The Tesla Roadster Sport is an ultracool electric sportscar that can accelerate almost silently from zero to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds.

But keeping the Roadster - or more specifically, its 6,800 laptop batteries - ultracool? Well, that was another problem, one that's been solved by a Canadian engineering team working for Dana Holding Corp. of Maumee.

The team has designed a way to use the Tesla's air conditioning system to keep its massive bank of batteries operating at peak efficiency, and it says the same technology can help advance electric and hybrid vehicle designs for other automakers as well.

"Managing the heat is the most important factor to extending battery life and improving efficiency," said Ted Zielinski, technical director with Dana's thermal products group in suburban Toronto.

The technology is the first of its kind.

Dana's unique heat-exchange technology cools the Roadster's battery by transferring heat generated within the battery to the vehicle's climate-control system.

Excessive heat kills batteries, cutting short their capacity to recharge and the number of times they can be juiced back up, engineers say.

By keeping the batteries cool - and warm when it is cold outside - engineers can extend battery life and make it easier to transfer energy from where it is stored to where it's needed.

"When you step on the pedal, you're pulling a lot of electricity, and that's when the battery gets very warm," Mr. Zielinski said.

The same battery heating/cooling problem has slowed development of electric vehicles overall. Some automakers have tried to cool their battery banks with systems similar to automotive radiators, while others have explored air cooling, but both added weight and cost, Mr. Zielinski said.

By basically extending the Roadster's air conditioning system to also cool the batteries, the Dana team was able to keep down both costs and weight.

Contact Larry P. Vellequette at:

lvellequette@theblade.com

or 419-724-6091.

First Published November 14, 2009, 12:15 p.m.