IIT Kharagpur Partners with Universe Mobility: Full Details Inside
Universe Mobility Pvt Ltd, a company from Kolkata, has signed a key Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the esteemed Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) to commercialize and advance the Sodium Ion technology.
IIT Kharagpur’s Department of Physics has been at the forefront of the study and creation of sodium-ion-based energy solutions under the direction of Prof. Amreesh Chandra. The Department of Science and Technology’s “Materials for Energy Storage” program made them among the first researchers in India to receive funding. Their knowledge ranges from the development of materials through the integration of devices, recycling, and determining the process’ overall carbon footprint.
Benefits of employing this technology include:
1. Sodium-ion batteries will cost 30–40% less than lithium-ion ones.
2. Everything needed to make them is found locally, so no imports are needed.
3. They’re eco-friendly with a small carbon footprint.
4. They don’t rely on mining-specific materials for their parts.
5. They’re safer, with almost no fire risk, unlike lithium batteries. Plus, the technology is ready for large-scale use.
“In comparison to Lithium-ion batteries, the sodium-ion batteries will be up to 40% cheaper, much safer and have a lower carbon footprint. Sodium-ion batteries address the concerns of geopolitical and supply-chain issues, which are associated with Lithium-ion batteries. The materials, which will be used in such Sodium-ion batteries, have been fabricated in house. Hence, the batteries would be a live example of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make for India’. Many of the Ministries of the Government of India have already started discussions and feasibility studies on the possibility of Sodium-ion based energy storage landscape and the future thus looks promising and exciting”, said Prof. Amreesh Chandra, Department of Physics, IIT Kharagpur.
“India’s current EV sector is characterized by dependency on subsidies, import dependent supply chain & lack of a core indigenous battery technology. For electric mobility to be truly a champion of sustainability, we need the building blocks to be also sustainable. Universe is a passionate attempt to create such indigenous building blocks for a sustainable future of e-mobility and clean energy. Universe, thus starts its journey by addressing the core of clean energy and e-mobility, that is, Battery Technology.To achieve this grand purpose, we have entered an exclusive MoU with IIT Kharagpur where indigenously developed sodium ion technology, which will have a portfolio of multiple form factors of cells, will be made available for Indian market. The developed technology will find application in not only electric vehicles but also in Drones, Consumer Electronics and Energy Storage. Globally, only a handful of companies have made progress in this technology. Therefore,we are quite upbeat about putting India at the forefront of this game-changing battery technology”, said Mr Manohar Bethapudi, Founder & CEO, Universal Mobility Pvt. Ltd.
“We will be launching the first set of products manufactured out of West Bengal in the next quarter of the current fiscal. We are looking at a pan India market for our product range and are currently in talks with various channel partners for marketing and product distribution”, said Ms Kamalika Guha, Co-Founder and CMO, Uneverse Mobility Pvt Ltd.
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