Battery Thermal Management System Based on High Power Density Digital Microfluidic Magnetocaloric Cooling - Cool BatMan

Project summary

Li-ion batteries are key to transitioning away from the fossil fuels dependence in the next decade. A major bottleneck in Li-ion's efficient and reliable operation is their narrow temperature range where they operate at full efficiency without major degradation. There are two key aspects of battery thermal management system (BTMS); high efficiency and compactness. In e-mobility compact BTMS preferably with no moving parts is of the utmost importance. The majority of BTMSs are based on vapor-compression technology. Due to utilization of environmentally harmful refrigerants and moderate efficiency there is a need for more efficient cooling technologies. One showing such potential is magnetocaloric (MC) cooling. The MC material will be coupled with an ElectroWetting On Dielectric (EWOD) phenomenon to form a unique MC cooling principle. The goal of the project is to develop a compact MC/EWOD cooling proof-of-principle suitable for integration as BTMS for Li-ion batteries in e-mobility.