TotalEnergies Lubrifiants innovates again by retrofitting a production vehicle with an immersion-cooled battery

TotalEnergies Lubrifiants is a pioneer in the area of cooling fluids for electric vehicle batteries. Every day, the Company engineers demonstrate their commitment with car manufacturers, these days working on the development of cooling fluids intended for the future generations of electric vehicles. In order to demonstrate the immediate advantages of its technologies, developed using a simulator, TotalEnergies Lubrifiants has modified the cooling system of the battery of a production car (Volvo XC 90 hybrid) into an immersion cooling system. In this real-life scale experimentation, no change was made to the architecture of the battery or that of the vehicle

A charging time divided by 4, a cooling power multiplied by 7

The result was immediately visible on the Volvo vehicle tested, with an electrical charging time divided by 4 because of the better thermal control of the cells. The measurements made during the charging also highlighted a cooling capacity multiplied by seven. By means of this procedure, overall safety and the sustainability of the lithium cells were boosted. Finally, a 4% decrease in weight of the battery pack was measured and a 5.6% decrease in the cost[1] was estimated on the Volvo vehicle, due to a system that is easier to implement.

“We are very proud of the confidence that the car manufacturers have placed in us in the framework of this innovative project” according to Gérard Quoirin, battery fluids product engineer at TotalEnergies. “Our work has demonstrated the immense potential of immersion cooling. The fact of having successfully grafted our system onto a production vehicle, is the demonstration of its large-scale potential”

An obviously different technique

Nowadays, battery cooling is generally achieved by cooling plates incorporating an antifreeze circuit. This antifreeze technology is finding its limits now and more heat must be extracted from the battery in order to achieve ultra-rapid charging and to improve its sustainability. TotalEnergies Lubrifiants has thus developed a range of fluids that have specific thermal properties. The product has also been designed so as to offer a fluid with a reduced environmental impact, measured by a life-cycle analysis. Finally, the design of the fluid has been thought out so as to drastically reduce the risk of fire on the battery and thus to improve vehicle safety.

By using innovative dielectric fluids, TotalEnergies Lubrifiants has positioned itself at the forefront of technologies, that in the future, will assist in the deployment of electric vehicles offering greater range as well as recharging more rapidly.

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About TotalEnergies Lubrifiants

TotalEnergies is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of lubricants, with 42 production sites around the world and more than 5,800 employees in 160 countries. TotalEnergies’ Lubricants division offers innovative, high-performance and environmentally friendly products and services, developed by its R&D centers, which employ over 130 researchers. TotalEnergies’ lubricants division is a key partner for players in the automotive, industrial and marine markets. ​

About the Marketing & Services division of TotalEnergies

TotalEnergies’ Marketing & Services business segment offers its professional and private customers a wide range of broad energy products and services—petroleum products, biofuels, charging and related services for electric vehicles, gas for road and maritime transportation—to support them in their mobility and help them reduce their carbon footprint. Every day, over 8 million customers visit our 16,000 service-stations all over the world. As the world’s number four in lubricants, we design and sell high-performance products for the automotive, industrial and maritime sectors. And to provide the best response to the needs of our B2B customers, we deploy our sales forces, our international logistics network and our diverse offering. We operate in 107 countries, where our 31,000 employees stand close to all of our customers.

About TotalEnergies

TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company that produces and markets energies on a global scale: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity. Our 105,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, cleaner, more reliable and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, TotalEnergies puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people.