. So, how are these critical components made?
Cold plates are manufactured using processes like stamping, extrusion, machining, bending, vacuum brazing, continuous brazing, HFW (high frequency welding), FSW (friction stir welding), CMT and more. These methods create precise and reliable cooling solutions suitable for EV prototypes.
Extrusion allows for complex channel shapes while machining refines dimensions. Vacuum brazing joins components without compromising material integrity—essential for leak-proof liquid cooling systems. Manufacturers with flexible workmanship can adapt these processes to meet custom requirements, ensuring high-quality battery cooling plates.
With several cooling technologies available, it’s important to identify the most effective one for EV applications.
Liquid cooling is the most popular technology in EVs due to its efficiency in managing high thermal loads, especially in dense battery configurations.
As EVs advance, batteries store more energy and charging rates increase—generating more heat. Liquid cooling systems using custom-designed cold plates effectively dissipate this heat. They are more efficient than air cooling and essential for maintaining performance and safety in modern EVs.
Finding a manufacturer with the right expertise is crucial. How does XD THERMAL fit into this landscape?
XD THERMAL specialises in designing and manufacturing custom cooling plates for EV prototypes, offering engineering support and flexible manufacturing processes to meet unique project needs.
With capabilities in R&D, design, and production, XD THERMAL provides one-stop solutions for thermal management of power batteries. Our services include custom cold plate design calculations and manufacturing using various processes like extrusion and vacuum brazing. As a cold plate liquid cooling manufacturer, we ensure quality through IATF 16949 certification and have extensive experience in international projects.
Custom cooling plates are essential for EV prototypes; manufacturers specialising in this area offer the expertise needed to optimise thermal management. Selecting the right partner ensures your prototype performs safely and efficiently. Feel free to adjust any links or content as necessary!
I've worked in battery thermal management for over 5 years, handling lots of international projects. If you're curious about battery liquid cooling products or services, feel free to ask me any questions!
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