IIT researchers come up with technology to charge EVs at half the current cost

In an effort to reduce the cost of charging electric vehicles, researchers from various IITs have come up with a new technology that charges these vehicles at costs that are about half of the current on-board charger technology. The lab scale development has already been done at IIT (BHU), Varanasi, in partnership with experts from IIT Guwahati and IIT Bhubaneshwar.

The IIT team revealed that one of the country's leading electric vehicle manufacturer has already shown interest in the new technology and is looking to develop a full-fledged commercial product based on it, PTI reported. The full-fledged technology can then be applied to the EV maker's existing electric vehicles.

The technology is currently in upgradation phase and its commercialisation is also on track. "The rising prices of petrol and diesel in the country is worrisome for the common man. Amidst the rising cost of petroleum products and rising pollution levels, electric vehicles (EVs) are the best alternative to conventional IC engines," Rajeev Kumar Singh, Chief Project Investigator, IIT BHU, told PTI.

He added that, however, due to lack of high power off board charging infrastructure, various automakers are forced to incorporate onboard chargers into the vehicle itself. Though EV owners can charge their vehicles through these outlets, this leads to the cost becoming expensive. Whereas the new technology reduces one additional power electronics interface required for propulsion mode and, therefore, the components involved are reduced by 50%, the professor explained.

The proposed charger is reconfigurable that can act as a charger for charging mode and inverter for propulsion mode," he added. Thus, the cost of the onboard charger will be reduced by almost 40-50%. "The cost reduction in the charger will subsequently reduce the cost of the EV as well. In this way, the proposed technology is giving low cost technology for EVs," said Singh.