Behr America forms battery cooling group
July 25, 2009 by John Day
Filed under Body Electronics, Company News
Behr America has formed a Battery Cooling Group at its headquarters in Troy, Michigan to meet increasing demand for thermal-management technology. The new group, managed by Fred Pumper, manager, Thermal Solutions and Validation Test, Behr America, will focus on growing the company’s battery cooling activities as well as support Behr’s Group in Stuttgart, Germany.
“We have established a Battery Group at our Behr America headquarters to support our OEM customers with their vehicle integration and to support battery suppliers with direct battery pack integration of thermal systems,” said John Tepas, director/chief engineer, Behr America. “This group will build on four years of active development already completed by our Battery Cooling Division lead by Dr. Thomas Heckenberger, director of advanced development in Behr’s Stuttgart, Germany technical center.”
Tepas noted that one of the main technological challenges of battery-powered vehicles is maintaining optimum battery temperature — crucial for top battery performance and longevity. Behr has developed a significant expertise in this area, both in Europe and in the U.S., and has considerable experience in three different technical solutions for battery cooling: cooled air; refrigerant, and secondary loop solutions.
All three approaches require the integration of battery cooling into the air-conditioning circuit. Vehicle architecture and other technical requirements determine which solution best fits a specific vehicle platform. Behr’s extensive system integration expertise gives the company a unique technological advantage in providing solutions for battery thermal management.
“In the U.S. market, Behr supplies a full thermal management system for GM’s Lambda platform vehicles as well as programs still in development,” Tepas said. “Based on this experience, we are well-equipped to meet the challenges of battery thermal management in the automotive industry.”
Behr America has nearly 2,500 employees at facilities in Troy, Mich.; Dayton, Ohio; Charleston, S.C.; Fort Worth, Texas, and Ramos Arizpe, Mexico.
A specialist for automotive air-conditioning and engine-cooling systems, the Behr Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of original equipment for passenger and commercial vehicles. Currently, Behr employs approximately 19,000 staff at 17 development locations, 28 production locations and 12 joint ventures worldwide.
Additional information is available at www.behrgroup.com.
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