Ford has announced plans to bring the new Focus electric into the international markets by the end of next year. Besides this, the company claims the new car will have a unique cooling system, in order to keep the lithium-ion battery pack from overheating.
Electric cars could be compared to petrol-powered cars, regarding the heat generated. Lithium-ion batteries can get quite hot and this is the reason why the new Focus electric will be equipped with an “advanced active liquid-cooling and heating system” which will maintain the temperature of the lithium-ion battery packs at a constant level.
The system will work like a normal radiator mounted on a conventional car which pumps warm coolant around a water-to-air heat exchanger.
The system will incorporate the car’s air-conditioning unit which will refrigerate the coolant before it passes to the batteries. Unlike conventional radiators, the new one will decrease the temperatures faster.
Dave Fabricatore, thermal program management team engineer at Ford, said the system will work only when the car is driving along. Lithium-ion batteries also produce heat in the time when they are being recharged. The advanced heating system will also regulate the temperature in that situation, too.
[via CarAdvice]
