Electric Vehicles

The industry needs to cut a dependence on electric vehicle battery imports from China, according to the road transport minister, who said the government is looking to support research into alternatives to lithium-ion technology.

The Gurgaon-based data-driven fleet service provider—which launched India’s first all-electric heavy-duty truck last year—will use Faradion’s sodium-ion batteries in its commercial vehicles.

Scientists at Germany’s Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin have made a discovery they say could greatly increase the energy storage capacity of titanium-based ‘MXene’ pseudocapacitors, ultimately leading to faster-charging batteries. The group found adding urea molecules between MXene layers increased the material’s storage capacity by up to 56%.

A range of up to 600 km is possible when Lithium-ion batteries are combined with metal-air batteries that the fossil fuel giant intends to produce in India under a partnership with Israel based startup Phinergy.

The OneBox, from Indian manufacturer Vision Mechatronics, consists of a lithium battery, hybrid inverter and solar charge controller to give a hassle-free solution for electricity back-up during power outages. Solar rooftop owners are offered a grid feed feature to maximize net metering income from any excess power generated.

Leveraging Triton Solar’s battery technology and Ushva’s experienced team from IIT Bombay, the strategic alliance aims to develop one-of-a-kind car with the longest travel range on a single charge and unique user experience.

China, Hong Kong and Vietnam are the top three nations exporting batteries to India. Chinese imports were worth $773 million in the last fiscal year with Hong Kong shipping $267 million worth and Vietnam $114 million, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The joint venture between Japanese majors Toshiba, Denso and Suzuki will make the investment in the Gujarat plant over the 2021-25 period, having pumped Rs12.5 billion into the first phase of development.

India, one of the most diversified energy markets in the world, has recently become the lowest-cost producer of solar power. This reflects a steady and encouraging shift toward renewable power—a shift that’s in line with the targets set by the government. At the Climate Action Summit that was held earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra […]

The government has supported 425 electric buses on pilot basis since the launch of FAME India [Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India] scheme that—in its second phase—aims to support (through incentives) about 7000 e-buses over a period of three years commencing from April 1, 2019.