One of its kind electric bicycles designed by Alagappa University, which is powered by sodium-ion batteries, could be seen as a viable alternative to the conventional lithium-ion battery for its non-dependence on critical mineral’s abundance and cost-efficiency.
At a time when electric vehicles are widely suggested as the best alternative to the vehicles that burn petrol and diesel to overcome climate crisis, the sodium-ion battery powered bicycles would further the process in moving towards more sustainable options, claims the team.
The bicycle, which was designed at H2Next, a collaborative cell of the Alagappa University and industry, in its first stage as a pilot study will be introducing the cycle in the market at a minimum number in the coming days.
V Swaminathan, CEO, H2Next, said, “Though the electric vehicles (e-vehicles) in the market are posed as an effective alternative to the petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles, the question of how the battery in the e-vehicles gets charged raises.”
“When electricity is the key source to charge the e-vehicle, the source of the electricity would be mostly coal. Again, the question of the pollution while burning the coal raises,” he pointed out.
Moving further into zero-polluting sources, we chose our battery to be sodium-ion, which is abundant in nature, cost efficient, and non-dependent on critical minerals, he added.
“Though the lithium ions are the highest performing battery technology available in the market, their availability is limited to places like China, Argentina which makes them difficult to access and the price of lithium could also be unaffordable to the manufacturers,” said Mr. Swaminathan.
H2Next has designed the model in such a way that it does not need electricity to charge the battery. “Instead, we have used a catalytic material made of metallic waste materials which would indigenously through chemical reaction produce electricity to charge the battery,” he explained.
This makes it non-dependent on external electricity, making it unique from the rest of the market available e-vehicles, he said. They have estimated that it would roughly cost around 46 paisa per kilo meter.
“The charging material should be replaced every time it gets exhausted, which is comparatively cheaper to the cost spend on the electricity for charging,” he added.
Above all, the charging material made of metallic waste could be reused several times with the same efficiency without letting it get wasted, he explained.
“Works for procuring patent rights are under way, so the price we have fixed now for the e-bicycle is around ₹ 34,000,” S. Subramanian, Chief Technology Officer, said.
