Tata Incoming EVs, Bharat Mobility Global Expo and battery life with coal
Tata is the most famous and reliable brand in India in terms of electric vehicles or commercial vehicles. Why I am telling you this because I am currently staying in Bhopal and once I went outside, I saw several Tata vehicles on the road as compared to other companies. Not only in Bhopal, but in all over India people like the brand as it provides the best vehicles for safety purposes as well.
As owing the Tata Nexon, I can surely confirm that the build quality of Tata vehicles is just amazing. I am telling you as per my personal experience. Yeah, it does not mean that other companies don't have that much of quality. Companies like Mahindra also provide better vehicles which you can prefer for your daily travel.
In terms of sales point of view, Tata Nexon EV and Tiago EV electric vehicles gained more attention as the entry-level EV segment. For your information, the company has recently launched the new Punch EV with a starting price of 10.99 lakh (ex-showroom) for the base model and Rs 14.49 lakh (ex-showroom) for the top-spec variant.
The all-new Punch EV is developed using the innovative acti.ev (advanced connected tech-intelligent electric vehicle) architecture developed by Tata Motors. The company will use this technology in the future vehicle as well. Now let's explore the key specifications and details of the new Punch EV. The key features include a 60kW/114Nm permanent magnet synchronous AC motor, while the Long Range model is equipped with a more powerful 90kW/190Nm permanent magnet synchronous AC motor. Both models come with IP67-rated motor and battery packs, carrying an eight-year or 1,60,000km warranty.
The standard model, equipped with a 25kWh battery pack, claims a range of 315km (MIDC), while the Long Range variant, featuring a 35kWh battery pack, extends the range to 421km (MIDC). Charging options include a 3.3kW AC home wall box charger, a 7.2kW AC home wall box charger, a 15 A plug point, and a 50kW DC fast charger, providing flexibility and efficiency in charging times.
Upcoming Tata EV models
According to several reports, Tata is planning to introduce four new SUVs in 2024-2025. The most awaited and stylish look electric car from the company, Tata Curvv is all set to come into the market in the SUV segment. The company is planning to introduce the upcoming Curvv SUV in both electric and ICE variants. In the compact SUV competition, Tata new vehicles are all set to give a massive competition with the Maruti eVX next year.
This will be Maruti's first electric car. For Curvv EV, Tata is using the new, born-electric acti.ev platform. Punch EV was the first Tata car to get this new advanced architecture. Apart from Curvv EV, all other upcoming new Tata passenger EVs will share the same platform. Once the Curvv EV lands on the road, Tata will bring the Harrier EV. The vehicle was recently showcased at the 2023 Auto Expo. Harrier EV will retain the Omega architecture.
Sierra EV, Altroz EV launch in 2025
During the Auto Expo in 2023, Tata highlighted the Sierra EV concept and now as per the latest report, this new electric car may launch in 2025. The company will integrate features of Tata Avinya.
Bharat Mobility Global Expo
Bharat Mobility Global Expo is officially opening on February 1, 2024, and it will be on for three days until February 03, 2024. As per the latest report, above 60 battery, recycling, and electric vehicle infrastructure firms are expected to participate in this expo to reveal innovations. Industry body India Energy Storage Alliance is organizing a dedicated pavilion on battery technologies, recycling, and EV infrastructure as part of this global expo, an IESA statement said.
More than 60 leading companies including Amara Raja, LivGuard, GODI Energy, Epsilon Advanced Materials, Bhilwara Group, Replus, Himadri Speciality Chemical, Trontek Group, and Battrix are participating in the event.
"India is at the forefront of a transformative mobility revolution, and this expo serves as a testament to the nation's commitment to sustainable transportation," Rahul Walawalkar President, IESA and CES (Customized Energy Solutions) India said in the statement.
"Central to this revolution is India's plans for battery technologies. We are driving innovations that not only power EVs but also contribute to energy transition. The Bharat Mobility Expo is a confluence of ideas, innovations, and investments, fostering a collaborative ecosystem that will drive sustainable development," he stated.
EV batteries to get more power from coal in new experiment
Moving toward the change in the automobile industry, several electric vehicle companies are working on better batteries. Earlier it was revealed that the Samsung SDI is planning to launch solid-state batteries by 2027. Yes, Samsung has developed several technology products in the smartphone, tablet, battery, SSD and EV batteries segment.
According to the fresh report from KED Global, Samsung has formed a new team to commercialize its ASB (All-Solid-State Battery) technology, and it is being led by Go Joo-young, Vice President of the company's large-scale battery business division.
Samsung SDI is aiming to launch all-solid-state batteries with an energy density of more than 900 Wh/L by using a sulfide-based technology. Such batteries will likely be launched for electric vehicles first. Now it has been revealed that Coal can make a big difference by injecting some extra life into chargeable batteries for (EVs without burning. An advanced model of a hybridized battery management system (HBMS) using coal-based pouch cell supercapacitors and Li-ion batteries in an experiment by a team of scientists helped increase the maximum speed of e-rickshaws to 45 km per hour with an additional power gain of 433 watts. The maximum speed of e-rickshaws across the Indian market is 35 km per hour.
The study comes with the title ‘Fabrication of pouch cell supercapacitors using abundant coal feedstock and their hybridization with Li-ion battery for e-rickshaw application’ was published in the latest issue of the Netherlands-based on Journal of Energy Storage. The authors of the study are Binoy K. Saikia, Santhi Maria Benoy, Mousumi Bora, Dipankar Neog, Dhrubajyoti Bhattacharjya, Akhil Rajbongshi, and Prasenjit Saikia. They are associated with Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-North East Institute of Science and Technology in eastern Assam’s Jorhat.
“For the fabrication of coal-based pouch cell supercapacitor, we synthesized highly porous, high-surface-area activated carbon with good electrochemical performances from low-grade sub-bituminous coal feedstock,” the study paper read.
“For test-bed evaluation using the HBMS, a pack of pouch cell supercapacitor with capacitance of 500F (Farad, unit of capacitance) was integrated with the commercial supercapacitors and applied in an e-rickshaw containing Li-ion battery,” the paper read.
“Coal combustion in power plants is banned in many countries due to pollution or emission. So, alternatively, coal can be converted to carbon in India for batteries and supercapacitors and made useful for the EV industry, in which carbon is imported in bulk,” Dr. Binoy Saikia, lead author, told The Hindu.
Tesla affordable EV coming under $26,000 price
As we know Tesla currently offers the most premium electric vehicle in terms of pricing. But now Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been promising to bring an affordable electric vehicle for buyers. It is expected to come under $26,000 price. He first mentioned it in a 2018 interview with YouTuber Marques Brownlee, saying “a $25,000 car, that’s something we can do.” Tesla will bring the new model as a crossover or hatchback and could feature design elements lifted from the Tesla Cybertruck.