M1L5: e-vehicles and fuel cells

In the last lecture, we studied that India needs to do something about the looming crisis caused by air pollution. Let us recall that chart, that we drew in the last lecture

When we studied the viability of making a transition from BSIV to BSVI in Indian automobiles, we saw that this is obviously possible but not as easy as it seems. And the government needs to keep a backup option

This backup option can be either biofuels or e-vehicles or fuel cell cars. In this lecture, we shall cover e-vehicles and fuel cell

e-vehicles work on the principle of electromagnetism wherein both electric and magnetic fields are interconvertible. For the same, it requires a battery and a motor that converts electricity into kinetic motion.

While the Government of India has come out with a policy FAME (Faster Adoption of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles) and its parent policy NeMP (National electric mobility program), the program is facing significant challenges at this moment.

1.            e-vehicles are expensive compared to vehicles that run on IC engines. Unless they are mass-produced, their prices cannot be lowered below a certain extent.

2.            The batteries for these can be of two types, NiMH or Lithium ion. Lithium ion is safer since it does not risk exploding and can carry electric charge for longer span of time. India does not have enough lithium reserves for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries. (#energysecurity)

3.            Or say even after rollout, the government doesn’t have a solution ready for these vehicles after their battery life is depleted. (#e-waste management rules 2016 is applicable upon small electronics)

4.            If India imports batteries, this will increase its trade deficit with China as well as the loss of valuable foreign exchange. The government has therefore come out with a new solution. It will try to procure lithium from Hajigak mine in Afghanistan. India now has access to the mine via land routes from Iran’ Chabahar port. Additionally, making batteries in India will also help to promote Make in India program.

1.            For a smooth transition to e-vehicles from vehicles running on fossil fuels, we need a fast charging battery that don’t require much time (aka super batteries). Only Tesla has it. At the same time, the requirement of charging stations across the width and breadth of the country cannot be neglected

2.            People who purchase it complain that there is a lack of supply chain in India for electrical parts for EVs. This acts as a hurdle for the easy adoption of electric vehicles.

3.            There is a lack of convergence of government policy. Under the Electricity Act, 2003, as per the CERC (Central Electricity Regulatory Commission) regulations, only a distribution licensee company (Discom) can sell power after getting permission from the respective state electricity regulatory commissions (SERCs). It is believed that EV charging will also lead to a surge in electricity demand, putting at risk India’s already stretched electricity distribution networks. Thus, it would be disastrous if this or any future government were to change direction after witnessing such results.

4.            E-vehicles need rare earth elements to make certain parts and most of them come from China. In the past few years, their prices have increased exponentially due to the fact that many of them are used in electronics and defense industries and their demand is continuously growing. China holds the highest amount of REE reserves in the world and it may use this as a weapon to resist competition by Indian manufacturers in international markets. However, recently, a huge amount of it has been discovered in the EEZ of Japan at a place known as Minamitori. India has an opportunity to leverage its relationship with Japan to gain access to the same.

FUEL CELL

The second alternative to e-vehicles is using fuel cell cars to achieve the same objective of reducing air pollution and carbon emissions. (that India is committed to as per its INDCs). Fuel cells use hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity. The entire concept is as follows. (Although there are multiple types of it, we will cover only the basic one that uses a plate and a membrane)

From one side of the plate, H₂ (hydrogen gas) is passed. Hydrogen gets disintegrated to H⁺ ions and loses e^- (electrons). These electrons travel through the circuit, thereby generating electricity that can be used to drive the motor. Eventually, these electrons reach the other side where O₂ (oxygen molecules) are already waiting to absorb them. Eventually, these oxygen molecules after absorbing the electrons get converted to O^2- that combines with incoming H^{+ and} H⁺ ions to form H₂O.

Since, an individual fuel cell produces electricity in milliamperes, we use a stack of fuel cells to generate electricity in bulk amounts. Newer options are being tried if Methane can be used in place of hydrogen for this purpose. Methane is easily available in the form of CNG and offers an additional advantage of being less explosive than pure hydrogen.

Thus, till now we studied the various methods on how can we reduce pollution from automobiles using electric and hybrid vehicles. The next option of reducing emissions is biofuels, that will be covered in the next lecture. Until then, as a homework, google if fuel cells can be used to generate electricity out of solid waste that is accumulated in landfill sites. And can be used as a tool for bioremediation?