Optimum battery temperature offers range extension

Research shows that keep batteries within optimum operating temperatures will increase the range of electric vehicles. It is widely known that batteries perform less well in cold weather but is often overlooked that overheating will also cause problems. For batteries to provide a long service life, overheating has to be prevented and temperatures kept within the optimum operating range of 20-35°C.
August 8, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Research shows that keep batteries within optimum operating temperatures will increase the range of electric vehicles. It is widely known that batteries perform less well in cold weather but is often overlooked that overheating will also cause problems. For batteries to provide a long service life, overheating has to be prevented and temperatures kept within the optimum operating range of 20-35°C. But driving in hot ambient conditions can push a battery temperature outside the optimum range and this can cause serious damage. Operating a battery at 45°C instead of 35°C will halve its service life.

As a new battery can cost half the price of an electric vehicle, it is clear that cooling may be essential for reliable hot weather operation. But conventional cooling systems are not yet adequate in many instances. Air-cooled batteries may not have sufficient cooling potential for hot weather use, while effective liquid-cooling technology is still under development. A special coolant that comprises water and paraffin, along with stabilising tensides and a small percentage of antifreeze may offer more efficient cooling. However, testing has still to be completed by researchers in Germany.

Related Content

  • Road trains project saves space as well as fuel
    February 23, 2012
    A high-tech European project involving cars could reduce fuel consumption by up to one-fifth as Patrick Smith reports. A new EU project, Sartre, is aimed at developing and testing technology for vehicles that can drive themselves in long road trains on motorways.
    Read More
  • New developments for milling machine manufacturers
    February 20, 2014
    The market for milling machines is highly competitive and there is an array of firms offering equipment to the global market. German company Wirtgen is the worldwide market leader and has an enormous range of models available, but other companies too are keen to grow market share, with Caterpillar and Roadtec strong in North America and BOMAG, Dynapac and Caterpillar are also pushing hard to build share in Europe for instance. Other companies too are keen to grow their shares of global sales and several of
    Read More
  • Purple haze – the exhaust debate
    May 25, 2016
    Following in the wake of the VW diesel engine emissions scandal, serious questions are finally being asked with regard to exhaust pollution. Car manufacturers have published data on the emissions from their vehicles for many years, but there has been a widespread scepticism as to how these figures have been achieved. The issue of claimed road vehicle exhaust emissions is a case of smoke and mirrors.
    Read More
  • The Path to Climate-Neutral Road Construction
    October 1, 2023
    Machine manufacturers and construction companies around the globe are currently searching for ways to achieve the goal of climate-neutral construction. The challenge here is to successively reduce emissions of CO2 and other harmful gases (summarized to CO2 equivalents: CO2e) around the world to zero over the coming decades. In the road construction sector, this transformation is inextricably linked to the improvement and further development of production and working processes. In the future, machines and construction materials will also be assessed based on the climate-harmful emissions arising from their production and use. However, the focus should not be on individual machines, but on the entire process leading up to the finished product – a road. Ultimately, the decisive factor is the emissions generated per kilometer of newly built or rehabilitated road – the “CO2e per work done”.
    Read More

Highlighted Content