BorgWarner in Auburn Hills Delivering High

BorgWarner in Auburn Hills states it has secured a contract with an unnamed global automotive thermal and energy management supplier to deliver high-voltage coolant heaters (HVCH) for use on a series of three electric vehicle platforms for a major OEM.

The heater will be added to the supplier’s heating and cooling module and will be used to provide heat to the battery pack and cabin in battery electric vehicles (BEV). The business agreement with the supplier marks the first collaboration between the companies on a complete vehicle thermal management system.

“We look forward to building our relationship with this global supplier and furthering our partnership with the OEM by supplying coolant heater technology that enables optimal battery and cabin temperatures,” says Joe Fadool, president and general manager of BorgWarner Emissions, Thermal, and Turbo Systems. “This heater significantly expands our reach in North American and offers the industry a solution for thermal management, a significant challenge in the age of electrification.”

BorgWarner’s 800V HVCH was engineered to offer a compact and lightweight design through its thick-film heating and brazed aluminum fin technologies, creating a system that fits the reduced size and weight dimensions requested by the customer.

Additionally, the heater design is meant to offer optimized heat transfer in the 800V architecture needed to enable fast charging. The 800V HVCH has fast heating response times due to low thermal mass and high efficiency and has a flexible power and coolant connector concept.

Further, complying with the industry’s latest safety requirements, BorgWarner’s heating solution includes features to prevent thermal events such as overheating, as the system is designed to switch off automatically should it detect an error.

The 800V HVCH is the first heater of its kind to be launched in North America and highlights the company’s first 800V HVCH win with the OEM. This win builds upon a previous agreement between BorgWarner and the OEM in which BorgWarner directly supplied its 400V solution.

BorgWarner’s 800V HVCH will be produced in the company’s Cadillac manufacturing facility with production expected to begin in 2025.