Electromobility Cooled High-Voltage Charging Harness Ensures Shorter Charging Times

Related Vendors

VOSS Automotive GmbH

Amphenol-Tuchel Electronics GmbH

FAULHABER Drive Systems

Wuxi InfiMotion Technology Co., Ltd.

If the electric vehicle is to be charged quickly, a higher charging current is necessary. This results in more power loss and ultimately poses the risk of overheating the charging harness. To counteract this, Voss Automotive, Amphenol-Tuchel Electronics, and the GG Group have jointly developed a new solution: a cooled high-voltage charging harness with CCS2 standard.

High acquisition costs, limited range, lack of infrastructure, and long charging times—electric vehicles have not yet fully established themselves in the German market. To eliminate the latter issue as a drawback, Voss Automotive, Amphenol-Tuchel Electronics, and the GG Group have joined forces. The collaboration of these companies has resulted in a vehicle-side high-voltage charging cable set. This includes the Power2Flow charging cable, the CCS2 charging socket Chargesok, a vehicle-specific battery connection, and an efficient thermal management system for effective component cooling. Through integrated heat dissipation within the charging system, the current-carrying capacity can be increased by around 70 percent with a significantly reduced conductor cross-section. The partners aim to achieve a charging time for cars of less than 5 minutes.

Prevent Overheating of the Charging Harness

So far, in electric vehicles, individual drive system components such as inverters, electric motors, or high-voltage batteries are liquid-cooled. However, the electrical cables between the systems, as well as the charging cable between the battery pack and the charging inlet, remain uncooled. This leads to significant restrictions on charging time, as the charging currents have to be regulated to prevent overheating. Existing solutions work with a significant increase in cross-section, for example with busbars—however, the result is increased weight and inflexible cables, which adversely affect processing and handling.

Bundle Competencies

A central component of the new high-voltage charging cable set is the Power2Flow charging cable from the GG Group. The high-voltage charging cable is enclosed by a robust insulation layer. The underlying stranded wire, made of aluminum or copper, transmits electrical power and ensures high flexibility and mobility of the cable through a reduced cross-section. Inside this charging cable is a plastic heat exchanger from Voss. This consists of a multilayer plastic tube combined with connectors from the manufacturer. It transports the cooling medium, ensuring sufficient cooling from the battery connection directly to the charging socket, where the greatest heat is generated. The plastic heat exchanger is suitable for both cooling water and various immersion liquids, allowing it to meet different requirements. The inner layer is electrically dissipative, the outer layer is highly thermally conductive and provides electrical insulation. The high thermal conductivity of the soft outer layer enables excellent heat transfer and thus a reduction in the cross-section of the electrical conductor. Within the system, the GG Group ensures the electrical properties of the charging cable—together with Voss, also the fluidic requirements.

The interface to the charging infrastructure is provided by the performance-optimized CCS2 charging connector Chargesok from Amphenol-Tuchel Electronics, which features a direct cooling concept through the Voss heat exchanger. The direct current contact chambers are actively flowed around by a cooling medium. The socket is compatible with both conventional water-glycol mixtures and immersion liquids. This targeted cooling leads to more efficient heat dissipation directly at the source—where the current flow causes the highest thermal load.

High-Performance Electric Vehicles

The novel high-voltage charging cable set has the potential to significantly improve the performance of electric vehicles. Substantially higher currents throughout the entire charging process enable a considerably reduced charging time. This represents an important advancement for the practical usability and everyday suitability of electric vehicles. The low weight, high flexibility of the cable, and resulting ease of installation also contribute significantly. The versatility regarding the media flexibility of the system allows for easy integration into different cooling system architectures and enhances the solution's future viability concerning new vehicle concepts and charging environments.  (se)

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