Regular Article

Electric vehicle battery thermal management using hybrid heat pipe-cold plate cooling system

Laboratoire Matériaux, Mesures et Applications (LR11ES25), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées et de Technologie (INSAT), University of Carthage, Centre Urbain Nord, BP N° 676, 1080 Tunis, Tunisia

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Received: 25 April 2025
Accepted: 28 January 2026

Abstract

This study investigates the thermal performance of a hybrid Battery Thermal Management System (BTMS) designed for electric vehicles, which integrates both a heat pipe and a cold plate for enhanced heat dissipation. The experimental results demonstrate that the system is capable of effectively dissipating heat input powers up to 40 W while maintaining the battery module temperature below the critical safety threshold of 60 °C. The BTMS leverages the high thermal conductivity and passive operation of heat pipes, coupled with the efficient convective cooling provided by the water-cooled cold plate. Comprehensive thermal characterization is performed through both Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and infrared thermography, allowing for precise analysis of heat transfer phenomena within the system. The simulation results closely match the experimental infrared measurements, confirming the reliability and predictive capability of the numerical model. These findings underscore the system’s potential for ensuring temperature uniformity and thermal safety in next-generation electric vehicle batteries. Moreover, the integrated hybrid cooling solution provides a promising pathway toward scalable and compact BTMS architectures, meeting the evolving requirements for performance, reliability, and energy efficiency in electric mobility applications.