Thick Film Heater for Electric Vehicle Battery Thermal Management

As electric vehicles (EVs) continue to
dominate the transportation sector, efficient battery thermal management has
become increasingly critical. Lithium-ion batteries, the most commonly used in
EVs, are highly sensitive to temperature changes, impacting their performance,
safety, and lifespan. One advanced solution gaining traction is the use of
thick film heaters for battery thermal management systems (BTMS). These heaters
offer fast, uniform, and energy-efficient heating, helping to maintain optimal battery
temperatures under various environmental conditions. 

A thick film heater is a type of resistive
heating element that uses a conductive paste layer printed on a ceramic or
metallic substrate. These layers are typically made from metal oxides or
conductive polymers. Once printed and cured, the heater can be powered
electrically, providing surface heating over a large area. Thick film
technology is highly adaptable, allowing for custom shapes and sizes to fit
specific EV battery designs. 

In EV batteries, maintaining the right
temperature range (usually 15°C to 45°C) is essential for:

Optimal Charging and Discharging Efficiency

Prevention of Cold-Weather Performance
Drops

Minimization of Thermal Runaway Risks

Prolonged Battery Lifespan

Thick film heaters contribute by providing
rapid, even heating directly to the battery pack, cell modules, or cooling
plates, ensuring that all cells are within the optimal thermal range.

Company‌: Nordic
EV Tech Solutions

‌Industry‌: Electric Vehicle Manufacturing ‌

Application‌:
Ultra-low-temperature battery preheating system for Arctic-region EVs ‌ 

Key Requirements‌:

• Operate reliably at ‌-40°C‌ ambient temperature.
• Reduce battery preheating energy consumption by ‌≥40%‌ vs. traditional PTC heaters.
• Integrate heaters within ‌≤3mm
  thickness‌ to fit tight battery module gaps. 

1. Extreme Temperature Resilience‌ – Existing heaters cracked during ‌-55°C
thermal shock testing‌.

2. Energy Efficiency‌ – Legacy systems consumed ‌1.5kWh‌ to heat a 100kWh battery pack from -30°C to 10°C.

3. EMI/EMC Compliance‌ – High-frequency switching caused interference with BMS sensors,
violating ‌CISPR 25 Class 5‌.

4. Certification‌ – Required ‌ISO 6469-3‌ (EV safety) and ‌UL 94 V-0‌ (flammability) certifications. 

After understanding customers requirements,
our engineer team provide a feasible solution within 24 hours, the details of thick
film heaters are:

l   Aluminum Nitride (AlN) Substrate‌: 0.25mm
thickness, thermal conductivity ‌220 W/m·K‌, withstood ‌2,000 cycles‌ of -55°C↔125°C testing.

l   Silver-Palladium Hybrid Ink‌: Achieved ‌18W/cm²‌ power density without delamination.

l   Distributed Temperature Sensing‌: Embedded
15 micro-NTC sensors per heater for ‌±0.8°C‌uniformity.

l   Adaptive PWM Algorithm‌: Reduced energy use by 42%
through SOC-based heating curves.

l   3D Mesh Circuit Layout‌: Lowered parasitic
inductance to ‌<3nH‌, passing ‌30V/m RF immunity tests‌.

l   Satisfaction Score‌: 9.8/10 (via post-deployment survey).

l   Market Impact‌: Enabled Nordic EV Tech to launch the world’s first ‌-40°C-rated EV‌, capturing ‌31% market share‌ in Scandinavian regions in Q4 2024.

l   Awards‌: Won ‌2025 Global Automotive Innovation Award‌ in \”Sustainable
Thermal Management\” category.