The charge in a fully electric vehicle of a sports car manufactured by Leopold Kostal GmbH & Co. KG of Lüdenscheid has a cooling element that dissipates the heat generated in the plug contacts of the controller when charging the batteries. The cooling element is made of the thermally conductive and electrically insulating polyamide 6 Durethan BTC965FM30 from LANXESS. “As well as preventing the charge controller from overheating, our structural material meets the strict requirements for flame-retardant properties, tracking resistance and design,” explains Dr Bernhard Helbich, Technical Key Account Manager at LANXESS.
Charge controllers convert the three-phase or alternating current fed in from the charging station to direct current and control the charging process. During the process, they limit the charging voltage and current to prevent overcharging of the battery. For example, a current with an amperage of up to 48 amps flows through the plug contacts in the charge controller of the sports car, causing a significant generation of heat during charging.