FORVIA HELLA Revolutionizes EV Thermal Management With Advanced Cooling System

With EV technology advancing in the industry, automotive supplier FORVIA HELLA has revealed its latest innovation: the Coolant Control Hub max (CCH max). This advanced system promises to transform thermal management in EVs by enhanced cooling.

The CCH max provides improved performance, reduced complexity, and improved environmental sustainability as it is built upon FORVIA HELLA’s original Coolant Control Hub. In detail, the new system takes centralized thermal management further by integrating drivetrain, battery, and interior temperature control into a single unit.

A standout feature of the CCH max is its individual cooling method, where it utilizes a shared water-glycol circuit that allows the system to optimize temperatures for both the EV’s interior and battery independently. As a result, this approach not only improves efficiency but also enables a major reduction in refrigerant use by over 80% compared to conventional systems according to FORVIA HELLA.

Furthermore, the system’s efficiency goes beyond cooling. It also contains a flexible heat pump system that can draw from various heat sources including ambient air, the drivetrain, and the refrigerant system itself. There is also a self-heating mode that ensures adequate warmth even when other sources are insufficient.

By cutting in half the number of coolant and refrigerant valves needed and eliminating the need for additional electric heaters, the CCH max reaches a 20% reduction in overall system weight.

Jörg Weisgerber, Managing Director Electronics at FORVIA HELLA, expressed the importance of this innovative development of the CCH max stating, “Longer ranges, shorter charging times, and affordability are central for electromobility’s market development. Intelligent thermal management design is key.”

Enhancing EV Thermal Management

In terms of this innovation, this dramatic cut in refrigerant requirements opens the door for the use of natural and environmentally friendly alternatives including propane or CO2. With this in mind, the CCH max appears to eliminate the need for PFAS chemicals, addressing growing environmental concerns surrounding these persistent substances.

As these are critical factors in the competitive EV market, the need to introduce more innovative EV thermal management systems is paramount as the global market size for is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28.5% from 2020 to 2027 from its value $1.6 billion value back in 2019.

With automakers inserting efforts to meet increasingly stringent environmental regulations and buyer demands for longer-range, more affordable EVs, technologies including the CCH max will likely play a pivotal role in shaping the future of automotive thermal management. Currently, the CCh max is set for an initial launch in Mexico.

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