UK automotive thermal management startup Hydrohertz today launched what it claims is a world-first battery cooling technology that it says not only delivers a step change in EV (electric vehicle) fast-charging times but also significant improvements in battery range, life, and safety. The company’s patented Dectravalve is a compact, intelligent, multi-zone valve system that delivers incredibly precise heating, cooling, or energy recovery of an EV battery.

“Optimizing the operating temperature of an EV battery is crucial to both its short- and long-term performance,” explained Martyn Talbot, CTO of Hydrohertz, who founded the company in December 2020. “Unlike traditional systems, which treat the entire pack uniformly, the Dectravalve allows for targeted heating or cooling of individual modules within the battery. This means it can keep every part of the battery pack at a consistent, optimum temperature, maximizing the performance of the cells across the entire pack.”

Completely chemistry agnostic, the technology can optimize the performance of any EV battery and future systems. It is also cost-effective, bringing game-changing benefits for a fraction of the cost of developing an entirely new pack.

“A new chemistry can take a decade to develop and require billions in investment,” said Paul Arkesden, CEO of Hydrohertz. “What we’ve done is take a different approach. We’ve dramatically improved how existing batteries perform by perfecting the thermal management of them. This is a cost-effective solution that delivers game-changing results: consistent 10-min charging, longer range, extended battery life, and enhanced safety.”

For OEMs, the Hydrohertz technology means better, more usable EVs sooner, without waiting for the next generation of battery technology, says Arkesden. However, when new technology arrives, the Dectravalve can optimize it too.

“The impact for both car makers and consumers is set to be transformative,” concluded Arkesden, and he ought to know. The experienced British automotive engineer has led advanced engineering initiatives across ICE, hybrid, and EV platforms, lightweight structures, and next-generation manufacturing—and was formerly Senior Vice President of Engineering at Singer Vehicle Design and before that as Head of Engineering at McLaren Automotive, where he was responsible for developing the P1 hypercar powertrain.

In an ultra-fast charging test with leading independent battery experts Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), a 100-kW·h lithium iron phosphate (LFP) EV battery equipped with Dectravalve kept its hottest cell at under 44.5°C (112°F), maintaining a temperature difference of only 2.6°C (4.7°F) across the whole pack.

According to the company, in typical fast-charging conditions in today’s EVs, peak cell temperatures regularly rise to as much as 56°C (133°F), and the temperature difference across the pack can exceed 12°C (22°F). Once cells go beyond 50°C (122°F), charging power must be throttled to avoid internal damage to cells called “lithium plating” and long-term damage to the pack, meaning fast charging tapers off much earlier than advertised, significantly increasing the overall charge time.

In testing, the Dectravalve-equipped battery never left the optimum high-power zone, keeping every module performing at peak efficiency with no thermal weak spots holding the system back. Charging times can be slashed by up to 68%, meaning a typical 30-min 10-80% charge on a 350-kW fast charger could drop to around 10 min, bringing EV charging times closer to those for conventional gasoline/diesel vehicle refueling.

“The Dectravalve solves a fundamental problem of EV battery thermal management systems—how to achieve true independent zone control of temperature without the complexity, weight, and energy waste of multiple valve arrays,” said Talbot. “Our innovation is elegantly simple: a single, digitally controlled unit that can manage four or more cooling zones separately. With Dectravalve, each cooling zone is completely independent, so coolant flows from the pump to the battery and back again in a specific loop. There are no unwanted, efficiency-sapping leaks of warm coolant between zones.”

Because the cells are operating at optimum temperatures during all conditions, not just when charging, battery efficiency can be increased, delivering up to 10% more real-world driving range. With a typical mid-sized EV, that could mean another 30-40 mi (48-64 km), providing more usable driving distance per charge, reducing EV running costs and energy consumption.

Safety can be significantly enhanced by capping maximum cell temperatures, preventing overheating, minimizing risks of lithium plating, and thermal runaway (overheating leading to thermal incidents). Because the whole battery is operating at optimum temperature, the technology can also extend its life, putting each cell under less strain so it can stay within a safer temperature range, protecting state-of-health and enhancing overall lifespan.