Increasing the autonomy of electric vehicles in winter through advanced thermal energy storage technology that reduces the amount of energy used for air conditioning in the passenger compartment during colder months: this is the main objective of the PRIN project “Air Conditioning of Electric Vehicles by Sorption Thermal Energy Storage technology” (ACE-STES), financed by the Ministry for Universities and Research and led by Politecnico di Milano in collaboration with CNR-ICCOM and the University of Messina.
Currently, it is estimated that up to 50% of the energy stored in electric vehicle batteries is used during winter for passenger compartment air conditioning. ACE-STES aims to develop innovative thermal storage systems using adsorbents. These systems provide a continuous supply of warm, dry air to heat the passenger compartment and prevent window fogging, thus significantly improving the autonomy of vehicles in winter.
With the ACE-STES project, we are forging new pathways in electric vehicle air conditioning, contributing to more sustainable and efficient mobility solutions
Prof. Stefano De Antonellis, lecturer in the Department of Energy at Politecnico di Milano and project coordinator
The system proposed by the ACE-STES project, called TES (Thermal Energy Storage), has already been recognised as the winner of the 2022 edition of Switch2Product — the programme that celebrates innovative solutions, new technologies and business ideas proposed by teams from the Politecnico di Milano ecosystem — and has been the focus of a patent application.
