ARAI employs ISRO’s lithium-ion battery tech in electric scooter

A lithium-ion battery, indigenously developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for space applications, has been successfully put to use in an electric two-wheeler by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).

ARAI and ISRO are jointly working on a project to explore the applications of lithium ion battery technology used in space for surface transport vehicles. This success could prove to give a big fillip to electric mobility in the country. 

A prototype two-wheeler developed using ISRO’s lithium-ion battery was unveiled by Sanjay Mitra, secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, government of India during the inauguration function of the Symposium on International Automotive Technologies (SIAT 2017) at the ARAI Campus in Pune yesterday. Sanjay Bandopadhyaya, CEO, NATRiP; Rajan Wadhera, president ARAI; Vikram Kirloskar, VP, ARAI; Rashmi Urdhwareshe, director, ARAI; Murali Iyer, executive advisor, SAE International; Dr RK Malhotra, president, SAE India and T Mookiah, associate director (R&D), Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, were also present on the occasion.

90km per charge, 45kph top speed, 20-30 paise per km running cost

Sharing some details of this prototype (two-wheeler), Anand Deshpande, convenor of SIAT 2017 said, “This is a landmark development under the joint research project of ISRO and ARAI, where lithium-ion battery technology developed for space applications was successfully adapted for the automotive segment. We at ARAI have worked upon on various factors like the battery management system, lab testing, road testing and automotive duty cycle at different temperatures, charge and discharge.”

L-R: Sanjay Mitra, secretary, MoRTH; Rashmi Urdhwareshe, director, ARAI; M R Saraf, senior deputy director, ARAI; Sanjay Bandopadhyaya, CEO, NATRiP; Vikram Kirloskar, VP, ARAI and Dr Pawan Goenka, MD, Mahindra & Mahindra, with the prototype that uses an ISRO-developed lithium ion battery.  

“In space applications, reliability is of paramount importance while in the automotive segment affordability is equally important. Thus, our teams are now working in this direction. The prototype is loaded with a 48 volt, 50 ampere-hour battery and successfully runs up to 90 kilometres once charged for two hours. We are working on reducing the charging time and have set the target to bring it down to one hour initially. It does not use much electricity for charging and the running cost per kilometre could be as less as 20-30 paise per kilometre. The vehicle can attain the speed of 40-50 kilometres per hour,” he added.

The Symposium on International Automotive Technology (SIAT 2017) is underway at the ARAI Campus on Vetal Hill, Kothrud till January 21. Many organisations from India and abroad that are working in the field of automotive technology are participating in the exhibition, which has been organized at the ARAI Campus in Kothrud, Pune. Autocar Professional is the official media partner for this biennial event.

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