LUT is currently working on a commercial solution that will enable the manufacturing of EV charging stations with improved energy efficiency.
According to preliminary calculations, the new type of cooling system could significantly reduce the system’s maximum cooling power demand. In addition, the system requires less energy for cooling, which lowers both operational costs and environmental impact.
The first test results from the prototype of the cooling system are promising.
"Based on these results and the developed computational models, the first prototype of a real commercial solution can be designed," says Professor Tero Tynjälä, expert in engineering thermodynamics.
Temperature control is the main limiting factor in increasing EV charging power.
"As charging power increases, cooling must be provided by active liquid-cooled systems, which increase the size of the system, add costs, and consume more energy."
EV charging systems also face challenges from large and partly unpredictable fluctuations in electrical power.
"These fluctuations cause rapid temperature changes, which we aim to smooth out with new types of active cooling solutions. An active cooling system can also partially recover waste heat generated during high-power charging. In other words, the captured heat can be reused in a nearby application."
Prices are expected to decline in the future
When the goal is to achieve high power in a compact device, the challenge lies in ensuring sufficient heat transfer. Complex cooling systems can also increase construction and maintenance costs. In addition, larger temperature variations can reduce the service life of charging systems.
"The structures, devices, and software required for heat transfer are critical to the system’s performance, so they must be carefully designed and built. Investing in and maintaining them can represent a significant portion of the total cost of the energy storage system."
New innovations are needed for both heat storage and transfer. Tynjälä notes that heat can be stored in the structure of the charging station or in its surroundings, which helps reduce peak cooling demand and evens out temperature differences. However, this technology still requires further research.
"In the future, mass production of these systems will advance, pushing prices down. Additionally, improved software will enable more active thermal management. At the same time, the cooling power demand of cooling systems will increase."
The research has been carried out in collaboration with Kempower and LUT’s Electric Mobility Research Center (EMRC). In addition to Professor Tero Tynjälä, the project team includes Post-doctoral Researcher Eero Inkeri and Junior Researcher Konstantin Zaynetdinov.
