Keeping cool under pressure: How Coriolis flowmeters help unlock battery performance

Modern battery systems are marvels of chemical engineering – but they’re also prone to a very human problem: aging. Over time, energy storage capacity and power output degrade.

In the race to build better batteries, extreme testing is a necessary challenge. But how do you ensure reliable results when conditions push cooling systems – and your instrumentation – to their limits? One answer lies in a flow measurement technology rooted in physics: ABB’s CoriolisMaster.

Modern battery systems are marvels of chemical engineering – but they’re also prone to a very human problem: aging. Over time, energy storage capacity and power output degrade.

This process is affected by many variables, some as unpredictable as the end-user’s driving behavior, others as testable as the thermal stress a battery experiences.

To replicate real-world conditions in the lab, batteries are subjected to grueling thermal cycles using powerful cooling compressors. These systems circulate cooling liquid through the battery packs at temperatures ranging from -40°C to +100°C. In this high-stakes simulation, consistency is everything.

And consistency depends on knowing your coolant concentration precisely and in real time.