Recent Developments in Thermal Management of Electrified Powertrains

Thermal management is becoming ever more important in passenger vehicles in the trend of vehicle electrification. Even though most of the passenger vehicles still have relatively conventional thermal management systems, advanced technologies have been increasingly developed. The internal combustion engine (ICE) have had the central role in thermal management but due to the powertrain hybridization and electrification, the engines are nowadays more efficient, smaller in size, and running less frequently. Especially for plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles, engines are not always used or not even available, and thus there is no excess heat readily available. This paper reviews the present technology for the thermal management of electrified powertrains in passenger vehicles. In this context, thermal management takes into account the cooling and heating systems for the powertrain components, and different methods to develop and improve thermal systems efficiency. The paper investigates the recent technology advances for improving energy efficiency of thermal systems. The research focus is on the hybrid and electric vehicles and especially on the challenges of improving thermal energy efficiency and performance.