Cooling of Electric Vehicle Battery Using TEG Plate

Abstract

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are rapidly emerging as a sustainable alternative to conventional vehicles. Battery overheating affects performance and lifespan. This paper presents a cooling method using a Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) plate based on the Seebeck effect to manage battery temperature while recovering small electrical energy.

Introduction

The growth of electric vehicles has increased the need for efficient battery systems. Lithium-ion batteries are commonly used because of their high energy density, but their performance is highly affected by temperature. Excessive heat during charging and discharging can reduce battery efficiency, safety, and lifespan, making a Battery Thermal Management System (BTMS) necessary.

Traditional cooling methods include air cooling and liquid cooling. Air cooling is simple and inexpensive but less effective, while liquid cooling provides better heat removal but increases system cost and complexity. As an alternative, thermoelectric modules offer compact cooling with no moving parts and precise temperature control.

The proposed system uses a Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) plate placed between the battery and a heat sink. When the battery temperature rises, heat flows through the TEG plate. This temperature difference generates electrical voltage while simultaneously transferring heat to the heat sink for cooling.

The system works based on the Seebeck effect, where a voltage is produced when there is a temperature difference between two sides of a thermoelectric module. In this setup, the hot side is connected to the battery and the cold side is attached to a heat sink with a cooling fan.

The hardware design includes a lithium-ion battery pack, TEG plate, aluminum heat sink, cooling fan, temperature sensor, microcontroller, and thermal paste to ensure efficient heat transfer.

Experimental testing showed that without cooling the battery temperature reached 48°C, while the TEG-based cooling system maintained the temperature between 38°C and 40°C, improving thermal stability by approximately 15–20%.

Conclusion

The proposed TEG-based battery cooling system effectively reduces battery temperature and improves efficiency. Future work may include integration with liquid cooling systems, advanced thermoelectric materials, and AI-based temperature prediction models.

References

[1] J. Larminie and J. Lowry, Electric Vehicle Technology Explained, Wiley. [2] D. Linden and T. B. Reddy, Handbook of Batteries, McGraw-Hill. [3] Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) Datasheets and Seebeck Effect studies.

Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Atharva Awhale , Pranav Pachpind , Rohan Jadhav, Sonam Jadhav. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.