Hyundai, Kia unveil new thermal management technologies

South Korean automakers Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. have developed proprietary thermal management technologies that maintain a comfortable interior temperature and maximize energy efficiency in electric vehicles.

The two automakers, which are under Hyundai Motor Group, held their “Heat Tech Day” event in Jung District, central Seoul, on Thursday, where they unveiled three technologies aimed at regulating the interior temperature of vehicles to ensure a comfortable cabin environment.

The technologies introduced include nano-cooling film, radiant heating system, and metal-coated heating glass. Nano cooling film is an advanced material that not only blocks external heat but also releases internal heat from the vehicle, with the automakers explaining that simply applying this film to a vehicle’s windows can lower the interior temperature by more than 10 degrees Celsius during summer.

[Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Co.]

Two identical IONIQ 6 cars, one with the film and one without, were used to compare their cabin temperatures at the event. The vehicle with the film had an interior temperature of 36 degrees Celsius near the center console (storage space between the driver and passenger seats), while the one without the film recorded a temperature of 48.5 degrees Celsius.

“We will do our best to rapidly bring this technology to a mass production level,” Lee Min-jae, the principal researcher from Hyundai and Kia’s energy component research team that developed the nano-cooling film technology, said.

The radiant heating system applies heating elements that emit radiant heat to the areas around the legs to warm passengers’ bodies quickly, and it takes less than three minutes for the warmth to reach the lower body. When used in conjunction with the existing air conditioning system, this technology can reduce the energy required to reach the desired temperature by 17 percent, in turn extending the vehicles’ driving range.