When explaining barriers to electric vehicle adoption, Americans often point to concerns about charging, such as range anxiety, the lack of charging stations and the time it takes to charge a vehicle.
Oil and gas company Shell has now developed a new product it hopes will make EV charging easier, unveiling a thermal management fluid it says can significantly reduce EV charging times, the company announced Sept. 9.
Shell EV-Plus Thermal Fluid, designed in partnership with UK-based automotive engineering company RML Group, contains proprietary technology that charges batteries from 10% to 80% capacity in less than 10 minutes, the company said.
Manufacturers use thermal management fluids in EVs to prevent batteries from overheating when charging or discharging. The coolants can absorb and dissipate the heat batteries generate, ensuring stable temperatures and thus, optimum battery performance.
By significantly reducing thermal stress, Shell said its new coolant allows EV batteries to safely handle much higher charging currents. As a result, a lightweight car with a fuel economy of roughly 6 miles per kWHr could charge at nearly 15 miles per minute — much higher than the roughly 3 miles per minute of a typical EV.
Shell previously joined the EV push by acquiring its own public charging network, Shell Recharge, which operates more than 4,000 charging points in the United States and many more globally.
“[W]e are thrilled to demonstrate that Shell EV-Plus Thermal Fluids can help to significantly improve battery thermal performance, paving the way towards higher charging efficiencies, enhanced safety, convenience and cost-effectiveness — to support the widespread adoption of BEVs demanded by legislative initiatives around the world,” Jason Wong, global executive vice president at Shell Lubricants, said in a statement.
“Consumers are in pursuit of better energy efficiency, longer driving range and faster charging,” said Robert Mainwaring, Shell’s lead engineer on the thermal fluid project. The project’s goal, Mainwaring said, was to “show how Shell EV-Plus Thermal Fluids can support significant reductions in charging time without compromising cell integrity and lifetime.”
