TI Fluid Systems Opens Facility to Create Cooling Products for EVs

July 10, 2024

Kami Buchholz

Chambers for testing heat aging and thermal cycling at TI Fluid Systems’ Michigan innovation center. (TI Fluid Systems)

TI Fluid Systems’ newest e-Mobility Innovation Center (eMIC) provides the North American market with a collaborative space to develop efficient thermal management systems, a key enabler for achieving optimal performance from hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicles.

Functional display of TI Fluid Systems’ secondary loop conversion on the Ford Mustang Mach-E all-electric SUV. (TI Fluid Systems)

“Electrified vehicle architectures require different technologies and different competencies than ICE-powered vehicles,” Johannes Helmich, TI Fluid Systems’ chief technology officer, told SAE Media in June during the official opening of the firm’s fifth eMIC since 2022. “The global markets also differ. This is why we now have five innovation centers.”

The 48,000 sq.ft. (4,459 sq m) Auburn Hills, Michigan, center joins facility counterparts in Rastatt, Germany; Incheon, South Korea; Nagoya, Japan; and Shanghai, China. The 102-year old company’s portfolio includes fluid delivery systems and components for ICE-powered vehicles and electrified vehicles.

TI Fluid Systems’ director of advanced technology, Martin Kubiak, holds a 3D-printed prototype component. (Kami Buchholz)

EVs offer more “A battery-electric vehicle has more fluid handling than a combustion engine vehicle,” Hans Dieltjens, TI Fluid Systems’ president and CEO, told SAE Media. “The amount of lines or tubes transporting coolant liquid or refrigerant liquid is four to six times longer than in an ICE car.”

That long stretch of lines/tubes on an all-electric vehicle feeds liquid to the battery pack, electric motors, select advanced driver-assistance systems, and onboard chargers. “The opportunity for us to supply product on a BEV is roughly double what we have on an ICE car,” Dieltjens said.

Thermal management systems provide another product opportunity in electrified vehicles. “With an efficient thermal management system on a BEV, you can increase the driving range up to 20%,” Helmich said. An efficient thermal management system also influences battery life and recharging time. Later this year, TI Fluid Systems will start production of an integrated thermal management module that will debut on a future electrified vehicle from a European-based automaker.

TI Fluid Systems’ CEO and president Hans Dieltjens, left, and CTO Johannes Helmich are surrounded by products inside the showroom of the company’s Michigan e-Mobility Innovation Center. (TI Fluid Systems)

As a collaborative environment for in-house engineers, technical specialists and automaker technologists, the Michigan innovation center brings together design, engineering/simulation, processing, rapid prototyping (via 3D printing and injection molding), product testing and vehicle testing to reduce development timelines. “Not long ago, prototype building took up to six months. Now a prototype build can be done in two weeks. This really is a game changer to have everything under one roof,” Helmich said.

The innovation center’s showroom features recent and future products. “We recognize that the automotive market is transforming,” Helmich said, “so we are expanding our portfolio and developing new technologies for the future.”