India, like the other countries, is shifting to an electric vehicle era (EVs). The world's largest carmaker, General Motors, has announced that it would stop selling gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2035. Audi, a German firm, plans to discontinue producing them by 2033 as well.
Moreover, Norway is already on the point of reaching 100% EV by April 2022.
Governments all across the world have devised roadmaps to help electric vehicle adoption. India plans to have 30% of its roadways covered by electric vehicles by 2030. To stimulate the use of electric vehicles and reduce pollution and crude oil imports, the FAME 2 (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles Phase II) scheme has given an allocated INR 10K Cr.
As things begin to normalize after COVID-19, entrepreneurs and automakers are ramping up their efforts to meet the goal. However, in the case of faster electric vehicles, more lithium-ion batteries are consumed.
A single electric vehicle (EV) comprises about 10 kg of lithium, and the lithium-ion battery accounts for more than 40% of an EV's cost in India.
In this blog, we are going to explore the types of lithium batteries used in the Indian market.
When we look at the market, we can observe that the major share of the market is shared by three categories: e-bikes, slow/fast 2-W EVs, and 3-W EVs. We don't have many 4-W EV alternatives in India, thus we'll leave them out of this discussion.
When it comes to batteries, it's important to know that there are two types of lithium-ion cells in the market. The first is NMC, (NMC stands for Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt oxide) followed by LFP (LFP stands for Lithium Iron Phosphate).
Then again we have two more categories for both of the cells based on the structure, which is cylindrical and prismatic.
Difference between cylindrical and prismatic cells.
Cylindrical cells, in a nutshell, are cylindrical and take up more space. Because of their cheaper cost, they are the most often employed cell type. These are commonly found in laptop batteries and even electric vehicles.
Prismatic cells, on the other hand, are thin and light in construction. Steel or aluminum casing can be used, which makes them more stable. Regrettably, this means that they are more expensive to produce. These are frequently found in smaller batteries, such as those found in phones and tablets.
Let's talk about the advantages and disadvantages of both
Cylindrical cells can give a more consistent automation process and procedures, as well as the ability to withstand high internal pressures without deforming. They can be made much more quickly and at a lower cost than prismatic cells. They can also maintain a more consistent temperature than prismatic cells. Their biggest disadvantage is that they take up more room.
Prismatic cells, on the other hand, are smaller and lighter. They are used to save space. This makes connecting four cells to produce a 12V battery pack simple. While they are more expensive, their thinner layers and rectangular shape provide the product designer additional options. They aren't without their drawbacks, though. The entire battery pack will be affected if one prismatic cell fails.
Lithium-ion batteries for E-Cycle:
In E-cycle, NMC cylindrical batteries are used. A lithium-ion battery of 36V and 5.2Ah is used in electric bicycles.
Lithium-ion batteries for 2-W bikes and scooters:
In the case of 2-W bikes and scooters, we have 2 options that are fast speed and slow speed. For example, if we see the ATUM 1.0 whose max speed is 25k/h, it comes under the slow speed 2-W EV. The lithium-ion battery which is used in this is 48V / 26Ah.
But when we see the electric scooter of ola which has a speed of 115k/h, it's a fast 2-W EV. The battery power of ola S1 is 2.98 kWh so the battery configuration can be 72V / 42Ah or 60V / 50Ah. We are just assuming it because they haven't disclosed the data about their battery.
We also have an average speed of 2-W EVs (60-70)k/h they use 3 variants of lithium-ion batteries. That is 60V / 24Ah, 48V / 24Ah, and 48V / 26Ah.
Lithium-ion batteries for 3-W EVs:
In the case of 3-W EVs which are e-rikshaws, the LFP cells are used.
There are 3 variants on batteries in the 3-W EV segment.
1. 51.2
- 51.2V / 80Ah
- 51.2V / 100Ah
- 51.2V / 120Ah
- 51.2V / 200Ah
- 60V / 80Ah
- 60V / 100Ah
- 60V / 120Ah
- 60V / 200Ah
- 72V / 80Ah
- 72V / 100Ah
- 72V / 120Ah
- 72V / 200Ah
At Scion Energy, we manufacture customized batteries as per the requirements of the clients. We have a manufacturing capacity of 200 MW/year which is based in Pune.
We are working with clients from pan India.
Apart from the EV segment, we are also working closely with telecom industries, energy storage sector in micro and utility grid, solar lights, and medical sector.
SCION ENERGY STORAGE is the link between current power consumption limits and the transformation of how we power our environment in the future. This change will necessitate the use of energy storage technology. We feel that LITHIUM POWERED BATTERIES are the answer to this requirement for a leap into the future at this time.