ARAI to launch prototype of new lithium ion battery at SIAT 2017

Reaching the culmination of its golden jubilee celebrations in its 50^th year since inception, the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) is gearing up for its 15^th edition of the Symposium on International Automotive Technology.  Revolving around the theme of ‘Smart, Safe and Sustainable Mobility’, the Symposium is to be held in Pune between January 18-21.

Over 1,200 delegates are expected to participate in the event that will see over 200 technical papers including 40 keynotes on various topics being presented. Besides symposium proceedings, a technical reference bulletin containing technical articles, case studies and product information will be published. There will also be panel discussions and student poster presentation competitions at the show.

The SIAT exhibition, which will run concurrently, will display 180 exhibition booths where a wide spectrum of global companies will exhibit automotive products, technologies and services in areas such as emission, vehicular safety, crash, electric mobility, vehicle telematics, advanced T&M equipment, noise, vibration and harshness, simulation and modelling.

SIAT acts as a global forum for sharing ideas and knowledge in upcoming areas of automotive engineering and technology. With its first edition hosted in 1985, SIAT is held biannually. The focus of the Indian government has been on reducing air pollution, encouraging electric mobility, coupled with a thrust on reducing road accidents and fatalities through smart and intelligent solutions that has driven industry to advance their R&D efforts. SIAT 2017, held against this backdrop, will be a springboard for researchers to put forth and deliberate their ideas for addressing India-specific challenges faced by the automotive sector.

Li-Ion battery developed jointly with ISRO

Importantly, SIAT 2017 will see the launch of the first locally developed prototype of the lithium ion battery that has been developed jointly with the Indian Space Research Organisation.

Rashmi Urdhwareshe, director of ARAI, told Autocar Professional that ISRO’s technology in space applications is being adopted in the lithium ion battery for automotive applications. “The lithium ion battery prototype will be fitted in a two-wheeler to demonstrate its feasibility. Thereafter the battery packs can be designed for any vehicle.” The director admitted that the raw material and lithium ion cells are being imported and to make them affordable for the automotive sector, a government policy will be required to give the required push.

ARAI, from time to time, upgrades its facilities through government and internal funding to keep abreast of the latest technologies. It is also establishing the requisite infrastructure and facilities for testing, certification and development of electric and hybrid vehicles at Pune under the government’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of hybrid and electric vehicles (FAME) scheme that was launched a couple of years ago. This facility is set to be completed within a few months and its cornerstone will be laid at SIAT 2017.  

Meanwhile, Girirsh Shankar, secretary, Department of Heavy Industries, said that the government is in the process of finalising the extension of the FAME scheme and the fund allocation for the coming year. The first phase of the FAME scheme gets completed this March. So expect a lot of confabulations on electric mobility at SIAT. 

ARAI, which offers homologation, testing and certification services to the automotive industry, also assists vehicle manufacturers in export homologation activities, providing R&D services for development work for vehicle manufacturers. At present, its development work contributes 50 percent of the revenue of ARAI.