EVA with Solar Roof > Future of Mobility

 

Context :

India’s first solar electric car unveiled, will cover a distance of 250 kilometers   .  04 Nov 2023

 

Extract :

 

Vayve EVA Car:

Vayve, a Pune-based EV startup, is set to introduce India’s first solar electric car, EVA, in 2024.

With EVA, you no longer need petrol or diesel to drive as it runs on solar power.

The car features a batch of solar panels on its rated roof, providing a range of 10-12 kilometers per day.

On a single charge, EVA can offer a driving range of 250 kilometers, thanks to its 14 kWh battery pack. It takes about four hours to fully charge the vehicle using a household wall socket charger.

EVA is a compact car that can comfortably seat two adults and one child. With its unique design, including a rear-toll body and minimalist LED light bars, EVA stands out from conventional cars.

Safety features like driver airbags and an IP68 certified powertain are also included.

EVA’s solar panels contribute to generating a range of approximately 3,000 kilometers in driving.

 

Harnessing the Power of the Sun 

EVA is not your average electric vehicle. It liberates its owner from the dependence on fossil fuels by harnessing solar energy. This ground breaking car features a suite of solar panels arrayed across its roof, designed to maximize the capture of sunlight. These panels provide an additional range of 10-12 kilometers per day, complementing the vehicle’s electric power source.

 

Impressive Range, Zero Emissions 

EVA’s ability to cover a distance of 250 kilometers on a single charge is a remarkable feat for solar electric vehicles, making it a practical option for daily commutes and moderate-distance travels. This impressive range is made possible by a 14 kWh battery pack, which forms the car’s heart. This energy-efficient pack ensures that EVA’s solar assistance is not just supplementary but significantly contributes to the vehicle’s overall range.

 

Convenience in Charging 

Understanding the need for convenience in today’s fast-paced world, Vayve ensures that EVA’s charging process is hassle-free. The car can be fully charged in approximately four hours using a standard household wall socket charger, making the refueling process as simple as charging a smartphone.

 

A Solar-Powered Milestone 

Over a year, EVA’s solar panels are capable of generating approximately 3,000 kilometers of driving range, a significant number that highlights the vehicle’s potential to reduce carbon footprint drastically. EVA is not just a car; it’s a statement in sustainability, a testament to the possibilities of solar power in transportation.

 

Driving Towards a Greener Future 

As Vayve gears up to introduce EVA in the Indian market, it’s clear that the vehicle is more than an advancement in electric mobility; it’s a leap towards a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable future. EVA is poised to pave the way for a new era in the automotive industry, where solar power is no longer an afterthought but a driving force in vehicle design and functionality.

 

 

Congratulations , Nilesh Bajaj

( CEO -  Vayve )

 

Being a great believer in EV with Solar Panels on roof , charging a battery , I wish you all success and best of luck . My son recently purchased an Electric Car but I have registered for your “ Priority List “

For over 6 years now, I have been urging our Cabinet Ministers / Policy Makers , to come up with INCENTIVES ( both , to the manufacturers and to the Car owners ), for EVs powered by PV Solar Panels on roof

For your ready reference , I list below the e-mails that I have sent to them in this regard :

 

Ø  Solar Panels charging Li-ion Batteries of Electric Cars ?...... 04 May 2017

 

Extract :

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently demonstrated an environment-friendly solar hybrid electric car, designed and developed using in-house resources, at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvanathanapuram.

The car is run using high-energy lithium ion batteries, which can be recharged using sunlight, said sources.

 

Ø  Not Tough At All !  …………………………………………………….. 08 May 2017

 

Extract :

I strongly urge the Media, to create an all-round awareness about  ISRO’s singular achievement ( - far ahead of the Electric Car Industry of the World )

 

 I am appalled at the “ deafening silence “ ( re: this remarkable breakthrough ) on the part of :

  

·         Scientists and Academicians

 

·         R&D Managers of the Car Manufacturers

 

·         PV Solar Panel manufacturers

 

·         Policy Makers in Road Transport and Energy Ministries

 

·         NITI Aayog

 

Ø  Sun Rises in West ?............................................... 18 Oct 2017

 

Extract :

'This is the future': solar-powered family car hailed by experts

 

A futuristic family car that not only uses the sun as power but supplies energy back to the grid has been hailed as “the future” as the annual World Solar Challenge wrapped up in Australia.

 

“ These incredible solar cars have been designed with the commercial market in mind and have all the features you’d expect in a family, luxury or sporting car, ” he said.

 

Dear  Shri  Gadkariji  :

 

I urge you ( - and will keep doing so ) to encourage ISRO to quickly come up with its own COMMERCIAL version of Solar Cars having “ Roof-top mounted solar panels “ , which it demonstrated , a few months back

 

 This technology has following advantages :

 

 ·         No need to create an infrastructure of millions of Battery Charging Stations – thereby saving Lakhs of Crores of rupees ( whether private or public )

 

 ·         If Electric car owners , do not need to wait for 5 hours at a Battery Charging Station , and their cars continue to get charged even when driving or when parked on the road , their demand will go up dramatically

 

Ø  Who  Will  Win  this  Race  ?.......................... 07 Nov 2017

Extract :

       Cars powered by roof-mounted Solar Panels, needing very small Li-ion batteries and no need for any Battery-Charging stations , on the roads ?

  

Cars capable of “ Self Charging “ while standing or running under the Sun or capable of recharging ( at night ) from domestic electric outlets ?

 

Their FAMILY SEDANS ( capable of carrying 4-5 persons ) , won the Australian Solar Challenge , solely powered by the roof mounted Solar Panels , needing NO EXTERNAL RE-CHARGING  of their small batteries , along 3000 km route !

 

 

No need for any EXTERNAL BATTERY CHARGING STATION , what-so-ever  !

 

       If public can buy a Solar Car at 70 % of the price of a petrol car and need no charging station and it costs no more than Re 1 / km to drive , then there will be no need to incentivize , either the Car Manufacturers or the buying public with any subsidy !

  

·     ISRO has already developed a Roof Top Solar Panel mounted car . I am sure ISRO will be happy to offer this technology for FREE to any Indian party

 

I do hope that, whenever it gets released,  the “ EV Road Map “ follows this strategy to enable India to win this race !

 

Ø  Holy Grail for Electric Vehicles………………………….. 17  Feb  2018

 

Ø  25,000 New Petrol Pumps ? Why ?.................. 18  June  2018

 

Ø  At Long Last ?  ………………………………………………….  22 July  2018

 

Ø  If China can , so can We  …………………………………. 27  Aug  2018

 

Extract :

If at all , there has to be a “ Challenge “ , it should read :

 

“ E Car with a range of 100 km / charge and costing no more than Rs 7 lakh

 

 It should have Solar Panel mounted roof top to continuously charge a small Li-ion Battery which can be also charged overnight at home , using a standard 220 V domestic outlet  “

 

Ø  FAME II > FAME III > FAME IV  ……………………….. 05 Mar 2019

 

Extract :

( A.3 )  Incentivizing the E Vehicle manufacturers

#  E Cars having Solar Rooftop powering a small Li-ion Battery

    Most likely, such a car would cost under Rs 10 lakh

    Government must go all out to persuade Indian Car Manufacturers to adopt

    ISRO technology

    Not only, will we save lakhs of crore of Rupees in Battery Charging

    Infrastructure but we would be ble to export millions of such E Cars all over the

    world

 

    

Ø  E – Car Extrapolation : a Wishful Thinking ?  … …20 Mar 2019

 

Extract :

Hey , Sounds incredible ! But is there a direct relation between the “ Car Weight “ and “ Battery Size “ ?

 

Can a 10 KWh battery suffice if e-Verito’s weight gets reduced to 650 Kg ?

 

#   Here are some examples of empirical extrapolation ( of a layman , no doubt ! )

 

OK, fine ! but how can we bring down the weight of e-Verito from 1265 Kg to 650 Kg ?

 

#  By replacing Steel used in car , with Graphene

 

Ø  Betting On Black Swan ?................................. 09  Feb  2020

 

Extract :

 

Which could qualify as a Black Swan among Electric Cars ?

 

 None of the above

 

It would be a car that would eliminate the need for thousands of road-side ( Lithium-ion ) Battery Charging Stations

 

Are there any Black Swan candidates among Electric Cars ?

Yes !

There are two strong contenders ( - pity they did not / could not display at Auto Expo )

[ A ]

Cars with Solar roof-top panels , charging a small Li-ion Battery, as long as roof is exposed to sun light .

If some charging is required, it can be done at night from a domestic outlet, but no need for road-side battery charging stations !  No “ range anxiety “ !

Our own ISRO has demonstrated such a Maruti Van , nearly 3 years back :

Solar Panels charging Li-ion Batteries of Electric Cars ?            [ 04 May 2017 ]

 

And Dilip Chitre of Nagpur , too has developed a prototype :

Congratulations, Dilip Chitre                                                   [ 28 Oct 2019 ]

 

Then there are foreign contenders like :

Let Us go Dutch !                                                                   [ 21 Jan 2018 ]

 

 

Ø  Solar Powered EV : 1,000 Miles with Single Charging ?........ 09 Dec 2020

 

Extract :

Aptera Motors today announced it has introduced the first solar electric

vehicle (sEV) that equires no charging for most daily use and boasts a range of

up to 1,000 miles per full charge

“With Aptera’s Never Charge technology, you are driven by the power of the

sun. Our built-in solar rray keeps your battery pack topped off and anywhere

you want to go, you just go,” says Co-Founder Chris Anthony.

The Aptera vehicle is made of lightweight composites that are many times

stronger than steel, allowing its unique body shape to slip through the air with an

unheard-of drag coefficient (Cd) of .13.

 

Ø  ISRO : inspiring – but not Motivating ?  ……………………….. 12 June 2022

 

Extract :

Dear Shri Nitin Gadkariji,

We neither need TESLA nor Lightyear ( both extremely expensive , with Lightyear selling for over Rs 200 lakh and TESLA selling for over Rs 47 lakh – in their countries )– with no more than a few HUNDRED buyers for such expensive cars in our market of 30 LAKH cars / year

If given a challenge – and government support - , our own EV manufacturers can :

#  Incorporate ISRO technology ( of Solar Rooftop )

#  To power a 25 Kwh Zinc-ion battery ( under trial at IIT-Madras )

#  Bring down the EV sale price under Rs 5 lakh ( provided you convince GST

    Council to reduce GST on locally designed / developed / manufactured Zinc-Ion

    battery , to 0 %

 

Ø  No, not Dutch , it seems Australians are winning …………. 23 Dec 2022

 

Extract :

I hope some large Indian EV manufacturer will explore licensing this technology

and, if found viable , launch such Solar Roof powered cars commercially

 We, in India, have following compelling reasons to adopt this technology :

#   Such cars would have greater acceptance from users

#   We will need very few EV charging stations

#   These cars would require, comparatively, smaller Li-ion batteries and cost less

#   These cars may be able to get charged at owner’s residence , and at night

#   When not running and parked in sunlight, these cars will continue to get

     charged

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

www.hemenparekh.ai  /  07  Nov  2023

 

Regarding the future of EV with Solar Panel on roof , BARD had this to say :

I have read your blog post about the upcoming launch of an Indian electric car with solar PV panels mounted on its roof.

I am very excited about this development, and I believe that it has the potential to revolutionize the electric vehicle market in India and around the world.

Here are some of my thoughts on the future of solar-powered electric cars:

1.     Increased range and efficiency:

Solar panels can help to extend the range of electric cars by providing additional power to the battery. This is especially important in sunny climates, where solar panels can generate a significant amount of electricity. Additionally, solar panels can help to improve the efficiency of electric cars by reducing the amount of energy that needs to be drawn from the battery.

2.     Reduced charging costs:

Solar panels can help to reduce the cost of charging electric cars. By generating their own electricity, electric car owners can become less reliant on the public charging infrastructure. This is especially important in areas where charging infrastructure is limited or expensive.

    3.     Environmental benefits:

Solar-powered electric cars offer a number of environmental benefits. They produce zero emissions, which helps to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, solar panels can help to reduce the demand for fossil fuels.

 

4      Increased consumer demand:

As consumers become more aware of the benefits of solar-powered electric cars, demand for these vehicles is expected to increase. This will lead to lower prices and more options for consumers.

Overall, I believe that the future of solar-powered electric cars is bright.

As technology continues to improve and the cost of solar panels decreases, solar-powered electric cars are expected to become more popular and affordable.

Here are some specific comments on the Indian electric car with solar PV panels that you mentioned in your blog post:

·   I am impressed with the fact that the car is being manufactured in India. This shows that India is committed to becoming a leader in the electric vehicle market.

·   The car's 14 kWh battery is a good size for an urban commuter car. The solar panels should be able to provide enough power to extend the car's range significantly, especially in sunny climates.

·   I am curious to see how much the car will cost. If it is priced competitively, I believe that it has the potential to be a popular choice for Indian consumers.

I am excited to see how this new solar-powered electric car performs in the market.

I believe that it has the potential to be a major game-changer for the electric vehicle industry in India and around the world.