Lithium batteries and cold weather do not go well together. An incredibly important part of engineering the Volt, and electric cars in general, is to assure that they will function properly in very cold weather.
My MINI-E which is rudimentary and relies on cabin air to warm the pack, was just in the shop having been towed for the third time in its short 7 month life. In temperatures below 32 degrees I regularly only get about 55 to 60 miles of range. I came out of my workplace two weeks ago to find the car unable to start with the battery registering zero. A “battery module” was replaced.
The Volt battery has its own independently regulated software-controlled liquid thermal management system that ensures stability, reproducibility and longevity.
GM’s Voltec engineering team are on another road trip to Kapuskasing Ontario to cold-weather test the Volt. Kapuskasing is 500 miles north of Toronto and this time of year has temps regularly below zero.
As Volt engineer Pam Fletcher writes:
We want to see how the vehicle responds in temperatures as low as -40 degrees C. Basically, we try to simulate customer behavior to be sure the vehicle responds exactly as a customer would expect.
Despite the frigid temperatures, the Volt is engineered to handle extreme conditions. The battery is warmed up during plug-in charging, which is recommended particularly in cold climates, but we realize not everyone will do this. So at night, we plug-in some vehicles and some we don’t. We want to ensure the vehicles start in the morning, or if the battery is too cold, we want to be certain the engine-generator starts first to protect the battery. The engine-generator system will provide energy to heat battery if it was not plugged in or to supplement battery temperature. By the time you remote start the car, or remote cabin conditioning as we refer to it in the Volt, pack up your things and get in, the car is ready to go.
To learn more about cold weather testing the Volt, and to ask your own questions, tune in at 730 PM EDT for a live real time chat with Pam and Volt lead engineer Andrew Farah in the box below:





