Method and apparatus for thermal management of an electric vehicle

Abstract

A method 500 of determining an operating mode for a thermal management system (100, fig. 1) of an electric vehicle (200, fig. 2). The method comprises obtaining thermal energy information for a plurality of components of the electric vehicle 502, the thermal energy information defining a thermal energy transfer requirement for each component. Information is obtained defining a plurality of operating modes suitable to satisfy thermal energy transfer requirements of the components 504. For each operating mode, an energy cost is determined using a model of the thermal management system 506, wherein the energy cost for each mode comprises a respective thermal energy cost value representing an amount of thermal energy transferred off the electric vehicle and a respective actuator energy cost value representing an energy cost associated with operating the thermal management system. The operating mode having a lowest calculated energy cost is then selected 508 and indicated 510. Computer readable instructions, a control system and a vehicle are also claimed.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for determining an operating mode of a thermal management system of an electric vehicle. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for selecting an operating mode from a plurality of operating modes for the thermal management system based on a determined energy cost associated with the operating mode. Aspects of the invention relate to a method, a computer readable medium, computer readable instructions, a control system and a vehicle. BACKGROUND The temperature of certain components of electric vehicles may have a significant effect on the efficiency of operation of those components. For example, cold chemical reactions in traction batteries may be inhibited, and in extreme cold the battery electrolyte may freeze, significantly increasing losses in the battery. Conversely, as the temperature of a traction battery increases, resistive losses in the battery may increase. Thus, it may be desirable to maintain the traction battery of an electric vehicle within a certain range of temperatures. Similarly motors, electronics, and other components of the vehicle, along with the vehicle cabin for human comfort, may have desired temperature ranges in which they should ideally be maintained. However, managing the temperature of components in the system may draw a significant amount of power from the traction battery, for example when powering a resistive heater, which itself may reduce the efficiency of the use of electrical power provided from the traction battery and therefore reduce the range of the electric vehicle. In arrangements where the temperature of each component is managed separately, cooling may be provided to one component by transferring thermal energy to the ambient environment, while another component requiring heating receives thermal energy generated using a resistive heater. It is an aim of the present invention to address one or more of the disadvantages associated with the prior art. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Aspects and embodiments of the invention provide an method of determining an operating mode of a thermal management system of an electric vehicle, a computer program, a control system, and a vehicle as claimed in the appended claims. According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of determining an operating mode of a thermal management system of an electric vehicle based on a determination, for each of a plurality of operating modes, an energy cost associated with the respective operating mode, wherein the energy cost for each operating mode comprises a respective thermal energy cost value representing an amount of thermal energy transferred off the electric vehicle and a respective actuator energy cost value representing an energy cost associated with operating the thermal management system in the respective operating mode. The method further comprises selecting an operating mode of the plurality of operating mode having the lowest determined energy cost and able to satisfy thermal requirements placed on the thermal management system. Advantageously, an operating mode is selected that meets the thermal requirements placed on the system and increases the amount of thermal energy retained on the vehicle which may reduce the amount of electrical energy drawn from the battery for thermal management resulting in increased efficiency. According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of determining an operating mode of a thermal management system of an electric vehicle, the method comprising obtaining thermal energy information for a plurality of components of the electric vehicle, the thermal energy information defining a thermal energy transfer requirement for each component, obtaining information defining a plurality of operating modes of the thermal management system, each of the plurality of operating modes operable to satisfy the thermal energy transfer requirement for each component, determining, for each operating mode of the plurality of operating modes, an energy cost associated with that operating mode based on the thermal energy information and using a model of the thermal management system, wherein the energy cost for each operating mode comprises a respective thermal energy cost value representing an amount of thermal energy transferred off the electric vehicle and a respective actuator energy cost value representing an energy cost associated with operating the thermal management system in the respective operating mode, selecting an operating mode having a lowest calculated energy cost, and providing an output indicating the selected operating mode. Advantageously, the described method evaluates an energy cost for each potential operating mode of the thermal management system of the electric vehicle and selects a mode having a lowest determined energy cost, i.e. the most efficient operating mode of the evaluated operating modes, to meet the required thermal transfer requirements of the components of the vehicle. In particular, the energy cost includes both the cost of operating the thermal management system, for example energy required to operate a compressor, and also a thermal energy cost value representing an amount of thermal energy lost from the vehicle, e.g. via a radiator to the environment. Thus, the method is able to select an operating mode for the thermal management system that retains as much thermal energy as possible while meeting the required cooling and / or heating requirements of the components of the vehicle, which may lead to increased efficiency overall. In an embodiment, the thermal energy transfer requirement for a component comprises one of: an indication that thermal energy is to be supplied to the component; an indication that thermal energy is to be extracted from the component; or an indication that thermal energy may be supplied to or extracted from the component. In some embodiments, the thermal energy transfer requirement may be an amount of energy, or energy flux, to be transferred to or extract from the component to maintain the component within a desired temperature range. An operating mode may be said to satisfy the thermal energy transfer requirement for a component when it is able to transfer to or extract from that component at least the amount of energy, or energy flux, indicated by the thermal energy transfer requirement. Advantageously, the thermal energy requirement may be signalled as a request for cooling or heating, or as an indication that the component is within a tolerable band of temperatures and is therefore able to act as either a source or sink of thermal energy while remaining within a desired temperature range. This information may allow a decision to be made to store thermal energy in a component for later use. In an embodiment, the thermal energy transfer requirement for a component comprises one of: an amount of thermal energy to be supplied to the component; an amount of thermal energy to be extracted from the component; or an indication that thermal energy may be supplied to or extracted from the component. Advantageously, the thermal energy requirement may be signalled as an amount of energy to be supplied or extracted from a component to allow a calculation of an energy balance for the system when determining an operating mode to implement thermal transfers between the components. Optionally, the plurality of components of the vehicle comprise one or more of: a traction battery; an electric drive unit; a radiator; an outside heat pump; a coolant heater; and a cabin air conditioning unit. Advantageously, an operating mode of the thermal management system may be selected based on the thermal energy transfer requirements for the major thermal customers present on the vehicle, facilitating selection of an operating mode of the thermal management system that maximises the retention of thermal energy on the vehicle while meeting the thermal requirements of these components. Optionally, the thermal management system comprises one or more heat exchangers operable to transfer thermal energy from a first component of the vehicle to a second component of the vehicle. Advantageously, the thermal management system includes heat exchangers to allow thermal energy to be transferred from a component that requires cooling, e.g. a traction battery generating internal heat due to current being supplied to electric drive units, to a component requiring heating, e.g. a climate control system for cabin heating. In an embodiment, calculating the energy costs associated with each operating mode comprises calculating a predicted energy cost for operating the thermal management system in that operating mode for a predetermined period of time. Advantageously, the method determines an energy cost accumulated over a period of time to allow for dynamic effects, for example a particular operating mode may have an associated initialization energy cost but following that initial cost may be more efficient to continue operating than an alternative operating mode which has no initialization cost. Determining the energy cost over a predetermined period of time may allow consideration of the energy values as energy fluxes representing a thermal power to be transferred over the period of time, enabling more intelligent selections to be made depending on the particular thermal state of the components. In an embodiment, the method comprises obtaining predicted thermal energy information for the plurality of components, the predicted thermal energy information defining a predicted thermal energy transfer requirement for each of the components for the predetermined period of time, and wherein calculating the predicted energy costs for operating the thermal management system in that operating mode is further based on the predicted thermal energy information. Advantageously, the method determines an energy cost accumulated over a period of time to allow for dynamic effects based on predicted thermal energy transfer requirements for the components, for example an operating mode may be selected that avoids cooling a component that currently has excess thermal energy, but that is predicted to cool down over the predetermined period of time, e.g. it may not be an efficient operating mode selection to actively cool an electric drive unit once a vehicle has parked and no further heat is being generated in the electric drive units. In an embodiment, the method comprises obtaining route information for the vehicle indicative of an expected operating profile for the vehicle, and wherein obtaining the predicted thermal energy information comprises calculating the predicted thermal energy information based on the expected operating profile for the vehicle. Advantageously, predicted thermal energy information may be based on route information, e.g. based on a desired, or intended, route programmed by a driver, or based on traffic information received via a network indicating upcoming congestion. This enables a thermal mode selection to be made based on upcoming events, for example facilitating selection of a mode that retains a greater amount of heat in components in anticipation of waiting in traffic due to congestion. Optionally, the actuator energy cost value associated with an operating mode is representative of at least one of: an energy cost of operating a compressor according to that operating mode; a valve actuation energy cost associated with that operating mode; a vehicle drag cost associated with operation of a heat exchanger according to that operating mode; an energy cost of operating a pump according to that operating mode; and an energy costs of operating a fan according to that operating mode. Advantageously, the method is able to take into account a range of energy costs associated with the operation of the thermal management system beyond the direct costs of operating the thermal management system in a particular mode, including energy costs associated with transitioning the thermal management system from a first operating mode to a second operating mode, e.g. valve actuation costs, as well as indirect energy costs such as increased drag due to active vane management to direct airflow to a heat exchanger. In an embodiment, each of the plurality of operating modes is associated with a configuration of at least two configurations of the thermal management system, wherein each configuration is associated with a respective model of the thermal management system, and wherein calculating the energy costs for an operating mode of the thermal management system comprises calculating the energy cost using the model corresponding to the configuration associated with that operating mode. Advantageously, the method is operable to select an operating mode for a reconfigurable thermal management system having a number of different configurations, e.g. where certain components may be bypassed or connections between the components for a coolant or refrigerant circuit of the thermal management system changed. Optionally, each configuration of the thermal management system defines a configuration of one or more coolant circulation loops supplying heat transfer fluid to at least one component of the plurality of components of the vehicle. Advantageously, the method is operable to select an operating mode for a reconfigurable thermal management system in which the route of one or more coolant circuits through the components of the vehicle may be changed for different operating modes to facilitate transfer of thermal energy in different directions between components to meet the thermal energy transfer requirements of the components. Optionally, each of the plurality of operating modes includes an indication of a duty cycle value associated with an actuator of the thermal management system, wherein the energy cost for the operating mode is calculated based on the duty cycle value for that operating mode. Advantageously, the operating mode may include proportional control of elements of the thermal management system, such as pumps and compressors, according to a duty cycle. Thus, the method is able to determine an energy cost based on the duty cycle values of actuators in the thermal management system when comparing energy costs associated with different operating modes. For example, an operating mode relying on passive heat dissipation through a radiator may require a greater duty cycle for a coolant pump than for an operating mode dissipating heat through an outside heat pump. Such differences may be taken into account when determining the energy cost for each mode. Optionally, each of the plurality of operating modes includes an indication of a target temperature value associated with a temperature sensor of the thermal management system, wherein the energy cost for the operating mode is calculated based on the target temperature value for that operating mode. Advantageously, elements of the thermal management system may include internal, or local, control loops. By providing an indication of a target temperature value, operation of those elements can be influenced to be in line with the selected operating mode without requiring direct central control, providing a hierarchical control structure that simplifies the control of legacy elements in the thermal management system. Optionally, the model comprises a look up table. Advantageously, the model may be captured in the form of a look up table, or 2D map, reducing the processing requirements as compared to the use of a fully calculated model. According to another aspect of the invention, there are provided computer readable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method as described above. Optionally, the computer readable instructions may be stored on a computer readable medium. According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a control system for controlling a thermal management system of an electric vehicle, the control system comprising one or more processors collectively configured to obtain thermal energy information for a plurality of components of the vehicle, the thermal energy information defining a thermal energy transfer requirement for each of the components, obtain information defining a plurality of operating modes of the thermal management system, each of the plurality of operating modes operable to satisfy the thermal energy transfer requirement for each component, calculate, for each operating mode of the plurality of operating modes, an energy cost associated with that operating mode based on the thermal energy information and using a model of the thermal management system, wherein the energy cost includes a thermal energy cost value representing an amount of thermal energy transferred off the vehicle and an actuator energy cost value representing an energy cost associated with operating the thermal management system in that operating mode to satisfy the energy transfer requirement for each component, select an operating mode having a lowest calculated associated energy cost, and provide an output indicating the selected operating mode. According to an embodiment, the control system for controlling a thermal management system comprises one or more controllers collectively comprising at least one electronic processor having an electrical input for receiving an input signal; and at least one memory device electrically coupled to the at least one electronic processor and having instructions stored therein; and wherein the at least one electronic processor is configured to access the at least one memory device and execute the instructions thereon so as to perform any of the methods as described herein. According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a vehicle comprising a control system as described above and a thermal management system communicatively coupled to the control system. Within the scope of this application it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and / or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all embodiments and / or features of any embodiment can be combined in any way and / or combination, unless such features are incompatible. The applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim or file any new claim accordingly, including the right to amend any originally filed claim to depend from and / or incorporate any feature of any other claim although not originally claimed in that manner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a system suitable for implementing embodiments of the invention; Figure 2 illustrates a vehicle including the system of Figure 1 and suitable for implementing embodiments of the invention; Figure 3 illustrates a schematic representation of a powertrain thermal management system suitable for implementing embodiments of the invention; Figures 4A to 4F illustrate example configurations of the powertrain thermal management system of Figure 3 in accordance with embodiments of the invention; Figure 5 illustrates a method of selecting an operating mode of a vehicle thermal management system according to embodiments of the invention; and Figure 6 illustrates a control system suitable for performing the method of Figure 5, according to embodiments of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION According to embodiments of the invention, a control system may select an operating mode of a thermal management system to meet thermal demands of components of an electric vehicle, such as a battery electric vehicle (BEV) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), based on a determination of an operating mode having a lowest associated energy cost, wherein the associated energy cost includes a thermal energy cost value representing an amount of energy transferred off the electric vehicle and an actuator energy cost value representing an energy cost associated with operating a vehicle thermal management system in the associated operating mode. In other words, according to embodiments, an energy based calculation may be performed for each of a plurality of possible operating modes of the thermal management system to determine the energy cost in that operating mode of satisfying the thermal demands of the components and by using predictive thermal models of the thermal management system. Based on the determined energy cost values, an operating mode associated with a lowest determined energy cost can be identified. The identified operating mode can then be output as a signal to the vehicle thermal management system to provide an indication of a preferred operating mode of the system to meet the current demands being placed on the vehicle thermal management system. By taking a whole system energy based approach for multiple components of the vehicle while meeting the thermal requirements of those components, the amount of thermal energy retained on the vehicle for use by other systems and components may be maximised, or at least substantially increased, compared to temperature based approaches. For example, thermal efficiency may be improved by avoiding rejecting to an external environment heat generated in a traction battery during operation that could usefully be transferred to another system such as a climate control system. This increase in retained thermal energy may reduce the amount of energy that would otherwise be drawn from the traction battery to provide heat energy for those other systems, increasing efficiency with which energy is used on the electric vehicle, resulting in increased range and a corresponding improved user experience. With reference to Figure 1, there is illustrated a vehicle thermal management system 100 for an electric vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle thermal management system 100 includes at least one controller 106 that is communicatively coupled to a powertrain thermal management system (PTM) 102 and a climate control system (CCS) 104 that comprise a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, to receive state information and / or sensor readings from one or more components of the PTM 102 and HVAC, e.g. coolant or refrigerant temperature and mass flow rate measurements. In embodiments, the controller 106 may be communicatively coupled to one or more components of the electric vehicle, for example via a Control Area Network (CAN) bus or similar network present on the vehicle 200, and is operable to obtain thermal energy information from the components. The thermal energy information defines a thermal energy transfer requirement for each of the components of the electric vehicle. The controller 106 is further arranged to provide indications of a selected operating mode to the PTM 102 and CCS 104 to influence the operation of those subsystems. The vehicle thermal management system 100 as illustrated in Figure 1 comprises one controller 106, although it will be appreciated that this is merely illustrative. The controller 106 comprises processing means 108 and memory means 110. The processing means 108 may be one or more electronic processing device 108 which operably executes computer-readable instructions. The memory means 110 may be one or more memory device 110. The memory means 110 is electrically coupled to the processing means 108. The memory means 110 is configured to store instructions, and the processing means 108 is configured to access the memory means 110 and execute the instructions stored thereon. In Figure 2, controller 106, PTM 102, and CCS 104 are provided in electric vehicle 200, such as an automobile. A powertrain of the vehicle 200 comprises at least one electric drive unit 202a / b and a traction battery 204. The electric drive units 202a / b comprise one or more electric traction motors for propelling the vehicle 200. The traction battery 204 is a high voltage (HV) battery and is configured to supply electrical current to the at least one drive unit 202a / b. In the present embodiment, the vehicle 200 comprises a front electric drive unit 202a for driving the front wheels of the vehicle 200; and a rear electric drive unit 202b for driving the rear wheels of the vehicle 200. In use, the front and rear electric drive units 202a, 202b are both powered by the traction battery 204. Each electric drive unit 202a / b may include power electronics, such as an inverter, to convert DC current sourced from the traction battery 204 to AC current to be supplied to the electric traction motors. As illustrated in Figure 1, the PTM 102 is coupled to the CCS 104 of the cabin of the vehicle which is able to control a temperature of the vehicle cabin for occupant comfort. While the traction battery 204, electric drive units 202a / b and HVAC may be the most significant generators and / or users of thermal energy supplied by the PTM 102, it will be recognized that other vehicle components may be coupled to the PTM 102 and may have thermal requirements to be met by the PTM. For example, in embodiments, the vehicle 200 may further include separate power electronics, such as an on-board AC charger, that may be significant generators of thermal energy while requiring cooling to maintain an operating temperature. Similarly, in embodiments, the electrical vehicle 200 may be provided with computer processing hardware that requires active cooling. The components of the vehicle may have associated target operating temperature range or respective ranges, and operating a component outside of the respective target range may lead to increased power consumption of the component and the vehicle 200 as a whole. For example, when the temperature of the traction battery 204 increases, internal resistive losses within the traction battery 204 may also be expected to increase, while chemical reactions in the traction battery 204 may be inhibited when cold, similarly leading to increased losses in the battery. Such losses, when the powertrain components are not maintained within the desired operating temperature range, will result in reduced range for the vehicle 200. The vehicle thermal management system 100 is operable as a supply or sink of thermal energy to components of the vehicle 200, and in particular PTM 102 is thermally coupled to the traction battery 204 and electric drive units 202a / b and able to extract or supply thermal energy to satisfy thermal energy transfer requirements of these components. In an illustrative example of operation of the vehicle, thermal energy may be supplied via the PTM 102 to the traction battery 204 and electric drive units 202a / b when beginning operation of the vehicle 200 from cold to more quickly bring the components to the desired operating temperature range. During further operation of the vehicle 200, heat may be generated in the traction battery 204 and electric drive units 202a / b, for example due to internal resistance of the cells of the traction battery 204. To maintain the temperature of the powertrain components within the desired temperature range, heat generated in the powertrain components of the vehicle 200 may be extracted by the thermal management system 102. The extracted thermal energy may be transferred between components of the vehicle 200, for example thermal energy extracted from the battery 204 may be supplied to CCS 104 for use in heating the cabin of the vehicle 200, or may be transferred off the vehicle 200, for example via a low temperature radiator to transfer the thermal energy to the outside environment. The vehicle thermal management system 100 may be operable in a large number of different modes of operation to meet the various thermal transfer requirements of the components. Identifying an operating mode having a lowest, or at least reduced, energy cost for operation of the vehicle thermal management system 100 to meet the current thermal energy transfer requirements of the vehicle components may be difficult and may depend on a range of factors. Some of those factors may be external to the vehicle, such as an ambient temperature. Furthermore, selecting an operating mode based only on a current state of the vehicle component may not allow changes in the generation of heat in the vehicle to be taken into account. For example, for an electric vehicle 200 being driven on a clear highway the power supplied by the battery may be relatively high, leading to significant heat generation within the traction battery 204 due to internal resistance. At the same time, significant airflow may be expected over a low temperature radiator of the vehicle. An operating mode for the vehicle thermal management system 100 may be selected to extract heat generated within the traction battery 204 and reject that heat through the low temperature radiator to the environment, while providing a portion of the heat energy to the CCS 104 for cabin heating. The electric vehicle 200 may then slow, for example due to congestion on the highway or leaving the highway for a local road, resulting in reduced heat generation in the traction battery 102 which may now be insufficient for cabin heating. In order to maintain a comfortable temperature for the cabin occupants, thermal energy may be supplied from another source, such as a heater drawing power from the traction battery 204, which undesirably uses power drawn from the traction battery. A schematic representation of an example PTM 102 is shown in Figure 3. A control valve apparatus 302 is configured to control the circulation of thermal transfer fluid, or coolant, to manage a thermal load of the front electric drive units 202a, the rear electric drive unit 202b, the battery unit 204 and the climate control system, or climate control unit, 104 of the vehicle cabin for occupant comfort. The PTM 102 comprises a coolant heater 304; a first heat exchanger 306; and a second heat exchanger 308. The coolant heater 304 is configured to heat the coolant, for example to provide fast warm-up of traction battery 204 when initially operating the vehicle 200. The coolant heater 304 may be a high voltage (HV) heater that draws electrical power directly from traction battery 204. The first heat exchanger 306 may be configured selectively to cool the coolant of the PTM 102. A refrigerant circuit of the CCS 104 is coupled to a refrigerant side of the first heat exchanger 306 to cause the first heat exchanger 306 to operate as a chiller. Thus, the first heat exchanger 306 enables the transfer of heat energy extracted from the coolant to the refrigerant of the CCS 104. In this way, excess thermal energy may be transferred from powertrain components for use in heating the cabin of the vehicle. In some embodiments, the first heat exchanger 306 may be bi-directional and allow the transfer of thermal energy from the refrigerant of the CCS 104 to the coolant of the PTM 102, for example to allow for the supply heat sourced from the outside environment via an outside heat exchanger of the CCS 104 to heat the coolant. The refrigerant circuit may be coupled to an outside heat exchanger operable to transfer heat between the refrigerant and the outside environment. The supply of refrigerant can be halted to reduce or prevent heat exchange in the first heat exchanger 306. The second heat exchanger 308 is a low temperature heat exchanger (or a low temperature radiator) and is operative to reject heat from the coolant to the outside environment. The control valve apparatus 302 comprises a first pump 310 and a second pump 312. The PTM 102 comprises a first coolant circulation loop 314; and a second coolant circulation loop 316. A liquid coolant, or thermal transfer fluid, is circulated through the first and second coolant circulation loops 314, 316 to perform supply or sinking of thermal energy to the front and rear electric drive units 202a, 202b and the traction battery 204. At least one coolant temperature sensor 318 may be provided for measuring the temperature of the coolant. In the illustrated example, the coolant temperature sensor 318 is provided at an inlet to the second pump 312. The coolant temperature sensor 318 measures the temperature of the coolant supplied to the second pump 312. An electric fan (not shown) may optionally be provided to circulate air over the second heat exchanger 308 to promote cooling of the coolant. The first coolant circulation loop 314 is configured to supply coolant to the traction battery 204. The coolant heater 304 and the first heat exchanger 306 are provided in the first coolant circulation loop 314. The coolant heater 304 is provided downstream of the traction battery 204 and, in use, is operative to heat the coolant. The first heat exchanger 306 is disposed upstream of the traction battery 204 and, in use, can be configured to cool the coolant prior to introduction into the traction battery 204. As described herein, the first and second coolant circulation loops 314, 316 may be selectively connected to each other to enable the supply of coolant from the first heat exchanger 304 to the front and rear electric drive units 202a / b. Bypass conduits may be provided for one or more components of the first 314 or second 316 coolant loops. A bypass conduit may controllably opened or closed by a valve to control the supply of coolant to the respective component. For example, the first coolant circulation loop 314 comprises a battery supply conduit 320, and a battery bypass conduit 322. The battery supply conduit 320 is configured to supply coolant to the traction battery 204. The battery bypass conduit 322 can be selectively opened and closed to control the supply of coolant to perform cooling of the battery unit 204. The second coolant circulation loop 316 is configured to supply coolant to the front and rear electric drive units 202a / b. The second heat exchanger 308 is provided in the second coolant circulation loop 316 downstream of the front and rear electric drive units 202a / b. In some examples, the front 202a and rear 202b electric drive units may each be provided with a respective bypass conduit (not shown) to selectively bypass the respective electric drive unit 202a, 202b, accordingly, transfer of thermal energy to or from the front 202a and rear 202b electric drive units may be permitted when the respective electric drive unit 202 is not bypassed and may be avoided when the respective electric drive unit 202 is bypassed. In use, the second heat exchanger 308 rejects thermal energy from the coolant to the external environment. The second coolant circulation loop 316 comprises a heat exchanger coolant conduit 324 for supplying coolant to the second heat exchanger 308; and a heat exchanger bypass conduit 326 for selectively bypassing the second heat exchanger 308. The control valve apparatus 302 may provide proportional control of the coolant flow rate through the heat exchanger bypass conduit 326, thereby controllably increasing or decreasing the flow through the second heat exchanger 308. Control valve apparatus 302 includes crossflow valves 328 that are arranged to couple or decouple the first coolant circulation loop 314 (battery coolant circulation loop) and second coolant circulation loop 316 (electric drive unit coolant circulation loop). In addition, the crossflow valves 328 determine whether the first heat exchanger 306 is coupled in a coolant circulation loop with the battery 204 or the electric drive units 202. In other words, the crossflow valves 328 determine whether the first heat exchanger 306 is coupled in the first coolant circulation loop 314 or the second coolant circulation loop 316, or both when the first 314 and second 316 coolant circulation loops are coupled. The coupling and decoupling of the first coolant circulation loop 314, second coolant circulation loop 316 and first heat exchanger 306, as well as a state (on or off) of the first heat exchanger 306 defines the configuration of the thermal management system 102. When the first heat exchanger 306 is active, it couples the coolant circuit it is in with the refrigerant circuit. Herein coupling between the first coolant circulation loop 314, second coolant circulation loop 316 and / or refrigerant circuit indicates that the first coolant circulation loop 314, second coolant circulation loop 316 and / or refrigerant circuit are in thermal communication, such that thermal energy may be transferred between them. Similarly, when they are decoupled, they are not in thermal communication, and no thermal energy (or a negligible amount of thermal energy) is transferred between them. Thus, control valve apparatus 302 allows the configuration of the PTM 102 to be controlled to selectively bypass certain components of the thermal management system, such as the second heat exchanger 308, and / or to selectively couple the first and second coolant circulation loops 314, 316 together to allow transfer of thermal energy between the components served by the different coolant circulation loops. This means that there may exist a large number of possible configurations of the PTM 102. For each configuration, one or more components may be controlled to different states, for example first heat exchanger 306 may be on or off depending on whether refrigerant is provided to the first heat exchanger 306, second heat exchanger 308 may be selectively bypassed, etc. As such, there may be multiple operating modes of the PTM 102 for each of the configurations of the PTM 102, resulting in a large total number of possible operating modes for the PTM 102 from which an operating mode is to be selected by the controller 106 to meet current requirements of the various components of the electric vehicle 200. In embodiments, CCS 104 may include a refrigerant circuit including a compressor, at least one internal evaporator operable to extract heat energy from air in the cabin, at least one internal condenser operable to supply heat energy to the air in the cabin and an outside heat exchanger for exchanging thermal energy with an outside environment. As discussed above, refrigerant of the climate control system 104 may be selectively provided to first heat exchanger 306 to allow heat energy to be transferred between the coolant of the PTM 102 and the refrigerant of the CCS 104. Thus, CCS 104 may be operable in multiple modes. In some embodiments, selection of an operating mode for the CCS 104 may be coordinated with a selected operating mode for PTM 102 to further improve overall efficiency of the vehicle thermal management system 100. The components of the vehicle may include one or more thermal customers. Each thermal customer may have a respective target operating temperature range, or a target operating temperature (for example where the upper and lower limits of the target operating temperature range may be considered to be the same). The thermal management system may be arranged to control temperatures of the thermal customers, e.g., to cause the thermal customers to have respective temperatures that are in respective target operating temperature ranges. The traction battery 204; electric drive units 202; and vehicle cabin and / or CCS 104 are examples of thermal customers. FIG. 4A to FIG. 4F show examples of configurations of the system of FIG. 3. Here, the first coolant circulation loop 314 includes the battery 204 and the coolant heater 304, the second coolant circulation loop 316 includes the electric drive units 202 and the second heat exchanger 308. The first coolant circulation loop 314 and second coolant circulation loop 316 may be selectively coupled or decoupled by the crossflow valves 328. Further the first heat exchanger 306 may be coupled with either of the first coolant circulation loop 314 or the second coolant circulation loop 316 (or both when the first coolant circulation loop 314 and the second coolant circulation loop 316 are coupled with each other) by the crossflow valves 328. As shown in FIG. 3, the valves 328 in the first and second coolant circulation loops 314, 316 may be arranged in multiple operational positions interconnecting their respective ports 1-4 and 5-8. In FIGS. 4A-4F they have the following arrangements, as will become evident from the description below of the circulation loops resulting when the valves are so arranged: FIGS. 4A and 4B: as shown in FIG. 3, with ports 1 and 3, 2 and 4, 5 and 7 and 6 and 8 being interconnected; FIGS. 4C and 4D: different from FIG 3 and 4A, having ports 5 and 8 interconnected and ports 6 and 7 interconnected; and FIG. 4E and 4F: as for FIGS. 4C and 4D, except ports 1 and 4 are interconnected, as are ports 2 and 3. In FIG. 4A the first coolant circulation loop 314 and second coolant circulation loop 316 are decoupled, and the first heat exchanger 306 is in the first coolant circulation loop 314. The first heat exchanger 306 is not active, such that the first coolant circulation loop 314 is decoupled from the CCS 104 that comprises a refrigerant circuit 408. This leads to three thermal circuits being formed. The first thermal circuit 402a corresponds with the first coolant circulation loop 314 and includes the battery 204 and coolant heater 304. The second thermal circuit 402b corresponds with the second coolant circulation loop 316 and includes the electric drive units 202a,b and the second heat exchanger 308. The third thermal circuit 402c corresponds with the refrigerant circuit 408 and includes the internal evaporator 404 and the outside heat exchanger 406. FIG. 4B shows the same configuration as FIG. 4A, with the first coolant circulation loop 314 and second coolant circulation loop 316 being decoupled and the first heat exchanger 306 being in the first coolant circulation loop 314. However, in FIG. 4B the first heat exchanger 306 is active, and so the first coolant circulation loop 314 is coupled with the refrigerant circuit 408. This leads to two thermal circuits. A first thermal circuit 402a includes battery 204, coolant heater 304, first heat exchanger 306, internal evaporator 404 and outside heat exchanger 406. The second thermal circuit 402b includes the electric drive units 202 and the second heat exchanger 308. In FIG. 4C the first coolant circulation loop 314 and second coolant circulation loop 316 are coupled. The first heat exchanger 306 is also coupled in the first coolant circulation loop 314 and the second coolant circulation loop 316. The first heat exchanger 306 is not active, such that the first coolant circulation loop 314 and second coolant circulation loop 316 are decoupled from the refrigerant circuit 408. This leads to two thermal circuits being formed. The first thermal circuit 402a corresponds with the combined first coolant circulation loop 314 and second coolant circulation loop 316, and includes the battery 204, coolant heater 304, electric drive units 202, and second heat exchanger 308. The second thermal circuit 402b corresponds with refrigerant circuit 408. FIG. 4D shows the same configuration as FIG. 4C, with the first coolant circulation loop 314 and second coolant circulation loop 316 being coupled. However, in FIG. 4D the first heat exchanger 306 is active, and so the first coolant circulation loop 314 and second coolant circulation loop 316 are coupled with the refrigerant circuit 408. This leads to an arrangement with one thermal circuit 402a that includes all of the illustrated components. In FIG. 4E the first coolant circulation loop 314 and second coolant circulation loop 316 are decoupled, as in FIG. 4A, but now the first heat exchanger 306 is in the second coolant circulation loop 316. The first heat exchanger 306 is not active, such that the second coolant circulation loop 316 is decoupled from the refrigerant circuit 408. This leads to three thermal circuits being formed. These thermal circuits are the same as in FIG. 4A, exceptthatthefirst heat exchanger 306 is in the second coolant circulation loop 316. As such, the thermal transfer in this arrangement is the same or similar to the arrangement of FIG. 4A. However, these modes of operation are not necessarily equivalent. For example, an energy cost to transition to the mode of FIG. 4A may be less than the energy cost to transition to the mode of FIG. 4E, for example, and so the mode of FIG. 4A may be a better selection than the mode of FIG. 4E in that case. The energy cost of transitioning maybe associated with driving actuators to control the crossflow valves 328, for example. FIG. 4F shows the same configuration as FIG. 4E, with the first coolant circulation loop 314 and second coolant circulation loop 316 being decoupled and the first heat exchanger 306 being in the second coolant circulation loop 316. However, in FIG. 4F the first heat exchanger 306 is active, and so the second coolant circulation loop 316 is coupled with the refrigerant circuit 408. This leads to two thermal circuits. A first thermal circuit 402a includes battery 204 and coolant heater 304. The second thermal circuit 402b includes the electric drive units 202, the second heat exchanger 308, the first heat exchanger 306, the internal evaporator 404, and outside heat exchanger 406. Arrangements, such as those shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4A to FIG. 4F, lead to a significant number of possible operating modes for the thermal management system 102. In each of the configurations, components such as the second heat exchanger 308, coolant heater 304 and outside heat exchanger 406 may each be active or inactive. In some examples the number of modes may exceed one hundred. In some examples, the number of modes may exceed two hundred. Where a system is capable of fewer configurations, a smaller number of potential operating modes exist and there are fewer options for heat transfer among the components of a vehicle. In such systems, the selection of an operating mode may be straightforward, e.g., using a lookup table that indicates a mode based on temperatures of components of the vehicle (e.g. taking into account the temperatures of three or fewer components). However, the reduced options of transferring heat between components may limit the achievable energy efficiency. In some systems that provide a range of configurations of the thermal management system that are comparable to the examples in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4A to FIG. 4F, the full benefit of these configurations may not be achieved where the system allows limited combinations of configurations with operation states of components (such as a heater on / off or radiator used / bypassed). In such systems, only a small subset of the potential modes is selectable. Similarly to the case of where few configurations are available, in such systems, a mode of the thermal system may be selected based on relative temperatures of the components according to a table of selectable modes. In such systems, the number of selectable modes may be fewer than 20 or fewer than 15, for example. Accordingly, these systems provide limited flexibility in controlling heat transfer between components, potentially losing opportunities for energy efficiency. As noted above, in systems having a relatively small number of operating modes (e.g., 20 or fewer), an operating mode may be selected in a relatively straightforward way, e.g. from a table based on temperatures of the components. The table (or other mode selection method) may be defined in advance based on engineer intuition. Expanding such temperature-based approaches by considering heat availability or heat demand in specific components in the selection of particular modes does not address the limitations of a system with few selectable operating modes, and does not take efficiency of the operating modes into consideration when selecting an operating mode. Where the number of operating modes significantly increase, a selection of a mode based on engineer intuition becomes impractical, and reliably selecting an appropriate operating mode becomes increasingly difficult using a simple table-based, or similar, approach. According to examples herein, energy costs associated with different operating modes are determined and used in the selection of an operating mode to be implemented. This may allow for more reliable selection of an energy efficient operating mode. Moreover, the selection of the operating mode may better take into account the current state of the components of the vehicle compared with temperature-based or table-based approach. Figure 5 illustrates a method 500 of determining an operating mode of a thermal management system, such as the thermal management system 102, of an electric vehicle 200 that can be performed by the control system 100 illustrated in Figure 1. According to the illustrated method 500, thermal energy information for a plurality of components of the electric vehicle 200 is obtained 502, the thermal energy information defining a thermal energy transfer requirement for each component. The thermal energy information may include a plurality of thermal energy transfer requirements, for example associated with respective thermal customers. The thermal energy transfer requirements may include one or more of an amount of thermal energy transfer requested by a first component, and a rate of transfer of thermal energy requested by the first component. Accordingly, the thermal energy transfer requirement for 10 a component may include at least one of: an indication of a rate of thermal energy to be supplied to the component, a rate of thermal energy to be extracted from the component, an indication of an amount of thermal energy to be supplied to the component, or an indication of an amount of thermal energy to be extracted from the component. In some examples the target thermal energy transfer rate of a thermal customer may be determined based on a temperature of the thermal customer and a target operating temperature range of the thermal customer. In some examples the target thermal energy transfer rate may be based on a model of the component. In some examples, the target thermal energy transfer rate may be obtained from a lookup table. In some examples the thermal energy transfer requirement for a component may be based on a difference between a current temperature of the component and a target operating temperature or target operating temperature range associated with the component. For example, the thermal energy information for a component may indicate that thermal energy is to be supplied to the component or extracted from the component. The thermal energy information may indicate an amount of thermal energy, for example a number of Joules, to be transferred to or from that component to change its temperature to a desired operating range. In embodiments, the thermal energy transfer requirement may be determined based on a temperature difference between a current temperature of the component and a desired temperature range combined with a heat capacity of the component. The heat capacity of the component may be determined empirically or calculated based on a specific heat capacity of the material of the component and a mass. I n the case that the temperature of the component is already within the desired temperature range, the thermal energy information may provide an indication that thermal energy may be transferred to or extracted from the component. For example, a component, such as the traction battery 204, that is currently within a desired temperature range may be used as a source of thermal energy that may be transferred by the vehicle thermal management system 100 to another component e.g. to avoid use of the heater for as long as the traction battery 204 is able to supply heat energy while remaining within the desired temperature range. Where a component has a target operating temperature range, the target operating temperature of the component may be a high temperature point or a low temperature point of a target operating temperature range of the component. The target operating temperature may be whichever of the high temperature point or the low temperature point of a target operating temperature range is closest to a current temperature of the component. Where the thermal energy transfer requirements indicate amounts of thermal energy to be transferred, a thermal energy transfer requirement may indicate an amount of thermal energy to be provided to or removed from a thermal customer to bring the thermal customer within its target operating temperature range. Information defining a plurality of operating modes of the thermal management system is obtained in block 504. The plurality of operating modes defined by the obtained information are a subset of the total number of operating modes of the vehicle thermal management system 100 that are able to satisfy the thermal energy transfer requirements of each component. This total number of operating modes may include a plurality of operating modes of the PTM 102 and / or a plurality of operating modes of the CCS 104. For example, if the obtained thermal energy information indicates that the traction battery requires an amount of thermal energy to be transferred away from the battery to avoid overheating, only those operating modes capable of extracting heat energy from the traction battery 204 may be defined in the information obtained in block 504. For each operating mode of the operating modes defined in block 504, an energy cost value is determined 506 for operating the vehicle thermal energy system 100 in that operating mode. The energy cost value represents an actuator energy cost associated with the operation of the vehicle thermal management system 100 and also an amount of thermal energy to be transferred off the electric vehicle. Heat energy may be transferred off the vehicle via the second heat exchanger 308, or low temperature radiator, or by transferring heat to the refrigerant circuit of the climate control system 104 via the first heat exchanger 306 and then to the outside environment via the outside heat exchanger of the refrigerant circuit. The total amount of heat transferred off the electric vehicle 200 using the vehicle thermal management system 100 is determined to calculate the thermal energy transferred off the vehicle. The actuator energy cost may include any energy associated with operating the vehicle thermal management system 100, for example an energy cost required to operate the compressor of the refrigerant circuit to provide refrigerant to the first heat exchanger 306, or a vehicle drag cost associated with opening active vanes to provide airflow to the outside heat exchanger. Examples of actuator energy costs associated with an operating mode may include: an energy cost of operating a compressor according to that operating mode; a valve actuation energy cost associated with that operating mode; a vehicle drag cost associated with active vane management to direct ambient airflow to a heat exchanger 11 according to that operating mode; an energy cost of operating a pump according to that operating mode; and an energy cost of operating a fan according to that operating mode. Certain actuators in the vehicle thermal management system 100, for example pumps, compressors, fans, etc., may have an associated duty cycle or activation level setting to satisfy the thermal energy transfer requirements of the components when the thermal management system is operating in a particular operating mode. Energy costs for actuators may be further calculated based on the duty cycle to provide a more accurate determination of the energy associated with operating the actuator. As discussed above, the energy cost for each operating mode is determined using a predictive model of the vehicle thermal management system 100. In embodiments, the predictive model of the thermal management system may comprise a plurality of predictive models each associated with a respective sub-component of the thermal management system. Thus, each actuator energy cost may be calculated using a model associated with the actuator that defines a relationship between one or more operating parameters of the vehicle thermal management system 100 and an energy cost associated with the actuator. For example, a predictive model for the compressor of the refrigerant circuit may allow an energy cost of operating the compressor to be determined based on certain operating parameters, e.g. a duty cycle; a thermal demand of the cabin; an ambient temperature, etc. Each model may be determined empirically or through simulation of the thermal management system 102 and climate control system 104. In some embodiments, a model for each actuator may be stored as a look up table (LUT) associating one or more operating parameters of the actuator with an associated actuator energy cost. Similarly, predictive models may be provided for the first and second heat exchangers and for an outside heat exchanger of the refrigerant circuit to allow the amount of thermal energy to be transferred off the vehicle to the outside environment to be determined based on one or more measured parameters. For example, heat rejected to the outside environment by the second heat exchanger 308 may be predicted based on one or more of: an ambient temperature of the outside environment; a flow rate and / or temperature of coolant through the second heat exchanger 308; an operating state of a fan associated with the second heat exchanger 308, etc. In embodiments, the actuator energy cost for an operating mode may be determined by summing all of the actuator energy costs associated with operating the thermal management system 102 in that operating mode to meet the thermal transfer requirements of the components. The energy cost associated with the operating mode may then be calculated by summing the actuator energy cost with the total amount of thermal energy transferred off the vehicle via the second heat exchanger 208 and the outside heat exchanger of the refrigerant circuit. Based on the calculated energy costs for each of the plurality of operating modes, the operating mode having the lowest calculated energy cost is selected at block 508. An output including an indication of the selected operating mode is then provided 510. Thus, the method 500 may be able to identify which of the operating modes of the vehicle thermal management system 100 is able to most efficiently meet the thermal transfer requirements of the components of the vehicle, leading to an increase in the achievable range from the charge available in the traction battery 204. In embodiments the energy cost associated with each operating mode can be calculated for a certain period of time, for example the next five minutes, providing a prediction of the energy cost for each operating mode. The thermal energy transfer requirement of each component may similarly comprise a predicted thermal energy transfer requirement for the period of time, allowing predicted heat generation during operation of the component to be included in the thermal energy transfer requirement. Such predicted values may allow for dynamic effects such as changes in the operating regime of the vehicle (e.g. highway driving; around town; parked) to be taken into account when selecting the lowest energy cost operating mode for the thermal management system. In embodiments, route information indicative of the expected route of the vehicle for the period of time may be obtained, for example from an onboard satellite navigation system. The route information may be used to predict the demands placed on the vehicle over the period of time, in the form of an expected operating profile for the vehicle, that may affect heat generation in components of the vehicle. For example, route information may be used to determine that the vehicle is predicted to join a highway traveling at a high speed that may be expected to lead to increase heat generation in the traction battery 204 and the electric drive units 202a / b or route information may indicate traffic congestion ahead that will result in reduced vehicle speed and therefore less heat being generated in the electric drive units 202a / b, but also reduced airflow to a low temperature radiator, reducing the ability of the low temperature radiator to reject heat to the outside environment. Thermal energy transfer requirements for the traction battery 204 and electric drive units 202a / b can then be calculated based on the expected operating profile, taking into account effects on the thermal transfer requirements and abilities of the components of the vehicle. In embodiments, an indication of a target temperature associated with a temperature sensor of the vehicle thermal management system 100 may be obtained and the energy cost associated with each operating mode may be further based on the target temperature. The temperature sensor may measure a temperature of the heat transfer fluid, such as the coolant, flowing in a coolant circulation loop, or may be arranged to measure a temperature of one of the components thermally coupled to the PTM 102. Each operating mode may have an associated target temperature value used to determined energy costs values for that operating mode. Certain methods and systems as described herein may be implemented by one or more processors that process program code that is retrieved from a non-transitory storage medium. Figure 6 shows an example 600 of a device comprising a computer-readable storage medium 620 coupled to at least one processor 610. The computer-readable media 620 can be any media that can contain, store, or maintain programs and data for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system. Computer-readable media can comprise any one of many physical media such as, for example, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, or semiconductor media. More specific examples of suitable machine-readable media include, but are not limited to, a hard drive, a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory, or a portable disc. In Figure 6, the computer-readable storage medium comprises program code to perform a method corresponding to the embodiment shown in Figure 5, that is: obtaining 502 thermal energy information for a plurality of components of an electric vehicle; obtaining 504 information defining a plurality of operating modes of the thermal management system; determining 506, for each operating mode, an energy cost associated with that operating mode based on the thermal energy information and using a model of the thermal management system; selecting 508 an operating mode having a lowest calculated energy cost; and providing 510 an output indicating the selected operating mode. The device 600 may be included in controller 106 of an electric vehicle 200, as illustrated in FIG. 2, for example.5 It will be appreciated that various changes and modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method of determining an operating mode of a thermal management system of an electric vehicle, the method comprising:obtaining thermal energy information for a plurality of components of the electric vehicle, the thermal energy information defining a thermal energy transfer requirement for each component;obtaining information defining a plurality of operating modes of the thermal management system, each of the plurality of operating modes operable to satisfy the thermal energy transfer requirement for each component;determining, for each operating mode of the plurality of operating modes, an energy cost associated with that operating mode based on the thermal energy information and using a model of the thermal management system, wherein the energy cost for each operating mode comprises a respective thermal energy cost value representing an amount of thermal energy transferred off the electric vehicle and a respective actuator energy cost value representing an energy cost associated with operating the thermal management system in the respective operating mode;selecting an operating mode having a lowest calculated energy cost; andproviding an output indicating the selected operating mode.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating the energy costs associated with each operating mode comprises calculating a predicted energy cost for operating the thermal management system in that operating mode for a predetermined period of time.

3. The method of claim 2, the method further comprising:obtaining predicted thermal energy information for the plurality of components, the predicted thermal energy information defining a predicted thermal energy transfer requirement for each of the components for the predetermined period of time; andwherein calculating the predicted energy costs for operating the thermal management system in that operating mode is further based on the predicted thermal energy information.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:obtaining route information for the vehicle indicative of an expected operating profile for the vehicle; andwherein obtaining the predicted thermal energy information comprises calculating the predicted thermal energy information based on the expected operating profile for the vehicle.

5. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the actuator energy cost value associated with an operating mode is representative of at least one of: an energy cost of operating a compressor according to that operating mode; a valve actuation energy cost associated with that operating mode; a vehicle drag cost associated with operation of a heat exchanger according to that operating mode; an energy cost of operating a pump according to that operating mode; and an energy cost of operating a fan according to that operating mode.

6. The method of any preceding claim, wherein each of the plurality of operating modes is associated with a configuration of at least two configurations of the thermal management system, wherein each configuration is associated with a respective model of the thermal management system; andwherein determining the energy cost for an operating mode of the thermal management system comprises calculating the energy cost using the model corresponding to the configuration associated with that operating mode.

7. The method of any preceding claim, wherein each of the plurality of operating modes includes an indication of a duty cycle value associated with an actuator of the thermal management system, wherein the energy cost for the operating mode is calculated based on the duty cycle value for that operating mode.

8. The method of any preceding claim, wherein each of the plurality of operating modes includes an indication of a target temperature value associated with a temperature sensor of the thermal management system, wherein the energy cost for the operating mode is calculated based on the target temperature value for that operating mode.

9. Computer readable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to any of claims 1 to 8.

10. A control system for controlling a thermal management system of an electric vehicle, the control system comprising one or more processors collectively configured to:obtain thermal energy information for a plurality of components of the vehicle, the thermal energy information defining a thermal energy transfer requirement for each of the components;obtain information defining a plurality of operating modes of the thermal management system, each of the plurality of operating modes operable to satisfy the thermal energy transfer requirement for each component;calculate, for each operating mode of the plurality of operating modes, an energy cost associated with that operating mode based on the thermal energy information and using a model of the thermal management system;wherein the energy cost includes a thermal energy cost value representing an amount of thermal energy transferred off the vehicle and an actuator energy cost value representing an energy cost associated with operating the thermal management system in that operating mode to satisfy the energy transfer requirement for each component;select an operating mode having a lowest calculated associated energy cost; andprovide an output indicating the selected operating mode.

11. The control system of claim 10,wherein the one or more processors are further configured to calculate the energy costs associated with each operating mode by calculating a predicted energy cost for operating the thermal management system in that operating mode for a predetermined period of time, and / orwherein the one or more processors are further configured to:obtain predicted thermal energy information for the plurality of components, the predicted thermal energy information defining a predicted thermal energy transfer requirement for each of the components for the predetermined period of time; andwherein the one or more processors are further configured to calculate the predicted energy costs for operating the thermal management system in that operating mode based on the predicted thermal energy information.

12. The control system of claim 10 or 11, wherein each of the plurality of operating modes is associated with a configuration of at leasttwo configurations of the thermal management system, each configuration associated with a respective model of the thermal management system; andwherein the one or more processors are further configured to calculate the energy costs for an operating mode of the thermal management system based on the model corresponding to the configuration associated with that operating mode.

13. The control system of claim 10 or 11, wherein each of the plurality of operating modes includes an indication of a duty cycle valueassociated with an actuator of the thermal management system; andwherein the one or more processors are further configured to calculate the energy costs for an operating mode of the thermal management system based on the duty cycle value for that operating mode.

14. The control system of claim 10 or 11, wherein each of the plurality of operating modes includes an indication of a target temperaturevalue associated with a temperature sensor of the thermal management system; andwherein the one or more processors are further configured to calculate the energy costs for an operating mode of the thermal management system based on the target temperature value forthat operating mode.

15. A vehicle comprising:the control system of any of claims 10 to 14; anda thermal management system communicatively coupled to the control system.

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