Three times cheaper made in India EV batteries have been developed: IIT-M
Researchers of IIT Madras are making mechanical –zinc-air batteries. These will be the alternative to lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. And the main thing about these batteries is that they are rechargeable. It is done after seeing the abundance of Zinc in India. These batteries are used in EV or Electric vehicles.
It is the era of electric vehicles, as they are cheaper and don’t produce air pollution. There are many other benefits of using electric vehicles over traditional fuel vehicles.
These researchers of IIT Madras claimed that these batteries have a long shelf life. These batteries are safer and can be used for both- two and three-wheeler Electric Vehicles. After the submission of these patent batteries, these researchers of IIT-Madras, are collaborating with many big industries to develop these zinc-air batteries. It is done under the guidance of Dr. Aravind Kumar Chandiran, assistant professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering of IIT-Madras.
Asst. Professor of Chemical engineering, Dr. Aravind Kumar Chandiran said that they have invented zinc-based very cheap, and safer air battery systems. These batteries are almost three times cheaper than the other traditional batteries. This technique has been used at home as well. And the unique thing about these batteries is- they are made up of zinc, which is very much a waste in our country these days. This is a plus point in this. These can be used in 2 and 3-wheeler electric vehicles.
He added furthermore that if we talk about solar energy, mainly it works during the day only, which has to be charged during the daytime. And after that, it starts working. But researchers made these batteries with the help of a zinc, which is in access here in India. Other batteries might work well abroad, but in India, zinc-based batteries are good, as we are counted as the biggest producers of Zinc.
These days, Li-ion batteries are widely used. But, we are not the manufacturers of this type of battery, so these zinc-based batteries will be the best option to buy. And these will work on both types of EVs- two-wheelers and three-wheelers.
In an interview with The Better India, he said these things. Furthermore, he said that their researchers are making the future model of batteries. And as these are being made in India, rate wise also these will be cheaper and best.
Elements used in Zinc based batteries
These batteries consist of various elements, such as electrolyte (an aqueous system with potassium hydroxide), Zinc (anode), and a thin layer of platinum-coated gas diffusion layer (few mg /cm2). These batteries are comparatively safe.
These batteries can be charged on different charging stations. These batteries have the facility called- Battery swapping. Using this facility, they can swap their used “zinc cassettes” with the fully charged ‘zinc cassettes’. And this can be done at the Zinc recharge station.
There is one more advantage of these batteries are, to make them, zinc-air batteries require only anode swapping and not the entire battery, like in the case of Li-ion.
For an electric vehicle, if we are using the old batteries, then two Li-ion batteries have to be used, one on the Vehicle and another for charging. This increases the expenditure. And on the other hand, with these zinc-air, it is the cheap anode that has to be replaced.