After the federal government ordered a probe into the current spat of electrical scooters catching fireplace, an preliminary probe concluded that defective battery cells and modules are the main explanation for such incidents. However, one firm has remained conspicuous by its absence among the many record of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) whose automobiles have caught fireplace and that is Ather Energy.
Ather Energy, which was based in 2013, introduced its first scooter solely in 2016 and started deliveries three years later. To date, it claims to have offered over 50,000 automobiles. So what makes Ather totally different in comparison with the competitors?
Ather scooters in an meeting line on the firm’s facility in Hosur. (Image credit score: Ather Energy)
Indianexpress.com spoke to Ather Energy chief enterprise officer (CBO) Ravneet S Phokela to search out out what the corporate does in another way. Below is an edited model of the interview.
Q. Does Ather make any particular concerns throughout the design and manufacturing course of to keep away from automobile fires?
Phokela: Safety is at all times our primary precedence. We design and manufacture our personal batteries. We have been within the enterprise since 2013, however we examined the battery for over 5 years with every kind of eventualities earlier than we started promoting. This was to make sure that the batteries are appropriate for all conditions that Indian roads can throw at them. The indisputable fact that we have not had an incident is as a result of we have now been placing in work for the final six to seven years.
After we rolled out the scooter initially, we rolled out two totally different generations and we’re on our third era now. We have had an intensive quantity of information about how the automobiles and the batteries have carried out and we have now used that to make it higher with every era. This consists of knowledge about totally different driving situations, time of the yr, and many others.
Batteries made to specs for overseas international locations is not going to essentially be suited to the Indian market, particularly with the numerous totally different sorts of highway situations that we have now. We needed to guarantee that our batteries can take all these shocks and bumps and nonetheless proceed functioning correctly.
Q: Do you suppose these incidents have affected buyer confidence in EVs, particularly since they’re taking place at such an early stage of adoption in India?
Phokela: At this level, so far as our knowledge tells us, it hasn’t actually harm buyer confidence within the EV business as a complete. People will not be judging all EVs equally. Today, at this time limit, they’re able to make a distinction between whether or not it’s a drawback with all EVs or if it’s a drawback with sure manufacturers. Our understanding is that individuals are attributing this to sure manufacturers, as an alternative of claiming all EVs catch fireplace. But if it continues, that might change.
Q. Why did all these incidents occur in such a short while span? Does it have something to do with harsh Indian summer time temperatures?
Phokela: Obviously, we are able to solely hypothesise however there might be many causes for why the automobiles caught fireplace. We do not know concerning the root causes so we are able to solely discuss probability from what we perceive about engineering and physics.
But the time span might be solely a coincidence. Ambient temperatures don’t trigger fires. The temperature outdoors doesn’t make a distinction. You would want an ambient temperature of 100 levels plus for it to develop into an issue that impacts the batteries and the cells. The temperature could derate the efficiency of the battery however it will not trigger the fires for certain. So, it is in all probability solely a high quality drawback.
It might be resulting from faults within the batteries, their building and association and the battery administration techniques. Some malfunctioning there might have triggered a short-circuiting that led to those fires. It is unquestionably not due to the temperature outdoors.
Ather scooters parked on the firm’s facility in Hosur. (Image credit score: Ather Energy)
Q. Do you suppose there must be extra stringent oversight from the regulators?
Phokela: It remains to be early for the EV business. There is a really robust case for the business and the federal government to work collectively to collectively develop these high quality requirements. All of us EV firms have had learnings and the federal government can draw upon these learnings to create higher requirements. But security is just not a checkbox train the place you meet a typical and neglect about it. Companies must be actively enthusiastic about it and enhancing on a regular basis.
Compliance necessities are very fundamental necessities and the benchmarks that we have now internally are a lot larger. It is just not one thing we take evenly. So regardless of what the necessities are, I simply really feel that we have to check for each excessive use case even when they’re edge circumstances. We must guarantee that we should always not depart something to probability. OEMs actually should be a number of notches larger than the protection requirements themselves.
Q. Do you suppose the home design manufacturing of batteries can be a very good step in direction of ensuring these fires do not occur?
Phokela: Any OEM that has a long-term view on EVs will find yourself making their very own batteries as a result of it’s a basic a part of what makes a automobile. But it’s not a query of whether or not it’s produced in India or elsewhere. It is simply ensuring that you’re designing and making for Indian situations.
For instance, we do not have cell manufacturing capabilities in India however that isn’t an issue. We can import cells and assemble the battery to compensate for the truth that cells may need been made for international locations outdoors India. It is simply ensuring that you’re designing and accounting for Indian situations. That is what’s essential.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
