XING Mobility and Castrol, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BP p.l.c., are partnering to develop XING Mobility’s immersion cooling battery technology further, utilizing Castrol’s advanced thermal management fluid to deliver power and safety to the EV market.

Immersion cooling in EVs is considered to be the most effective method of cooling due to its 100% cell-to-coolant contact and improved cell temperature uniformity, which allows battery cells to reach their optimal performance levels while remaining extremely lightweight. The technology delivers market-leading energy density and a high level of reliability, in addition to achieving a modular design that allows it to be installed in a large number of vehicle types.

With immersion cooling technology, battery cells are directly immersed in a non-conductive, non-flammable, and non-toxic coolant. Since 2015, XING Mobility, a leader in immersion cooling technology, has continued to advance its battery system and powertrain technologies, providing automotive-grade EV systems to commercial and industrial vehicle makers worldwide.

XING’s Immersio Modular Battery Pack technology directly submerges widely available lithium-ion battery cells in cooling fluid. The company notes that to design and build such an immersion-cooled battery system, one has to consider the flow channels within the battery modules for optimal coolant flow.

To reduce the amount of coolant piping, modules should be stacked together tightly, leaving a continuous flow channel for the coolant. The entire system should has to be designed to be leak-tight and leak-tested. Furthermore, coolant selection is a critical consideration. Because the coolant is expected to contact the battery cells directly, this coolant has to be non-conductive, eliminating water and ethylene glycol from the choices for consideration.

Castrol’s recently launched Castrol ON e-thermal fluid is circulated through XING Mobility’s system at a dynamic flow rate to provide superior battery thermal management that enables improved efficiency, and is especially designed to meet the highly challenging specifications, conditions and safety demanded by these applications.

Features of Castrol ON Thermal Management e-Fluid include:

• Lower viscosity levels than conventional dielectric fluids, such as transformer fluids.

  
  

• Strong electrical insulation, and a high flash point to protect the battery against breakdown and ignition.

• Oxidation resistance, which allows the fluid to maintain performance over fluid lifetime.

Castrol is a leading provider of oils, fluids and lubricants in almost every industry. Castrol and XING will work together to optimize fluid and hardware to improve battery system performance across the electric vehicle industry.