Refrigerant regulations are becoming tighter in Europe, China, and possibly the USA. In parallel, the EV market is becoming highly competitive leading companies to develop new solutions for reduced cost. Natural refrigerants are expected to replace fluorinated refrigerants for automotive and non-automotive applications over the next 10-15 years. For some EVs, natural refrigerant system designs offer an opportunity to lower thermal system cost and be more environmentally friendly. With rapid EV development and market growth in China, propane refrigerant (R290) development has taken the lead over CO2 refrigerant (R744) development.
The chart below shows cost breakdowns for five BEV thermal system architectures. Propane (R290) secondary loop thermal systems have potential to offer a total thermal system cost reduction. This does not mean just refrigerant system design, but also coolant system changes, electric heating differences, and thermal control logic improvements. Globally, OEMs and suppliers are addressing the safety challenge of using R290 refrigerant to create a new thermal system option.
Future vehicle thermal system architectures are the focus of ITB’s next vehicle thermal systems research report to be published in January 2025. The assessment will consider what natural refrigerant changes mean for ICE, hybrid, and full electric vehicles. This research helps companies plan their thermal system transition path by examining sources of value, supply chain dynamics, and production volumes for a shift to natural refrigerants across global regions and automotive OEMs.
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