Overview
The proposal is focused on the development of an Efficient air-conditioning and heating system based on a Magneto Caloric heat pump and a new system architecture to fulfil the thermal comfort and energy requirements of Fully Electric Vehicles (FEVs).
A conventional vehicle uses the engine waste heat to assure the cabin heating and window de-icing and defogging requiring from 5 kW to 10 kW, while a mechanically driven (powered by the engine by means of a conveyor belt and pulley) vapour compression cycle guarantees the cabin cooling and dehumidification, absorbing up to 3 kW and generating up to 5 kW of cooling power.
On a FEV the available heat is limited and at low temperature (e.g.2-3 kW @ 40 °C) and to operate a conventional automotive air-conditioning (A/C) system a relevant amount of energy is required having a significant impact on vehicle autonomy.
For these reasons a specific approach and solution should be identified and adopted to guarantee heating and air conditioning on a FEV.
Within the ICE a new air-conditioning and heat pump system will be developed and prototyped based on a Magneto Caloric heat pump, on the redesign of the cabin air- conditioning and on efficient control strategies offering both high comfort and safety solutions (de-fogging and de-icing).
This project aims to develop an Innovative Efficient Air-Conditioning System for Electric Vehicles based on Magneto caloric refrigeration and to design a new thermal power distribution and microclimate control strategies.
The system is based on the Magneto Caloric refrigeration to realise an innovative automotive heat pump able to assure the on-board thermal comfort and on the integration of the on-board thermal systems to improve the thermal management and the overall vehicle energy efficiency.
The project has the following major objectives:
- Efficient automotive electrical compact heat pump (COP > 5 in cooling mode) based on Magneto Caloric effect using high efficiency magnetic materials, smart design and specific micro channelled heat exchangers.
- Redesign of the vehicle thermal systems to distribute locally the thermal power and to regulate the batteries and electronic temperature also in very hot climate
- Microclimate control system based on thermal comfort and able to limit the thermal power generation only to the really required quantity and to adapt the system to the occupants’ number.
- Sustainable Cost thanks to the innovative technical solutions that will be adopted to develop the heat pump, to the thermal systems resize and their integration
The project results will be validated and demonstrated realising a prototype system on a smallelectrical bus that will undergo a complete series of test, including range road test to verify the reliability and effectiveness of the system.
The project includes also a relevant dissemination and exploitation activity to promote the application of the ICE approach not only in the domain of Electrical Vehicles (passenger cars and buses) but also in the whole road transport domain as a standard air-conditioning system.
The technical work of the project is constituted of 7 Work Packages:
- WP 1: System Concept
WP leader: Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA), Strasbourg
Start-End month: 1-33
- WP 2: Refrigeration System Components Design and Realisation
WP leader: Cooltech Applications SAS (COOLTECH), France
Start-End month: 7-32
- WP3: Refrigeration unit design and realisation
WP leader: Cooltech Applications SAS (COOLTECH), France
Start-End month: 7-32
- WP4: Control algorithms development
WP leader Centro Ricerche Fiat SCPA (CRF), Italy
Start-End month: 4-21
- WP5: On-board integration and validation
WP leader: Altra SPA (ALTRA), Italy
Start-End month: 16-42
- WP6: Technological feasibility
WP leader: Behr France Roufach SAS (BEHR), France
Start-End month: 24-40
- WP7: Dissemination
WP leader: Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (UPVLC), Spain
Start-End month: 1-42
- WP8: Management
WP leader: Centro Ricerche Fiat SCPA (CRF), Italy
Start-End month: 1-42
Funding
Results
Magnetic cooling moves into electric vehicles
Consuming less energy and emitting no hazardous fluids, magnetic cooling is a promising new refrigeration technology. EU-funded scientists relied on magnetics to provide cooling to vehicles that run entirely on electricity.
A conventional vehicle typically uses the engine waste heat to run the cabin heating and a gas compression cycle for cooling and dehumidification. In electric vehicles, however, there is lack of available heat waste and the climate control system has a significant effect on energy consumption and mileage.
Heat pumps supplying cooling and heating capacity are a promising approach for improving energy consumption. Within http://www.ice-project.webs.upv.es/ (ICE) (Magnetocaloric refrigeration for efficient electric air conditioning), researchers developed an efficient air conditioning and heating system that is based on a magnet-based heat pump.
Relying on the magnetocaloric effect, the innovative automotive heat pump is a much more environmentally friendly option from standard gas compression forms of refrigeration. It also outperforms conventional chillers, reaching even double efficiency. Researchers targeted high-efficiency levels through suitable magnetic materials, smart design and micro-channelled heat exchangers.
A key task was to design a thermal power distribution system that provides local thermal comfort, while minimising energy demands. An integrated thermal system provides temperature control of all the on-board systems. Using the rejected heat as heat source for the magnetocaloric heat pump and the exceeding cooling power, the system keeps the battery temperature below the critical level.
The prototype system was successfully installed on a small electrical bus to test its reliability. With some further technology improvements, magnetocaloric air conditioners could represent a major breakthrough not only in the automotive sector but also in other industries.