Campus

Battery cooling

Green and Sustainable Territory: Project No. 13

Optimisation of natural and forced cooling systems for electric vehicle battery packs using computational fluid dynamics simulation.

  • 2023 - 2026
  • Completed
  • Battery cooling
  • Funding: Mobility Lab

What is the Green and Sustainable Territory Project No. 13?

The project investigates the cooling of electric vehicle batteries using CFD models to improve their efficiency, performance and service life. The work is structured around three main areas:

1. Fluid dynamics and thermal modelling of electric vehicle battery cooling systems.

2. Evaluation of heat transfer and temperature distribution across different regions of the battery.

3. Identification of critical areas and a parametric study of operating and boundary conditions to optimise the system.

The challenge: cooling electric vehicle batteries

The development of electric vehicles requires high-efficiency, high-energy-density batteries, with thermal management systems capable of safeguarding their performance and service life.

  • Control of temperature variations

    Batteries are exposed to high and low temperatures, which can reduce their performance and accelerate their deterioration.

  • Identification of critical areas

    It is necessary to identify which parts of the battery require greater intervention from the cooling system.

  • Simulation before testing

    CFD simulation enables the evaluation of boundary and operating conditions before implementing changes to an actual battery.

  • Optimisation of the cooling system

    Natural or forced systems must be adapted to different operating scenarios in order to improve efficiency and performance.

Project approach:

The project combines CFD simulation, thermal analysis and parametric analysis to optimise battery cooling in electric vehicles.

  • CFD modelling of batteries
  • Heat transfer and temperature analysis
  • Parametric study of operation and contour

This approach enables coordinated work on the thermal design of batteries and their experimental validation:

  • We simulate the fluid dynamics and thermal behaviour of the battery
  • We assess the temperature in each region of the system
  • We have identified critical areas that require additional cooling
  • We have defined new tests to validate critical parameters in real batteries

Project objectives:

Optimising electric vehicle battery cooling systems using computational fluid dynamics simulation techniques.

  • 1

    Develop CFD models

  • 2

    Assess heat transfer

  • 3

    Identify critical areas

  • 4

    Compare operational scenarios

  • 5

    Improving efficiency and service life

Results and transfer

Optimising public transport and reducing emissions

Electrification of Line 4

Urban mobility and decarbonisation

The study models the operation of Line 4 and assesses the impact of a BEB fleet. The results show potential reductions in CO₂, CO, NOx, VOCs and particulate matter, as well as improvements linked to service optimisation,

Potential application:

  • City Council and transport operators

    Support for the planning of routes, timetables, electric vehicle fleets and the reduction of urban emissions.

  • Public institutions and urban fleets

    A framework for studying electrification, the sizing of utility services and sustainable mobility scenarios.

The solution: CFD for battery cooling

A set of models and simulations for analysing, comparing and optimising the thermal management of electric vehicle batteries.

Areas of development:

  • CFD modelling

  • Natural cooling

  • Forced cooling

  • Thermal analysis

  • Experimental validation

Technological capabilities:

  • It assesses the flow and heat transfer within the battery system.

  • It analyses temperature distributions in different regions of the system.

  • It identifies critical areas where greater thermal intervention is required.

  • It enables the comparison of operating conditions and contours through parametric studies.

  • Define test scenarios for existing batteries and new cooling configurations.

Research team

A multidisciplinary team specialising in CFD, batteries, energy engineering, automatic systems and thermal analysis applied to electric mobility.

Funding

Project funded by the Vitoria-Gasteiz Araba Mobility Lab Foundation
Implementation period: 7 June 2023 – 31 March 2026
Total budget: €55,013.08