Sustainable transportation

Cooling Modules protect batteries and power electronics by releasing much of the heat built up in the system into the environment. Depending on the cooling strategy, the modules could include additional radiators. For over 100 years, MAHLE has been playing a crucial role in advancing development, from simple coolers to complex thermal management

During the cold season, the High-Voltage Heater actively raises the coolant temperature and ensures the optimal working temperature and a long service life for the lithium-ion battery. The battery can only function optimally within a narrow temperature range of approx. 10 °C to 40 °C. Only a small amount of waste heat is generated in vehicles with a battery electric drive. While this does increase efficiency and cruising range, it also poses a challenge during the winter months. An additional High-Voltage Heater with an output of up to 8 kW ensures a comfortable cabin temperature by heating the coolant.

MAHLE’s highly efficient Air Conditioning System ensures the cabin is perfectly climate-controlled while minimizing energy consumption. Working in a pleasant temperature, drivers can focus better and safely navigate the traffic. In addition, the CareMetix® Cabin Filter keeps the cabin free of fine particulates and pollutants, thus protecting the driver’s health.

The Air Conditioning Compressor delivers the output needed to cool the battery, making it fundamental to a long service life for the air conditioning system as a whole. As the only manufacturer offering ultrapowerful 800 V compressors, MAHLE is paving the way for fast charging and full-load operation of heavy-duty, electrified commercial vehicles.

MAHLE’s Chiller is designed to keep the lithium-ion battery optimally cooled, even at high outside temperatures. This is essential, as the lithium-ion battery is temperature-sensitive and must be kept below 40 °C at all times. This cannot be achieved using coolant alone, especially during the summer months. Therefore, the Air Conditioning System’s refrigerant circuit takes on this important task. In the Chiller, heat is transferred from the battery cooling circuit to the refrigerant circuit to produce the desired effect.

MAHLE has been developing cooling systems for lithium-ion batteries for more than a decade now, making it a pioneer in this technological field. The Battery Cooling Plate is in thermal contact with the cells of the lithium-ion battery and keeps the electric energy storage system within the optimal temperature range at all times. For this purpose, the coolant in the Cooling Plate flows in fluid channels that have been individually adapted to the respective battery architecture.

MAHLE’s many years of development experience in lithium-ion battery cooling is incorporated into its Electronics Cooling Plate Design. In addition to the electric powertrain, other electronic components such as the inverter also have to be cooled. These are protected against overheating by the Electronics Cooling Plates and coolant circuit.

The 24 V Coolant Pump drives the coolant circuits. A pumping performance of up to 700 W can be delivered if required. In other words, the pump only ever runs as quickly as the conditions necessitate in order to save electrical energy. In MAHLE Coolant Pumps, the coolant also actively cools the pump drive, thereby reducing wear and tear and extending their service life.

The traction motor is a “powerhouse” that has to be protected against overheating. MAHLE’s integrated and compact Oil Management Module cools the motor, with a Heat Exchanger transferring the heat from the oil to the coolant circuit. The Oil Pump needed for this is already integrated into the module.

Fuel cells are technically very complex and extremely sensitive. They need humid air in order to operate optimally. MAHLE’s Flat Membrane Humidifiers increase efficiency and protect the cells from damage. In addition, reliable humidification is important for the efficiency and service life of this high-quality key component. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is providing funding for the development of the Flat Membrane Humidifier by MAHLE and its partners.

Fuel cells must be shielded from particles and harmful gases in order to operate optimally. MAHLE Air Filters reliably protect the fuel cells—not just from dust and particles, but also from harmful gases such as sulfur and nitrogen compounds. And it does so over the vehicle’s entire service life. Its modular concept makes it a simple and inexpensive solution.

In fuel cell vehicles, the fuel cell and a buffer battery with electrical output supply the electrical consumers, such as the traction motor. The output voltages are not always the same, as they depend on the charging status and load conditions at the time. As with a transmission, the output voltage must be aligned with at least one source of voltage by means of a DC/DC converter. MAHLE’s High-voltage DC/DC Converter stands out on account of its very high output of up to 180 kW with an efficiency of more than 97percent and a particularly high power density.

The fuel cell is the heart of the fuel cell drive and requires constant cooling. However, the coolant cannot be electrically conductive as this would cause irreparable damage to the fuel cell. Accordingly, the heat from the fuel cell’s coolant is transferred to the powertrain’s coolant in MAHLE’s Water-to-water Cooler. This prevents mixing that would cause the water to become conductive and keeps the volume in the fuel cell circuit as small as possible.

The optimal temperature within the fuel cell is approximately 70 °C. Maintaining this temperature is important for its efficiency and durability. MAHLE’s highly efficient radiator and powerful fan are perfectly matched for this, even at high outside temperatures.

The fuel cell requires a high cooling capacity and therefore also a high coolant pump capacity. The 800 V high-performance coolant pumps from MAHLE deliver up to 500 liters of coolant per minute with up to 5 kW of electrical power. The cooling concept, motor concept and choice of materials are optimized for operation in fuel cell systems. The ultra-flexible design concept allows the pumps to be installed in a variety of installation configurations.

MAHLE is using its combustion engine expertise to optimize its components for climate-neutral operation with hydrogen. Hydrogen engines may prove an important technology en route to the widespread use of hydrogen. With over 100 years of experience, MAHLE is developing engine components that are able to use the carbon-free fuel in a highly efficient manner and over a long service life. Thanks to lower peak pressures, aluminum can be used as a material instead of steel. The Power Cell Unit minimizes blowby, that is, the slight leakage of hydrogen into the crankcase.

Hydrogen forms an ignitable mixture over a wide concentration range. During combustion in the piston, a small amount of the gases enters the crankcase, which is known as blowby gas. The High-pressure Impactor actively flushes the crankcase with air, thereby preventing a build-up of ignitable hydrogen there.

To ensure the optimum temperature within a fuel cell and to cool a battery, a powerful electric fan is required in addition to a highly efficient cooler. MAHLE's product family of high-voltage fans was developed specifically for these applications. The range of the product family covers use in the main cooling module through to auxiliary cooling modules for cooling electronic components.