BorgWarner CTO Harry Husted says that a complex, multilayered challenge for electric vehicles – thermal management – is starting to get the attention it deserves.
"You have power electronics that need to be cooled, batteries that need to be heated and cooled, and then you have the traditional passenger comfort side of things," Husted said.
When it comes to providing warmth, EVs are at a disadvantage compared with the combustion-driven counterparts.
Free heat
"Heat was free in combustion vehicles because you just made so much of it," said Husted, who joined the supplier in 2020 after it took over his former employer, Delphi Technologies. "If you wanted it, you could tap into that."
Now automakers and suppliers need make heat as well as create new solutions that provide cooling.