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IIT-M centre charges up India for e-vehicles

IIT-M centre charges up India for e-vehicles

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Chennai: Nestled in a nook inside the sprawling IIT campus, a team of engineers is working to find a comprehensive yet cheap solution for India’s polluted mobility with e-vehicles.

The Centre for Battery Engineering and Electric Vehicles (C-BEEV), under professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala, has collaborated with several car and two/three-wheeler makers, battery manufacturers and motor makers to crack the e-vehicle market. “I expect significant breakthrough any time now,” said Jhunjhunwala.

With the government thinktank Niti Aayog announcing plans for full electrification for three-wheelers by 2023 and two-wheelers with an engine capacity less than 150cc by 2025, the centre is turning out to be a beehive of activity. C-BEEV is working with Tata Motors, M&M, Ashok Leyland, Ampere, Lohia and Kinetic among original equipment manufacturers, with Amara Raja Batteries and Exide, on the battery front, and a few other companies for motors, he said.

Proposing a new solution — battery swapping — that will make capital costs cheaper, as batteries are the costliest part in the e-vehicle, the team says the concept is akin to the introduction of LPG in small cylinders in 1965 when the world chose expensive piped gas.

The problem is simple: Should we adopt the western style of strapping vehicles with large batteries and charge more or have smaller batteries and allow for battery swapping. “We are working on both. The alternative is not considered in nations where affordability is not a serious issue. Under the swap model, the vehicle weight is also reduced, enhancing the overall efficiency,” he said.

When the battery runs out, instead of charging, it needs to be swapped at a place which has an inventory of charged batteries. This can be done in less than five minutes, the same time taken to refuel a vehicle at a gas station. Further, batteries may no longer be purchased reducing the capital cost of the vehicle. Instead, it is purchased by an “energy operator” who charges, swaps and leases out the battery to the user.

Battery exchange gives a taxi fleet two options: A small fixed battery that drives a particular range (of say 100km). The vehicle will also have a slot for additional battery, which the operator can use, should there be a long drive ahead. Study shows most private vehicles travel less than 95km a day. Second option is to lease the battery.

On the cost side, a conventional EV with a battery range for 300km would cost `14 lakh, while it would be `9 lakh under C-BEEV’s model swapping model with limited powered battery. Without battery (leased from energy operators) the price would be down to `6.5 lakh. The operational expense (per km) for the conventional one with a full-range battery would be as cheap as `1.25 per km. In comparison, petrol-powered vehicles are `7 per km. EV with limited charge would cost `2.25 per km and one with leased battery would cost `4 per km.

There are issues though. Since the entire electric mobility concept is new, standardisation is difficult as each one wants to have control over what they do and own. “Over the next two years, everyone will start working towards standardising,” Jhunjunwala said.

Though non-polluting, these still have an environmental challenge. The batteries used in these cars, lithium ion, can be catastrophic if thrown away after use and not safely recycled. “Here is where we want the government to bring in a law. The owner of the battery should be responsible for it. Bar code it or provide cash incentives for battery recycling. Punish those who don’t. This is an absolute must as battery recyclers can use the scrap,” he said.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes
Anand Gupta Editor - EQ Int'l Media Network

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