Separate and integrated thermal management solutions for electric vehicles: A review

Environmental pollution and oil shortage issues accelerate the revival and growth of the electric vehicle (EV) industry. However, the performance and lifespan of power batteries or fuel cells (FCs) and motors of EVs are significantly affected by their operating temperature. Additionally, the cooling and heating systems in EV cabins consume a large amount of electricity, which can easily increase mileage anxiety. Thermal management solutions are therefore essential for EVs. This paper comprehensively reviews the recent development of separate thermal management solutions to respectively maintain batteries, FCs, motors and cabins of EVs within acceptable temperature ranges. The state-of-art integrated thermal management solutions which couple multiple thermal management systems are also discussed in depth. The benefits and drawbacks of each thermal management solution have been critically commented. The challenges faced by EV thermal management solutions and the development trends to address these challenges have been present.

Automated summary

This paper comprehensively reviews the recent development of separate thermal management solutions for electric vehicles (EVs) and discusses in-depth the state-of-the-art integrated solutions. The benefits and drawbacks of each solution are critically commented, and the challenges faced by EV thermal management solutions and their development trends are presented.