A latest patent submitting signifies Rivian is trying to different cooling strategies as a strategy to pace up EV fast-charging.
A patent software printed Feb. 14 by the USA Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) notes that thermal administration throughout charging can take up numerous energy. As an answer, it proposes shifting a few of the load from the car’s cooling system to the charging system.
Battery packs have to be inside a sure temperature window to attain peak charging pace, and in keeping with Rivian, that cooling takes actual energy, which detracts from peak cost fee. That cooling demand will increase from a couple of kilowatts with AC charging to fifteen kw or extra with DC quick charging, the corporate claims within the patent software.
Rivian EV charger cooling system patent picture
Cooling wants for charging additionally necessitate a bigger air con system that will use extra energy the remainder of the time when driving, too, Rivian famous.
The corporate has boasted that its cooling technique, which depends on a cooling plate working horizontally by way of the pack, is a extra environment friendly strategy to average the pack’s temperature, although. And the cabin cooling system in some EVs now does assist pace up fast-charging, so this is not a left-field thought.
The doc lays out a protracted checklist of prospects for different cooling preparations—together with fanning cool air below automobiles—maybe hinting that, whereas Rivian hasn’t arrived at anyone technique for doing this, the corporate needs to say the thought. That is usually the motivation for automotive patents, whether or not the automaker submitting them has agency manufacturing plans for a given function or not.
Rivian EV charger cooling system patent picture
In any case, evidently this is able to take a large amount of power on the charging station degree to make any distinction for the car, so it is unclear how possible it might be. Different corporations have checked out methods to enhance charging efficiency by way of extra environment friendly cooling, nevertheless.
Ford and Purdue College has helped develop a charging cable that may depend on the section change of coolant from liquid to vapor, offsetting the necessity for bulkier cables. That is one thing charging {hardware} provider Huber+Suhner has predicted is perhaps wanted to help very quick electric-car charging.