Electric Cars

INTRODUCTION:

              An electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using energy stored in rechargeable batteries. The first practical electric cars were produced in the 1880's. Electric cars were popular in the late 19th century and early 20th century, until advances in internal combustion engines, electric starters in particular, and mass production of cheaper gasoline vehicles led to a decline in the use of electric drive vehicles.

                              

SAFETY:

The safety issues of BEVs are largely dealt with by the international standard ISO 6469. This document is divided in three parts dealing with specific issues: 

· On-board electrical energy storage, i.e. the battery
· Functional safety means and protection against failures
· Protection of persons against electrical hazards.

→Risk of fire

                     Like their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts, electric vehicle batteries can catch fire after a crash or mechanical failure. Plug-in electric vehicle fire incidents have occurred, albeit less per mile than ICE vehicles The first modern crash-related fire was reported in China in May 2012, after a high-speed car crashed into a BYD e6 taxi in Shenzhen. The second reported incident occurred in the United States on October 1, 2013, when a Tesla Model S caught fire over ten minutes after the electric car hit metal debris on a highway in Kent, Washington state, and the debris punctured one of 16 modules within the battery pack A third reported fire occurred on October 18, 2013 in Merida, Mexico. In this case the vehicle was being driven at high speed through a roundabout and crashed through a wall and into a tree. The fire broke out several minutes after the driver exited the vehicle.
                          In the United States, General Motors ran in several cities a training program for firefighters and first responders to demonstrate how to safely disable the Chevrolet Volt's power train and its 12 volt electrical system. The Volt's high-voltage system is designed to shut down automatically in the event of an airbag deployment, and to detect a loss of communication from an airbag control module. GM also made available an Emergency Response Guide for the 2011 Volt for use by emergency responders. The guide also describes methods of disabling the high voltage system and identifies cut zone information. Nissan also published a guide for first responders that details procedures for handling a damaged 2011 Leaf at the scene of an accident, including a manual high-voltage system shutdown, rather than the automatic process built-in the car's safety systems

→Vehicle safety

                      The weight of the batteries themselves usually makes an EV heavier than a comparable gasoline vehicle, in a collision, the occupants of a heavy vehicle will on average, suffer fewer and less serious injuries than the occupants of a lighter vehicle; therefore, the additional weight brings safety benefits (to the occupant) despite having a negative effect on the car's performance Depending on where the battery is located, it may lower the center of gravity, increasing driving stability, lowering the risk of an accident through loss of control. An accident in a 2,000 lb (900 kg) vehicle will on average cause about 50% more injuries to its occupants than a 3,000 lb (1,400 kg) vehicle.Some electric cars use low rolling resistance tires, which typically offer less grip than normal tires. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in America had condemned the use of low speed vehicles and "mini trucks," called NEV's when powered by electric motors, on public roads. Mindful of this, several companies (Tesla Motors, BMW, ) have succeeded in keeping the body light, while making it very strong. 

Lifespan

                      As with all lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicle batteries may degrade over long periods of time, especially if they are frequently overcharged, however, this may take at least several years before being noticeable.However, Nissan stated in 2015 that thus far only 0.01 percent of batteries had to be replaced because of failures or problems, and then only because of externally inflicted damage. The vehicles that had already covered more than 200,000 km (124,274 mi), have no problems with the battery.

Future

→Autonomous park-and-charge

                                    Volkswagen, in collaboration with six partners, is developing an EU research project that is focused on automating the parking and charging of electric vehicles. The objective of this project is to develop a smart car system that allows for autonomous driving in designated areas (e.g. valet parking, park and ride) and can offer advanced driver support in urban environments.Tesla has shown interest in making an arm that automatically charges their vehicles.

→Other methods of energy storage

                             Experimental super capacitors and flywheel energy storage devices offer comparable storage capacity, faster charging, and lower volatility. They have the potential to overtake batteries as the preferred rechargeable storage for EVs.The FIA included their use in its sporting regulations of energy systems for Formula One race vehicles in 2007 (for super capacitors) and 2009 (for flywheel energy storage devices).

→Solar cars

                        Solar cars are electric vehicles powered completely or significantly by direct solar energy, usually, through photovoltaic (PV) cells contained in solar panels that convert the sun's energy directly into electric energy, usually used to charge a battery.

Manufacturers of electric vehicles launched in India

→Fully electric cars

The electric cars available in India are :

· Hyundai Kona Electric
· Mahindra e-Verito
· Mahindra e2o
· Tata Tigor EV 2019
             ISRO has tested a solar-powered hybrid car - modified Maruti Omni with a solar panel platform installed on top of the car. The installation of this solar platform on the car has been rated "awful" for its design. The Hyundai Kona electric has the highest range of 452 km in a single charge among the electric cars available in India.
Motorcycles
The following companies have launched electric motorcycles in India
· Revolt Motors
· Tork Motors (to be launched)
· Emflux Motors (to be launched)
· Ultraviolette Automotive

→Scooter

The following companies have launched electric scooters in India

1. Hero electric
2. Okinawa
3. Evolet
4. Ather
5. Ampere

→Railways

Indian Railways has a long history of electric locomotives, with their first use in 1925. On 31 March 2017, government announced that the entire rail network in the country will be electrified by 2022. Indian Railways has successfully tested solar-panel mounted trains.Power generated from these solar panels will be used for the lights and fans inside the train.

→Hybrid cars

Below are some of the hybrid cars available in India:
· Toyota Prius
· Honda Accord Hybrid
· Toyota Camry
· MG Hector
· Suzuki Ciaz
· Suzuki Swift

CONCLUSION:

             The charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in India has not been fully developed yet. There have been initiatives to set up community charging stations, as in the case of Plugin India facilitated charging stations. News reports have indicated about plans to provide solar-powered charging points at the existing fuel stations of the country. Charging infrastructure, mainly setting up of level 2 charging at public level shall be the toughest challenge in terms of service integration for India. For normal charging, the charging time poses a serious problem as it ranges from 6 to 8 hours whereas for fast DC charging; cost & high renewable energy are the biggest factors which could pose a problem. It is also assumed that 10% of the charging infrastructure required in India shall be composed of fast charging station and rest 90% shall come from level 2 public charging setups. On 22 May 2018 Ather Energy launched its charging infrastructure service in Bangalore called Ather Grid, with each charging station called 'Point'. The service is open to all electric vehicles but has been deployed where Ather plans to launch its own electric scooter. The cost of EVs is very high mainly due to the cost of Li-ion cells. The battery packs are imported and cost a lot, about $275/KWh in India. This combined with the GST of 28% and the lack of lithium in India, further increase the cost of batteries. Most EVs in India provide a range of 110 km and cost between Rs 6-8 lakhs which doesn't give any cost advantage compared to higher range cars in the same price range. In India electricity is mainly produced by burning coal, which produces a great amount of greenhouse emissions. With the introduction of EVs and charging infrastructure, the electricity demand will go up a lot and the whole point of introducing EVs to reduce GHG emissions would be ineffective, if all this electricity was produced by burning coal. Moreover, India’s Distribution companies hold debts and are unable to suffice the energy requirement of the whole country adequately. If EVs were to enter this equation, the sudden increase in electricity requirement would put extra load on these companies. Moreover, there are a lot of factors that would go into deciding pricing of the electricity as well the demand on the grid.Hence soon India will become electric in world of vehicle industry.