PROJECT
Thermal Management Unit for Industrial Battery-Electric Vehicles
Customer: MEDATech Engineering
About The Project
MEDATech’s ALTDRIVE division designs and builds battery-electric drivetrains for heavy-duty equipment OEMs like Maclean and Kovatera. A problem area in the company’s designs had long been battery thermal management units (BTMUs). “Off-the-shelf BTMUs have never been robust or sleek enough,” explains Paul Cholewa, MEDATech’s Chief Technology Officer. “They either weren’t made for industrial use, too bulky for our designs, or difficult to integrate into vehicle management units (VMUs).”
Challenges
- Making expensive vehicle batteries last requires two things: sticking to a set charge/discharge schedule, and keeping them within a certain temperature range
- Making a slim BTMU powerful enough to reject heat at a rate of 7.5 kilowatts
- Delivering precision cooling
- Adding a heater for cold-weather operation
- Straightforward, full integration with VMUs
Solution
The ALTDRIVE BTMU is small and modular, as well as plug-and-play. Its AKG-built condenser is connected with hoses and a power cable so that it can be placed remotely to save space and optimize airflow. It is rugged, built to weather adverse underground conditions and can reject heat at a rate of 7.5 kilowatts. Powered by a vehicle’s high-voltage system, it plugs into the J1939 CAN network. An optional 10kW heater add-on can be connected to the base unit for cold-weather operation.
Results
The ALTDRIVE BTMU is so popular that MEDATech has partnered with AKG to expand the BTMU product line. The ALTDRIVE BTMU works as well as a retrofit as it does on new builds. It delivers precision cooling and can report temperature and pressure monitoring within vehicle-control systems.
Services Provided:
Highlights
- A tight package at 25” x 26.5” x 15” and 105 lbs
- Modular condenser up to 8 feet away from unit
- Precise cooling/heating
- J1939 CAN network-compatible
- Optional 10kW heater