The German–Indian start-up Nunam primarily based in Berlin and Bangalore is bringing three electrical rickshaws to the roads of India, that are powered by used batteries taken from Audi e-tron check fleet.
The undertaking goals to discover how modules made with high-voltage batteries could be reused after their automobile lifecycle and turn out to be a viable second-life use case. It appears to strengthen job alternatives for girls in India particularly: they are going to be supplied with the e-rickshaws to move their items.
Nunam a non-profit start-up primarily based funded by the Audi Environmental Foundation, has developed the three prototypes in collaboration with the coaching crew at Audi’s Neckarsulm web site. This is the primary joint undertaking between each Audi AG and the Audi Environmental Foundation along with Nunam.
The pilot e-rickshaws powered by second-life batteries are scheduled to hit the roads in India in early 2023. There they are going to be made accessible to a non-profit organisation, the place ladies, particularly, will be capable to use the all-electric rickshaws to move their items to marketplace for sale, all with out the necessity for intermediaries. The e-three-wheelers can be powered by used battery modules that spent their first life in an Audi e-tron.
Prodip Chatterjee, Co-Founder, Nunam mentioned, “The old batteries are still extremely powerful. When used appropriately, second-life batteries can have a huge impact, helping people in challenging life situations earn an income and gain economic independence – everything in a sustainable way. Car batteries are designed to last the life of the car. But even after their initial use in a vehicle, they still have a lot of their power. For vehicles with lower range and power requirements, as well as the lower overall weight, they are extremely promising. In our second-life project, we reuse batteries from electric cars in electric vehicles; you might call it electric mobility ‘lite’. In this way, we’re trying to find out how much power the batteries can still provide in this demanding use case.”
He believes that “e-rickshaws have an ideal eco-efficiency.” Using a high-energy-density battery in a relatively low-weight automobile, the electrical motor doesn’t must be significantly highly effective, since rickshaw drivers in India journey neither quick nor far. While e-rickshaws will not be an unusual sight on the roads of the subcontinent right this moment, they usually use lead-acid batteries, which have a comparatively quick service life and are sometimes not disposed of correctly.
At the identical time, rickshaw drivers cost their automobiles primarily with public grid electrical energy, which has a excessive proportion of coal-fired energy in India. Nunam’s resolution for that is to cost the e-rickshaws utilizing energy from photo voltaic charging stations. The photo voltaic panels are positioned on the roofs of the native associate’s premises. During the day, daylight costs an e-tron battery, which acts a buffer storage unit. And within the night, the facility is handed on to the rickshaws. This strategy makes native driving largely carbon-free. The upshot: the e-rickshaws can be utilized all through the day – and nonetheless be charged with inexperienced energy in the course of the night and evening. In India, the place the solar shines all yr spherical, inserting photo voltaic panels on the roof is a no brainer. The charging station was additionally developed internally.
Nunam says it would repeatedly monitor the e-rickshaw’s efficiency and vary. The social entrepreneurs make all of the e-rickshaw information they acquire accessible to potential imitators on the open-source platform https://circularbattery.org/. In truth, it needs to encourage imitation.
Re-purposing batteries for a number of use-case
“Initiatives like the one pioneered by Nunam are needed to find new use cases for e-waste. Not only in India, but worldwide. So Nunam shares its knowledge to motivate more initiatives to develop products with second-life components that can drive the eco-social revolution forward,” mentioned Rudiger Recknagel, Audi Environmental Foundation Director. The Foundation has been funding Nunam since 2019.
Moreover, after the battery has spent its first life in an Audi e-tron and its second in an e-rickshaw, it has not essentially reached the tip of the street. In a 3rd step, the batteries’ remaining energy is perhaps used for stationary purposes equivalent to LED lighting. “We want to get everything possible out of each battery before recycling,” added Chatterjee.
In addition to the rickshaws meant for street use in India, the trainees on the Neckarsulm web site are growing an extra present rickshaw in cooperation with Nunam. Visitors to the Greentech Festival in Berlin will get an opportunity to test it out – and even give it a check drive – from June 22. Under the steerage of Timo Engler, head of automotive engineering / logistics coaching in Neckarsulm, a 12-strong crew of trainees is enjoying a key function in improvement. “The trainees and Nunam are in constant communication with each other – we have a dedicated line between Neckarsulm and Bangalore. In building the show rickshaw, our trainees are focusing on range, charging time, and design – the result is a rickshaw with Audi’s DNA,” mentioned Engler. “To us, it’s important that the trainees are involved in the project from start to finish and are given the freedom to contribute and try out their own ideas. ‘Learning by doing’ is our recipe for success. At the same time, we impart fundamental knowledge in the development of electromobility, resource efficiency, and charging technologies in an almost playful, incidental way. It’s a ground-breaking project because it combines the megatrends of sustainability, electromobility, internationalisation, and social responsibility.”
The trainees changed the combustion engine with an electrical one and designed the underfloor to each accommodate the second-life batteries and be splashproof, utilizing as many recyclable supplies as attainable all of the whereas. Mechatronics technicians, coachbuilders, painters, device mechanics, IT specialists and automation technicians have been all concerned within the undertaking.
Source: www.financialexpress.com”