Course
Thermal Management Academy
An engineering-level course on EV thermal management — heat transfer fundamentals, battery and powertrain cooling loops, heat pumps and refrigerant cycles, cabin comfort, and how it all behaves at the climate extremes. Built around cooling-loop explorers, thermal simulators, a virtual lab and fault-diagnosis scenarios.
By the end, you'll be able to
- Explain the three heat transfer mechanisms and why liquid cooling dominates EVs
- Read a battery and powertrain cooling loop and identify every major component
- Describe how a heat pump works and why it beats resistive heating
- Quantify the trade-off between cabin comfort and driving range
- Diagnose thermal system faults from real-world symptoms
- Predict how heat, cold, fast charging and towing each stress the thermal system differently
Module 1
Thermal fundamentals
Heat transfer, why EVs need active thermal management, and cooling media.
5 lessons
- 1The three ways heat movesConduction, convection and radiation, and which one engineers actually use.9 min
- 2Why EVs need so much thermal managementFour separate heat sources with four different temperature targets.10 min
- 3Coolant, air and immersion cooling comparedThree cooling media, and why the industry converged on liquid glycol.10 min
- 4Thermal mass, lag and why systems overshootWhy a thermal system reacts minutes after the heat load changes.8 min
- 5Measuring and modelling heat in a vehicleSensors, models, and the calculators engineers use daily.9 min
Module 2
Cooling loops
Battery and powertrain loops, valve architectures and integrated modules.
5 lessons
- 1Anatomy of the battery cooling loopCold plates, pumps, chiller and radiator working together.11 min
- 2The powertrain cooling loopCooling the motor and inverter, which run far hotter than the battery.10 min
- 3Valves: the traffic controllers of the thermal systemThree-way and multi-port valves reconfigure the loops in real time.9 min
- 4Integrated thermal management modulesWhy manufacturers are collapsing loops, valves and the heat pump into one unit.10 min
- 5Diagnosing cooling loop faultsReading symptoms back to the failed component.10 min
Module 3
Heat pumps
The refrigerant cycle, COP and waste heat recovery.
5 lessons
- 1The refrigerant cycle, step by stepCompressor, condenser, expansion valve and evaporator.10 min
- 2Heat pump vs resistive heatingWhy moving heat beats making heat.9 min
- 3Coefficient of performance (COP)The single number that describes heat pump efficiency.9 min
- 4Waste heat recoveryTurning motor, inverter and even cabin-air heat into free warmth.9 min
- 5Sizing and optimising a heat pump systemBalancing compressor size, valve complexity and real-world climate.10 min
Module 4
Cabin comfort
HVAC, preconditioning, comfort vs range and defrost.
5 lessons
- 1How cabin HVAC actually worksBlend doors, recirculation and the sensors behind automatic climate control.9 min
- 2Preconditioning the cabinWarming or cooling the car before you get in, for free comfort and a range benefit.8 min
- 3Comfort vs range: the real trade-offQuantifying what heating and cooling actually cost in range.10 min
- 4Defrost, defog and visibility systemsWhy defrost mode forces the air conditioner on, even in winter.8 min
- 5Modelling cabin thermal comfortWhy 22 °C doesn't feel the same to everyone, and how systems compensate.8 min
Module 5
Climates and diagnostics
Extreme heat, extreme cold, fast-charge limits, towing and field diagnostics.
5 lessons
- 1Operating in extreme heatWhat changes above 40 °C ambient, and how the car protects itself.10 min
- 2Operating in extreme coldWhy range and charging both suffer, and what the car does about it.10 min
- 3Fast-charge thermal limits in the real worldWhy the charging curve tapers, and how thermal limits interact with SOC limits.10 min
- 4Towing and sustained high-load thermal managementWhy towing is thermally more demanding than any single acceleration event.9 min
- 5Field diagnostics across climatesPutting it all together: reading symptoms in hot, cold and mixed conditions.10 min