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Cost-Effective And Long-Lasting: Researchers Develop Zinc-Air Batteries To Ease Electric Mobility
Writer: Ratika Rana
Her primary objective is to inform, promote, educate and cultivate readers through writing.
India, 1 Jun 2022 9:15 AM GMT
Editor : Snehadri Sarkar |
While he is a massive sports fanatic, his interest also lies in mainstream news and nitpicking trending and less talked about everyday issues.
Creatives : Ratika Rana
Her primary objective is to inform, promote, educate and cultivate readers through writing.
Researchers, who have filed for patents for this new battery technology, are collaborating with major industries to develop these zinc-air batteries. They are economical compared with existing lithium-ion batteries and have a longer shelf life.
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras are working toward easing electrical mobility when the country is abuzz with instances of electric scooters catching fire. The researchers have come up with zinc-air batteries as an alternative to lithium-air batteries for electric power vehicles. They have also filed for patents for the technology and collaborated with primary industries to develop the batteries. Zinc-air batteries are a more economical option and have a longer shelf-life. The batteries could be used in two and three-wheel electric vehicles.
Government Promoting EVs
The government of India has been favouring electric vehicles in recent years and amplifying the call for reducing pollution. The official website of IIT-M highlighted that lithium-ion batteries are heavily used in EVs, and China is a major manufacturer. India's EV manufacturing firms massive import lithium batteries from China. Moreover, since the batteries come in limited edition, they cannot fulfil the diverse requirement of the Indian market.
Dr Aravind Kumar Chandiran, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Madras, and his research group had focussed their research on Zinc-air batteries as it is a widely available resource. Moreover, zinc is a more cost-effective alternative when compared with Lithium.
Critical Focus of The Research
Dr Chandiran highlighted the critical focus of his research and said, "Our Research Group is developing a futuristic model for zinc-air batteries for EVs. Through this research, we also identify shortcomings in existing technology and find ways to address them. The Research team has currently developed zinc-air cells and is working towards developing zinc-air packs for EVs".
Moreover, the researchers are now mooting separate 'Zinc Recharge Stations' which would be similar to petrol pumps. The Zinc-vehicle drivers could reach out to the recharge stations whenever their batteries are drained and charge them, much like the standard refuelling process.
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