Growing importance of battery cooling in full hybrid and electric vehicles and the longer-term prospect for further trend disruption.

A growing market for alternative energy vehicles along with a maturing EV technology driven by consumer demand, and quest for increased driving range and regulatory incentives are increasing the migration to more advanced battery thermal management solutions.

While it is inevitable that powertrain migration from an ICE to EV will be the endgame to meet the increasingly stringent regulations, the consensus in the industry is that talk about the complete demise of ICE technology is somewhat premature. The IHS Markit forecast indicates that one in five vehicles by 2025 will be either a BEV or full HEV. A significant portion of the APV numbers will be made up of full HEVs, meaning ICE technology will continue to find application, although the ICE fitted might be downsized. HEVs are expected to act as a bridge during this transition from ICE to BEVs. Hence improving the ICE to meet current and near-term efficiency and emission standards with the parallel evolution of the EV technology must be the focus. The collective automotive industry seems to be taking a cautious approach in adapting to this impending change. With the alternative energy technology not yet defined, the quest for tomorrow’s propulsion technology is still an ongoing odyssey. Each breakthrough has the potential to turn the existing theory on its head. Hence, manufacturers are not willing to hedge their bets and instead continue to explore all options.