Q&A

Thermal management fluid, similar to coolant in a gasoline-powered vehicle, works to both dissipate heat and keep the vehicle operating at an optimum temperature, which also improves the miles per charge.

Electric cars, just like traditional gas-powered vehicles, generate heat as they operate. That heat needs to be dissipated to prevent damage to the vehicle’s components. One of the main components of an electric vehicle that requires cooling is the battery. It’s at the center of an electric car, and it generates a significant amount of heat as it charges and discharges. In addition to the battery, other components in an electric vehicle, such as the electric motor, also generate heat.

A few things. If the battery gets too hot, the battery cells can become damaged, which can greatly reduce the battery’s performance and lifespan and can cause costly repairs or even safety issues. The cooling system can leak or corrode, which can be a very serious hazard.

Prestone has always sought to offer the highest quality antifreeze coolant. We pioneered ethylene glycol antifreeze nearly 100 years ago and that pioneering spirit is continuing now into the future of electric vehicles. Today’s thermal management fluid is even more critical in an electric vehicle. Our Cor-Guard^® inhibitor technology maximizes an electric vehicle’s battery life and increases driving range. It all comes down to maximizing performance.

In a word: rigorously… We design in-house, proprietary lab and bench tests to prove out technology before the vehicle even exists. Then we put our fluid on the road, running millions of real-time electric vehicle miles under real-life conditions. No one else matches our scale. That’s why our thermal management fluid is factory-fill in over a dozen EVs driving on the road today.

At Prestone, we don’t like to rest on our laurels. We are already developing the next generation of EV fluids. As one of the world’s leading OEM suppliers, we are partners with both them and their tier one component suppliers. It means, unlike our competitors, we can interpret the needs of future propulsion systems and design proprietary fluids to maximize their efficiency on the road. It puts us right at the leading edge.