Investing & Markets

Make better decisions with investing tips, technical analysis, market commentary, and more

Personal Finance

Make more, save more, spend smarter, and keep more of what you earn

Business News

Stock market news & analysis

Green

Thermal Management System for the Ford Focus EV Battery Pack

By Green Car Congress on 09/02/2010 – 6:35 am PDTLeave a Comment

The all-new Ford Focus Electric, which debuts in the US late next year and in Europe in 2012, will be powered by a lithium-ion battery pack with cells from CPI/LG Chem (earlier post) that utilizes heated and cooled liquid to help maximize battery life and gas-free driving range.

Thermal management of lithium-ion battery systems is critical to the success of all-electric vehicles because extreme temperatures can affect performance, reliability, safety and durability. Ford has chosen an advanced active liquid-cooling and heating system to regulate the temperature of its lithium-ion battery packs, which are designed to operate under a range of ambient conditions.

An active liquid system heats or chills a coolant before pumping it through the battery cooling system. This loop regulates temperature throughout the system against external conditions.

On hot days, chilled water absorbs heat from the batteries, dispersing it through a radiator before pumping it through the chiller again. On cold days, heated water warms the batteries, gradually bringing the system’s temperature to a level that allows it to efficiently accept charge energy and provide enough discharge power for expected vehicle performance.

The liquid cooling system also plays a role in charging the vehicle. When the all-electric Focus is plugged in to recharge, the vehicle control system will automatically precondition the battery, if needed, to the optimal temperature before accepting charge. If the battery is already at the optimal temperature, the system will automatically accept charge and maintain an optimal temperature.

The Focus Electric will be built at Ford’s retooled Michigan Assembly Plant and will be available in late 2011. The vehicle will have an expected range of up to 100 miles.

Tags: , lithium ion battery pack, new ford focus

Related Articles:

  1. Ford Using Wireless Technologies for Battery Testing
  2. Ford Leveraging Wireless Technologies for Li-ion Battery Testing
  3. Chevrolet Volt Battery Pack Carries Standard Eight-Year, 100,000-Mile Warranty
  4. Ford Selects Compact Power to Supply Li-ion Battery Pack for Ford Focus Electric On Sale in US in 2011
  5. Leo Motors’ Battery Management System Achieves 0.01 Volt Cell Balancing in Test

Leave a comment!

Add your comment below, or trackback from your own site. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS.

Be nice. Keep it clean. Stay on topic. No spam.

You can use these tags:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

This is a Gravatar-enabled weblog. To get your own globally-recognized-avatar, please register at Gravatar.