A device supports a refueling process of a vehicle having a fuel cell, wherein the vehicle is configured to carry out a switch-off process of the fuel cell prior to the refueling process. The device includes a control unit that determines that a refueling process shall be carried out. The control unit also, in response to the determination, performs one or more measures that reduce a delay time period for starting the refueling process caused by the switch-off process of the fuel cell.

A method for operating a motor vehicle. A map of corresponding event locations for one or more high load events is provided, wherein the one or more high load events have historically led to an above-average load on a vehicle component. A current position and/or route of the motor vehicle is determined. A high load event is identified from among the one or more high load events as likely to be relevant to the motor vehicle during the current operation. The identification of the high load event is based on the current position and/or route of the motor vehicle. The vehicle component is thermally preconditioned, via a corresponding automatic control of at least one device of the motor vehicle, before the motor vehicle has reached the corresponding event location of the identified high load event.

A vehicle may include an engine, a traction battery, an electric motor, an electric cooling system, and a controller. The electric motor selectively converts torque from the engine to electric power and converts electric power from the traction battery to drive torque for the vehicle. The electric cooling system, responsive to a temperature of the traction battery exceeding a first threshold, cools the traction battery using the electric power. The controller, responsive to the temperature exceeding a second threshold less than the first threshold and accessory loads exceeding a third threshold, operates one or both of the engine and traction battery to maintain the temperature below the first threshold.

A vehicle includes an engine, a rotary electric machine, an electric storage device, and a controller. The rotary electric machine is connected to an output shaft of the engine. The electric storage device is configured to supply electric power to a drive source of the vehicle and to be charged with electric power from an external power source. The external power source is disposed outside the vehicle. The controller is configured to supply the electric power from the external power source to the rotary electric machine such that the output shaft is rotated when the electric storage device is chargeable with the electric power from the external power source.

The present application discloses a thermal management method for a battery pack. The method includes: under a condition that an electric vehicle is in a stationary state, obtaining a power-on time of the battery pack in the electric vehicle; under a condition of determining that the battery pack has a thermal management demand, determining a target temperature of the battery pack according to a connection state of a charging interface of the electric vehicle and a charging device; determining a thermal management starting time of the battery pack based on the target temperature of the battery pack and the power-on time; and under a condition that the thermal management starting time arrives, performing thermal management on the battery pack so that a temperature of the battery pack reaches the target temperature before the power-on time arrives.

A system and method is provided for controlling electric power in a plug-in vehicle, such as a pure electric vehicle or hybrid electric vehicle. The electric power is controlled from an external power source to one or more predetermined components in the plug-in vehicle. The power source is external to the vehicle and has a maximum power level. Electric power at a charging level from the external power source is received. Based on the charging level and the maximum power level, an available power level is determined. Based on the available power level, the electric power is controlled from the external power source to the predetermined components in the plug-in vehicle.

A system includes an on-board charger that receives energy from an external power source and a battery having a state of charge (SOC) and a battery temperature. The system also includes a battery heater that converts electrical energy into thermal energy (heat) for increasing the battery temperature. The system also includes a battery management system (BMS) that determines or detects a current SOC of the battery and a current battery temperature. The system also includes an electronic control unit (ECU) coupled to the on-board charger and to the BMS. The ECU controls the on-board charger to distribute energy to the battery and to the battery heater to cause the SOC to remain above a SOC threshold and to cause the battery temperature to remain above a battery temperature threshold based on the current SOC and the current battery temperature.

A battery management system thermally conditions a battery assembly prior to a determined upcoming time or the battery assembly's arrival at an upcoming location, and selects a source of the power used for the thermal conditioning.

A battery management support device that is configured to acquire information on an electric vehicle including a battery that is rechargeable with electric power received from an external power supply. The information includes at least information when the electric vehicle is parked indicating a temperature of the battery, information when the electric vehicle is parked indicating an electrical connection state between the electric vehicle and the external power supply, and information when the electric vehicle is parked indicating an operation state of a cooling device for the battery.

A system is provided for performing a predicted cooling operation for an electric vehicle (102) using a processor (122), and includes a vehicle monitoring unit (128) configured to monitor one or more vehicle characteristics related to the electric vehicle (102). The one or more vehicle characteristics include look-ahead demand information of one or more components of the electric vehicle (102). A cooling controller (126) is configured to communicate with the vehicle monitoring unit (128) and determine the look-ahead demand information based on at least one of: navigational information, thermal information, and environment information associated with the electric vehicle (102). The cooling controller (126) is configured to generate a cooling command based on the look-ahead demand information and perform the predicted cooling operation based on the cooling command by over-cooling the one or more components of the electric vehicle (102).