A New Solution to EV Charging: Shell’s Immersion Cooling Fluid
Oil and gas giant Shell has teamed up with RML Group, a UK-based automotive engineering firm, to tackle one of the biggest challenges of electric vehicle (EV) adoption: slow charging times. Their solution is a new thermal management fluid for EV batteries, demonstrated to charge a 34 kWh pack from 10% to 80% in just under 10 minutes.
This innovation addresses the core issue of fast charging: heat. When you push high currents into a battery, it generates a lot of heat, which can damage the cells and shorten their lifespan. To prevent this, a car’s battery management system (BMS) often “throttles” the charging speed, especially as the battery gets closer to a full charge.
Shell’s new technology, called Shell EV-Plus Thermal Fluid, uses an immersion cooling system. The non-conductive fluid fills the entire battery pack, directly touching each individual cell. This method is far more efficient at pulling heat away than traditional cooling plates or channels. By keeping the cells at an optimal temperature, the fluid allows for much higher charging currents to be tolerated without the risk of overheating.
Shell notes that a car with a high efficiency of 10 km/kWh (6.2 miles/kWh) could potentially add about 24 km (14 miles) of range per minute of charging with this technology. While this efficiency level is purely hypothetical for now—as no production EV currently reaches it—the potential for faster charging is clear.
Is This a Game-Changer?
While Shell’s fluid is a significant step, other players are also making huge strides in fast-charging technology. Chinese battery manufacturer CATL—the world’s largest—has already demonstrated impressive charging speeds with its Shenxing Gen 2 battery. This battery is capable of adding 2.4 km (1.5 miles) of range per second of charge. With the fastest chargers available in the US, it could take a 500-mile range battery from 0% to 100% in just 20 minutes.
CATL also recently unveiled the Shenxing Pro Super-Fast Charging LFP battery, which can add 0.8 km (0.5 miles) of range per second. This battery also includes advanced safety features to prevent overheating and is designed to perform well in sub-zero temperatures, all while being backed by a 240,000-km (150,000-mile) warranty.
These developments from both Shell and CATL highlight a race to solve the charging problem. While the long-term viability and widespread adoption of Shell’s fluid remain to be seen, it’s certainly cool to imagine automakers leveraging this kind of technology to make fast charging more accessible for everyone.