What
extrapolation ?
# Can
weight of an E Car be reduced by 50 %
? And, if yes , can the
Lithium-ion Battery capacity also get
reduced by 50 % ?
Eg :
Can
weight of Mahindra e-Verito [ D6 ], be reduced from 1265 kg to 650 kg – leading
to its battery size going
down
from 21.5 KWh to 10 KWh ?
[ e-Verito , most likely uses 840 kg of
steel and 130 kg of aluminum ]
But, how
would that help ?
#
Cost of Lithium-ion Battery is said to be 40 % of the cost of an
E Car
# E-Verito sells for
Rs 13 lakh . That means, its 21.5 KWh battery might have a landed cost of Rs 5.2
lakh
# If the battery size
becomes 10 KWh , could its landed cost become Rs 2.6 lakh ?
But
aren’t Lithium-ion Battery prices
dropping anyway, year after year ?
# Very much so . By
end of 2019, battery prices are expected to come down to $ 100 / KWh
# Hence , a 21.5 KWh
battery’s international price could come down to $ 2,150
# After 40.8 % duty ,
that could mean a landed cost of $ 3,000 ( Rs 2.10 Lakh )
# And the landed cost
of a 9 KWh battery could be only $ 1,500
( Rs 1.05 Lakh ) !
According to the survey of EnergyTrend, the average price of lithium-ion
batteries in each electric passenger car is currently about US$15,000, and is
expected to fall below US$10,000 in 2020
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 ! )
# Ather 450 Electric Motorbike weighs 118 kg and carries a
Lithium-ion battery of 1.92
KWh
Add 2 passengers ( 2 x 75 = 150 kg ) ,
taking the laden weight to 268 kg
And this :
Mahindra Treo ( 3
Wheeler )
weighs 340
kg and carries a Lithium-ion battery
of 7.37 Kwh
Add 4 passengers ( 4 x 75 = 300 kg ) , taking the laden weight
to 640 Kg !
But wait ! e-Verito has to carry 4 passengers ( incl
driver ) – adding 300 kg of weight to 650 kg of car !
That adds up to a laden
weight of 950
Kg .
# It is
like adding up the weights and the battery sizes of the above-mentioned [ 2
Wheeler + 3 Wheeler ] . Quite
probable
!
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
What is
Graphene ?
# It is a
transparent layer of carbon wafer , just one atom thick
How is
that important ?
# Graphene
is 200 times stronger than steel and 10 times better at conducting
heat than copper
# Graphene-based chips could deliver speeds
more than ten times faster than silicon chips
# In chemical and electrical sensors,
graphene could increase sensitivity by a
factor of more than 30
# Graphene is
also 250
times better at conducting electricity than
silicon
# If we
replaced the silicon chips in today’s transistors with graphene-based chips, we
could increase
the speed of
electronic devices ten-fold.
( FIRST
GRAPHENE-BASED DEVICE IS A “FEW MONTHS” AWAY, SAYS STARTUP )
Is
this wonder material Graphene , commercially available ?
# Not yet , but
in a matter of months [ Congratulations , Prof.
Sir Colin Humphreys ]
# A start up
called “ Paragraf “ is expected to
launch Graphene wafers , very soon
Then why do
you say , “ Wishful Thinking “ ?
# Being 200 TIMES stronger
than Steel, without doubt Graphene can cut down the weight of a car manifolds.
But to begin with, it might cost 2000 TIMES the price of steel , thereby
precluding its use
# But ( - and again
without doubt ), it is bound to become economically viable replacement as steel
prices
continue to rise and further breakthrough in
the manufacturing processes of Graphene , dramatically lowers its
cost .
# Even car components
will get made by using Graphene in 3 D printing process
Do you think any of our Policy Makers
would ask our scientists / engineers to examine this ?
I have no doubt that should Shri Nitin Gadkariji get to read this blog ( - being sent to him
as an email ) , then he will waste no time to do so
He might ask ISRO :
“ Can you develop Solar Panels using Graphene to boost its efficiency
manifolds ( say from current 20 % to 80 % ) – then install such a Solar Panel
on roof-top of an Electric Car , to continuously charge its Lithium-ion
battery, so that E cars do not need any road-side Battery Charging Stations ,
saving an investment of Rs 175 lakh*crore ? “
What gives you such hope ?
After reading the following , you should have no doubts !
City MP and Union minister for road transport,
highways and Shipping , Nitin Gadkari is all set to launch a project to
operate a 150 seater bus which will ply in the air
He added that tender for the project will be
finalized by 15 Aug
Could a dramatic
reduction in Electric Car-Weight , leading to equally dramatic reduction in
Lithium-ion Battery size – and price – accelerate the adoption of Electric cars
in India ?
No doubt !
Imagine if lighter weight cars having very small Lithium-ion
batteries were to start selling for Rs 5 lakh , then no one would want to touch
a petrol car
And our government would not need to spend Rs
10,000 crore ( under FAME
II ) to “ incentivize “ buyers !
Is there
any other alternative to dramatically reduce battery size / cost, without
having to reduce the car weight ?
Sure !
Following breakthroughs in Battery Technology are promising
cheaper / much more powerful / longer lasting and faster charging batteries :
A Lithium Air Battery
[ fifth as light as current versions and one-fifth their prices ]
Lithium−Air Battery: Promise and
Challenges
B Graphene Battery [
giving a 500 miles / 800 km range
]
Grabat Graphenano Energy
C Foam Batteries
https://www.prietobattery.com/
D Nano Batteries
Nanotechnology in Batteries (Nano
Battery)
E
Auminum – Air Batteries
EV
juice from Alu-Air Battery ?
F Sodium – Air Battery
Congratulations
, Shri GopuKumarji
G Hydrogen Fuel Cell
Ray
, a drop of golden Sun
=========================================================
Dear
Shri Gadkariji,
I urge you to ask Prime Minister’s “ Science Technology and
Innovation Advisory Committee “ members
to examine licensing Graphene Manufacturing Technology from
Prof.
Sir Colin Humphreys / Paragraf
======================================================================
21 March
2019
Rsvp ; hcp@RecruitGuru.com
==============================
From: hcp@recruitguru.com
Sent: 21 March 2019 05:03
Subject: FW: THIS IS NOT AN ELECTION ISSUE : ONLY MORE IMPORTANT !
|
Dear Dr
Humphreys,
Thought you might like my following blog
/ email to India’s Policy Makers and Auto Industry executives
I would appreciate your comments, if any
With regards,
hemen
Thu 21-Mar-19 9:48 PM
Dear Hemen,
Many thanks. Congratulations on your vision !
Keep up your
blogs !
Best regards, Colin
====================================================================
After reading this blog ( sent as email ),
Shri Sumitesh Das
( Head of Graphene Business Unit - TATA Steel ),
sent following reply on 04 Oct 2019 :
-----------------------------------------
After reading this blog ( sent as email ),
Shri Sumitesh Das
( Head of Graphene Business Unit - TATA Steel ),
sent following reply on 04 Oct 2019 :
-----------------------------------------
Dear Shri Hemen Parekh
ji,
Thank you for your kind
mail regarding the endless possibilities of graphene.
In particular, the
possible usage in cars and buses.
Your blog and views
expressed therein are visionary.
It will take policy makers, scientists and
innovators to come together.
Do keep up the good
work.
Best regards.
Sumitesh
----------------------------------------
Added on 19 Feb 2020 :
https://scienceblog.com/514243/fast-charging-long-running-bendy-energy-storage-breakthrough/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+scienceblogrssfeed+%28ScienceBlog.com%29
----------------------------------------
Added on 19 Feb 2020 :
https://scienceblog.com/514243/fast-charging-long-running-bendy-energy-storage-breakthrough/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+scienceblogrssfeed+%28ScienceBlog.com%29