XERIC climate-control system for energy-efficient electric vehicles: first experimental results and numerical evaluation of the overall performance

The paper reports the main developments and results achieved so far within the EU-funded H2020 XERIC project, which is aimed at developing a new climate control system that is able to increase Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) autonomy thanks to its high energy efficiency. The XERIC system combines a traditional Vapor Compression Cycle (VCC) with a Liquid Desiccant Cycle (LDC), by taking advantage of an innovative component, called Three-Fluids Combined Membrane Contactor (3F-CMC). The two experimental setups arranged to test LDC alone and the overall XERIC system are presented. Then, the experimental results obtained in the first test campaign are given and discussed. Finally, the numerical tool developed in the Matlab/Simulink environment for the evaluation of the performance of the overall XERIC system is introduced and a preliminary comparison between numerical results and experimental measurements is provide

New climate-control units for more energy-efficient electric vehicles: system architecture

The paper presents the architecture of a new climate-control system that is under development in the XERIC project, funded within the Horizon 2020 EU program, that aims to increase Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) autonomy by reducing more than 50% the energy used all over the year for passenger comfort in all weather conditions. The system combines a traditional Vapor Compression Cycle (VCC) with a liquid desiccant cycle (LDC), by taking advantage of an innovative component, called Three-Fluids Combined Membrane Contactor (3F-CMC). The approaches that can be adopted by the XERIC system to face the different seasonal needs are shown and commented. Moreover, numerical models developed in the Matlab/Simulink environment and used to predict the system performance are presented. Finally, first results regarding the experimental campaign performed to link the VCC and the LDC are discussed