Interview conducted by Lexie CornerNov 13 2024In this interview, Dennis Jensen, Business Development Manager at TLX Technologies, shares insights into the company's collaborative approach with OEMs, innovations in thermal management, and the role of custom solutions in advancing electric vehicle and mobility technology.
Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your role at TLX Technologies?
My name is Dennis Jensen. I'm involved in business development for advanced products.
My role cuts across industries because, from the company's perspective, we do a lot of custom development, so it's not so much about a specific industry or material; it's more about the bigger picture. What are the challenges that you're trying to overcome? What are the innovations that you're trying to bring to market? And what are the barriers that are stopping you? I get heavily involved in advocating for the customer to help them win in the marketplace.
TLX Technologies is known for its expertise in custom electromagnetic solutions. How does this expertise translate into advancements in thermal management systems for electric vehicles and other mobility applications?
When you look at electromagnetics, TLX actually goes broader than that. It's not just the solenoid and the valve; it's electromechanical valves and larger sub-assemblies that include integrated sensing.
We have a team of brilliant engineers who take that math and science, dive into what the customer is facing, look to overcome it, and help them bring that system or product to market.
When you look at thermal management in particular, there are a lot of challenges where people are trying to bring innovations to market. Everybody would love to use something that is off the shelf, but those products are built to meet the easiest specifications.
If you're going to do something truly innovative, there is nothing off the shelf. That's because innovation isn't going to sell millions of units right away. So, we come into play and help those people go through the prototyping stages, ramping up their production to something that years from now might be standard.
Image Credit: Matis75/Shutterstock.com
With the ongoing debate around cooling and heating fluids for electric vehicles, how are these decisions affecting OEMs, and what challenges are they facing?
Yes, this is really interesting for me. Everybody understands that water/glycol has been the primary fluid for thermal management over the last several years. However, immersive cooling, using dielectric fluid from the IT space, has become important to allow AI to actually function because it requires so much more computing power. They're looking to take that technology from the technical space—computers and servers—and use it in mobility. There’s a lot to discuss there, such as its compatibility with the batteries and how effectively it mitigates the risk of thermal runaway.
So, there is a big debate over what will be the dominant material. From TLX's perspective, they can all have a place; it’s about finding the right system to get the most value from that material. The only thing that matters is what the customer is trying to innovate and what they are looking to overcome to bring that performance to market.
System design has potential applications beyond traditional mobility. How are TLX’s solutions impacting industries outside of automotive, like industrial or medical sectors?
Industrial applications could extend all the way to standby power, which often use large, lithium-based battery packs. Even though they're looking at using different battery chemistries, you really need thermal management, not just for safety but to optimize performance, whether it's how you're going to charge the battery or how you're going to maximize the battery's life span.
So, standby power is key, especially when you look at wind turbines and solar—the idea of storing power locally rather than pushing it onto the grid gives more flexibility in using that power for renewables.
There are other markets too, including the home market—do you want a standby generator or just a battery? There’s a lot of innovation happening there.
The medical space is broader because there’s so much innovation, especially in North America. As we look at this space, we are also thinking about flow control as well as thermal management. There’s extensive use of tubing in medical applications because it’s an effective way to control the flow of a fluid and maintain sterility. Instead of a traditional valve, there’s more use of pinch valve technology, which safely pinches a tube to stop the flow of fluid, and we have IP that could suit these applications.
As electric vehicle technology evolves, how does TLX Technologies support innovations through your custom solenoids, actuators, and valves?
This is a very different approach to how we go to market. We're not looking to sell to a thousand different companies; we're looking to talk to people who are really trying to bring that innovation to market and then partner with them over the long term. For most of our customer base, probably 90 % of them, they just come back with the next project because that's how deep the partnership runs.
We’ve been in the mobility space as a tier-one supplier to a particular company for over 25 years, and they consistently see the value of how much money we make them through the innovation support they need.
When you look at electromagnetic and electromechanical devices, or innovative subassemblies, as an OEM or a major company, do you really want to try to hire that specialized expertise and then keep those employees happy? Or would you prefer to periodically reach out to your friend, a trusted resource that's helped you for years, and inject that innovation into your project? So, we're a very cost-effective way to be nimble and innovative.
4-Way Switching Valve for Thermal Management. Image Credit: TLX Technologies
Customization is key for TLX. How do you work with OEMs to ensure your products are tailored for their specific thermal management needs?
We've got a good example coming up next month. A big player will be visiting our facility, where we'll speak collaboratively about the challenges and opportunities they see in the market, share with them some of our IP and patents that we have in place, and then talk more in depth about how we can customize those things to help them reach their goals.
There's a product we're rolling out now called a modular valve. That's where we take some of the expertise and intellectual property we have in-house and turn it into a semi-standard product.
However, there will be instances where the configuration will be unique to a customer in the marketplace. They might say, "Dennis, we don't want this to be out in the public space. We want to keep it private." They'll buy the tooling, and we'll only use their tooling to manufacture their parts. Our standard tooling will have a different configuration for the rest of the marketplace.
Looking ahead, what trends in thermal management and mobility are you most excited about, and how is TLX positioning itself to stay ahead in these areas?
I am really excited about what's going to happen with dynamic thermal management. Not a lot of companies have jumped on board with this, but from the research that we've done, not only from a technical perspective but from an engineering perspective, I think it's key.
Looking at EV batteries, we've seen concerns about the cell-to-cell quality because the cells don't degrade at the same rate. This is at least partly due to the fact that it’s difficult to deliver even cooling across the entire battery pack. If you can divide a larger battery pack into sectors and then monitor each sector, it gives you an opportunity to do something different with thermal management.
Let me explain further. You also have the electronics, the e-motors, and the cabin. What's critical for engineers to remember is that the optimal temperature for all those areas is different. So, when you look at the ECU and the BMS—the control center for thermal management—if you understand the ambient temperature and know the temperature of each system or module inside the vehicle, you can calculate how to drive the right amount of fluid at the right temperature to the right system, at the right time. That's really at the heart of dynamic thermal management.
For us, we've pushed the research well beyond. Once you have data to run those calculations and support that intelligent decision making, you're one small step away from being able to do vehicle monitoring.
We all know that eventually, my phone is going to buzz, and it's going to say, “Hey, we've noticed a pattern match here that suggests your vehicle isn't doing well. Here are the things we think could be wrong; you should take it in.” OEMs will use that in the mobility space to say, “Wow, 33 % of our issues are related to this system. We should probably enhance it and improve it.”
So, data is going to be critical, and it will really be part of AI enablement. We're on the path; it’s just that people are moving a little slow.
Are there any final thoughts or insights you’d like to add?
I think the bigger thing is that it's never about what intellectual property or product TLX has. It's really more about the conversation with OEMs, being part of the innovation, and helping them get where they need to go.
About Dennis Jensen
Dennis Jensen works with TLX’s engineering team to develop new electromagnetic and electromechanical solutions that meet project requirements and support our customers’ program goals. His papers and presentations are designed to help OEM engineers better evaluate their technological options.
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