Hyundai unveils new pulsating battery technology that could make major EV concern a thing of the past — here's how it works
Hyundai unveils new pulsating battery technology that could make major EV concern a thing of the past — here's how it works
Hyundai developed pulsating heat pipe technology that it says will improve efficiency and safety in EV batteries.
Key bit
"Unlike traditional heat pipes, pulsating heat pipes diffuse heat through the vibration and circulation of refrigerant inside ultra-thin tubes," EV Magazine reported. "The method offers more than 10 times the heat transfer efficiency of standard aluminium, effectively moving heat from overheated battery cells to cooling blocks, even under the high demands of a moving vehicle."
Since ultrafast charging superheats EV batteries, cooling the cells is critical. So, Hyundai's tech places the heat pipes between cells, reducing the risk of overheating by keeping internal temperatures throughout the battery stable.
So basically switched from passive to active cooling?
A sort of self-excited active cooling, yes.
There are large-scale devices where gas starts vibrating when you add heat. The best known from physics lab experiments is the Rijke tube and the oldest is probably the "Kibitsu no kama" (a rice cooker of specific proportions which was used by monks in Japan for fortune-telling). These produce considerable quantities of audible sound, and they are fun toys...
...but in this case, the spontaneous oscillation of coolant at a microscale seems to speed up heat transfer magnificently. Not just fun, but very practical. A great number of tiny heat engines, with no moving parts but the working fluid, with the goal of transfering heat away from its source.
No, not at all. Every modern EV already has an actively cooled battery. In almost all cases it's liquid cooled, and in some older EVs it's air cooled.
The only mass produced EV without an actively cooled battery was the first generation Nissan Leaf, which is the reason why they have notoriously bad battery degradation (which left a lasting impact on the reputation of EV battery reliability).
Many EVs can even use the heat generated by the battery to help the heat pump heat up the cars interior during winter. Hyundai were the first with that technology in the 2020 facelift of the Ioniq Electric and Kona Electric, and Tesla implemented the same tech 3 years later with their "octovalve"