The heat pump pre-conditions the battery, extending range in cold weather. But Rivian’s electric trucks and SUVs clearly don’t.
Electric vehicle battery temperature must be carefully controlled to maximize range and performance and minimize degradation. Without proper cooling, an electric car can lose its range dramatically over time, as happened with the first generation Nissan Leaf. Although not as important, the absence of a heat pump still affects the range of an electric car in cold weather. Despite the lack of a dedicated heat pump, the 2022 Rivian R1T should not fall prey to such issues, as its battery is heated by the waste heat from the car’s inverter.
Rivian revealed The Drive’s setup when asked to explain the lack of a heat pump in Rivian’s application for EPA 2022 model certification, which was dug up by a user on a Rivian owners forum. The document specifically lists “N/A” under the subheading “Heat Pump”, which appears to indicate that there is no heat pump. A company representative confirmed that there really is no special heat pump, but this does not mean that there is no way to heat the battery. Instead, heat from the transmission inverter is captured by the coolant and then circulated through the battery. Functionally, it’s the same thing, and it’s a neat way to redirect waste heat from the powertrain – something Kia and Hyundai are doing similarly in their current EVs.
“The design of the R1 car actively heats the battery pack using the power electronics in the system, essentially simulating the behavior of a heat pump,” a Rivian spokesperson explained. Range optimization and cockpit adjustment. The system maintains the overall performance of the R1 in cold weather. weather.”
The R1′s lack of a heat pump isn’t the only interesting detail revealed in the aforementioned document. When I rode the R1T prototype earlier this year, we didn’t get any official information about its weight or maximum DC fast charging speed. Both were confirmed in a document that says the R1T weighs 6,949 pounds. As a bonus, the application even shares the R1S’s curb weight, which is 6,916 pounds.
In terms of charging, Rivian has previously stated that the R1T can restore a range of 140 miles in 20 minutes with 200kW DC input power. The maximum power input is not much higher than 210 kW, according to the document, the charging speed is quite fast, although slower than the similar (albeit more expensive) 2022 GMC Hummer electric vehicle, which can accept 350 kW charging. For reference, the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning appears to charge 150kW slower while Rivian is somewhere in between when it comes to charging due to its price and power output.
This limitation may be due to the fact that the R1T’s powertrain is a 400-volt system rather than the 800-volt system that Porsche opted for for the Taycan with a quick charge (270 kW). The Hummer, on the other hand, is compatible with 800 volts while charging, but otherwise operates at 400 volts.
The absence of a heat pump in the R1 does not give them any advantages in paper comparison with other electric vehicles, although this is unlikely to significantly affect everyday usability. The 135kWh R1T battery delivers 314 miles of range, even with AAA range lost by up to 57 percent at 20 degrees Fahrenheit, which by my own calculations still promises 135 miles of range. If you need to drive your pickup this far regardless of the weather, you probably won’t buy a truck with rigid range and charging requirements.
UPDATE: Dec 14 5:44 pm ET: A Rivian spokesperson clarified that the R1 is missing a heat pump, clarifying that the rest of the powertrain will do its job.