TotalEnergies equips EV with an immersion-cooled battery

In 2022, automotive lubricants giant, TotalEnergies Lubrifiants, made history by equipping a Volvo XC90 plug-in hybrid with an immersion-cooled battery with its ‘Cell-Shield’ fluid technology.

In terms of performance, thanks to this special fluid, the results are said to have been immediate: faster charging, better cooling, increased safety and reduced cost and weight, without the need to modify the battery or vehicle design.

This time, and another world-first, TotalEnergies Lubrifiants has integrated an immersion-cooled battery in the fully-electric Renault Megane E-Tech.

Through this project on a widespread consumer vehicle, TotalEnergies says it has demonstrated the relevance of this advanced cooling system thanks to the unique advantages of its Cell-Shield fluid and the feasibility of its large-scale integration at a limited cost.

Immersion cooling of lithium batteries is seen as the optimum solution to the demands of ultra-fast charging, as it meets the challenges of the next generation of electric cars, by enabling to reduce the size and weight of the battery while increasing its autonomy.

On this demonstrator, TotalEnergies Lubrifiants claims it was possible to reduce the charge time by a factor of two and increase the autonomy of the vehicle by six per cent.

This demonstrated that immersion cooling frees the constraints associated with the heating of lithium cells.

Finally, the Cell-Shield fluid enables to achieve unprecedented levels of safety by containing thermal runaway.

Pascal Correia, director of technology and product engineering at TotalEnergies Lubrifiants said: “We are very proud of the trust the car manufacturers have placed in us for this innovative project.

“Our work has demonstrated the immense potential of immersion cooling with the fluids developed by our Research & Development teams.

“The fact that we have succeeded in grafting our system onto a production vehicle demonstrates its potential on a large scale.”