Electric vehicles (EVs) have evolved at a breakneck pace, with leading manufacturers packing more power into increasingly compact systems. According to BloombergNEF’s Electric Vehicle Outlook, global EV sales could climb to 40% by 2030. Hybrid manufacturing could hold the key to the next generation of design.
Yet, as power densities climb, a significant obstacle remains: heat. Poor thermal management can compromise EV performance and, in severe cases, shorten critical component lifespans. Research from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory indicates that if battery packs consistently operate above their recommended temperature range, they can lose up to 30% of their effective lifespan.
Ricoh – a multinational conglomerate with a diverse portfolio and additive manufacturing (AM) expertise – partnered with ToffeeX, a UK-based generative design software specialist. Their joint aim? To develop a next-generation inverter cold plate that could push beyond existing thermal limits without sacrificing scalability or cost-effectiveness. This case study shows how hybrid manufacturing processes and generative design can combine to create a new approach to EV cooling.
Why EV thermal management matters
Inverter systems, battery packs and power electronics generate significant heat in EVs. Excessive heat can degrade performance and significantly reduce component lifespans if not dissipated effectively. As a result, automakers view cooling solutions as a critical enabling technology.
One common approach has been to use copper cooling plates due to copper’s high thermal conductivity. However, these plates can add considerable weight and cost – unhelpful in a market that prizes efficiency. Also, while additive manufacturing offers design flexibility and can help manufacture more optimised cooling solutions, it remains costly and complex to scale for high-volume production.
A more viable alternative is hybrid manufacturing, which combines the best of both approaches – leveraging additive techniques for design optimisation while using conventional methods for cost-effective mass production.
Inside the Ricoh–ToffeeX collaboration
Ricoh and ToffeeX forged a strategic partnership to address the dual challenge of achieving high-performance cooling while maintaining industrial feasibility. Ricoh brought to the table its experience in aluminium binder jetting (a 3D-printing method in which metal powder is selectively bound, layer by layer, before undergoing sintering), along with other established manufacturing processes like die casting and sheet metal fabrication.
ToffeeX provided its generative design software, using AI-enhanced physics simulations to optimise every part’s geometry for fluid flow and thermal performance. This tool also accounts for manufacturing constraints, ensuring that digital designs translate smoothly to the production floor.
Hybrid manufacturing: a synergy of processes
The resulting cold plate was produced using a hybrid manufacturing approach that combined:
- Additive manufacturing for internal structures
Ricoh leveraged aluminium binder jetting for the intricate internal core. This process made it possible to create complex channels and lattices that promote efficient fluid flow-channels which would be prohibitively difficult using only subtractive methods. - Sheet metal processing for the base plate
As a tried-and-tested method, sheet metal fabrication helped keep overall costs in check. Flat sections of the cold plate could be formed quickly and reliably, providing a sturdy foundation. - Die casting for the housing
In high-volume automotive production, die casting remains one of the most cost-efficient processes. This step contributed to the plate’s durability and facilitated straightforward assembly.
By tapping into each technique’s strengths, Ricoh and ToffeeX devised a solution that meets automotive-grade requirements for volume, reliability and performance.
Performance data: substantial gains
Following extensive simulation and physical validation, the newly designed cold plate demonstrated:
- 9% lower thermal resistance
Heat dissipation improved noticeably, reducing the thermal load on sensitive electronic components. - 31% reduction in pressure loss
The improved flow channels cut down on system-wide pressure drops, boosting the efficiency of the overall cooling loop. - 68% weight reduction
By switching from copper to aluminium and optimising material use, the cold plate became substantially lighter without compromising structural integrity.
From simulation to reality: bridging the gap
One of the most striking aspects of this project was how closely the physical prototypes matched ToffeeX’s simulation data. Traditional workflows often demand multiple back-and-forth cycles between CAD models and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses, but the AI-enhanced approach from ToffeeX minimised these iterations.
During physical testing, engineers used precision thermocouples and flow measurement systems to verify performance under real-world conditions. The observed heat dissipation, flow rates, and structural characteristics paralleled the predicted results, signalling that the digital model had been reproduced successfully and with great results.
Expanded applications
The Ricoh–ToffeeX project is one example of a broader shift, with similar hybrid manufacturing and generative design approaches now being applied to other critical thermal challenges:
- Battery cooling: This hybrid manufacturing approach, combined with generative design, is being applied to develop lightweight, thermally efficient cold plates and cooling jackets for EV battery packs, optimising fluid flow and heat dissipation while ensuring manufacturability at scale.
- Fuel cell thermal management: In collaboration with partners working on hydrogen technologies, ToffeeX is helping develop cooling solutions for fuel cells, where available space is limited and thermal loads are highly localised. Complex, curved flow paths made possible by additive manufacturing are being explored to deliver better performance in constrained envelopes alongside conventional manufacturing techniques such as casting.
- Beyond automotive: The same design and manufacturing principles are now being explored in sectors such as aerospace, energy systems, and data centres—where managing thermal loads efficiently is just as crucial. By combining topology optimisation with hybrid manufacturing techniques, engineers in these sectors are uncovering new ways to improve performance and reduce system-level complexity.
For Ricoh and ToffeeX, the focus is now on scaling these approaches further-shortening production cycles, automating workflows, and bringing high-efficiency thermal components to more sectors and platforms.
Conclusion
In a rapidly expanding EV market, thermal management stands out as a critical frontier. The Ricoh–ToffeeX partnership exemplifies how a well-orchestrated blend of generative design and hybrid manufacturing can deliver significant gains in cooling efficiency, weight reduction, and production scalability.
As the industry continues its push towards higher power densities, solutions that seamlessly merge performance with practicality will become ever more valuable. Hybrid manufacturing, informed by rigorous simulations and AI-driven optimisations, shows immense promise in addressing these needs. For those looking to the future of electric mobility, this project offers a compelling blueprint—one that merges advanced technology with real-world manufacturability.
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