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For prospective electric vehicle (EV) buyers, comfort is more than just the temperature of the cabin—it's peace of mind. Many would-be customers are "cooled" from actually purchasing an EV due to range anxiety—the concern that the battery will run out of power before they reach their destination. Range anxiety and cost are cited as the two most significant barriers to purchasing....

When discussing the global automotive market, you can't get away from the topics of fuel economy and emissions. To be compliant with tightening standards (such as Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE)), OEMs are buckling down on their approaches to greater efficiency....

Emerging technologies such as fully-electric fleets and autonomous cars have us feeling that we are approaching a George-Jetson-like era. Behind these remarkable industry movements are other initiatives that will make these technologies possible. One such initiative is lightweighting. The goal of lightweighting is to reduce the overall weight of a vehicle to improve fuel economy (or range for electric vehicles) and meet ever-tightening emissions standards. OEMs have tackled the challenge of lightweighting several ways, including changing the shape and composition of certain components or removing them altogether. Lately, OEMs have made significant strides by using lighter materials for new vehicles....

ThermoAnalytics headquarters is based in a cold, northern region of the United States. Specifically, the Keweenaw peninsula which juts out into the middle of the largest freshwater lake in the world, Lake Superior. This combination of cold weather and ample moisture from the lake creates the perfect recipe for "lake effect snow." This year alone we received 357.2 inches (that's 907.3 centimeters!) of snow. To say the least, we are no stranger to cold weather....

The battery has emerged as the most prominent energy storage device to meet changing consumer needs in both the electric mobility and stationary energy storage industries.  In fact, all major vehicle original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have goals to aggressively electrify their fleets, adding electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) to their selections—some are even promising to go fully electric in just a few years. As a result, many engineers who have typically worked on conventional vehicles are now being asked to work on EVs and HEVs. As these engineers face the challenges of designing new technologies, the need for modeling and simulation tools for the creation of robust thermal management strategies is critical....