[TusharK]

The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) is developing fast chargers for electric vehicles.



Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister of Heavy Industries, has stated that ARAI has been directed to develop chargers that will reduce the time required to charge EV batteries. He also confirmed that a prototype has been developed and the product is expected to be ready by December 2022.

While details of the new fast charger developed by ARAI are not known, the minister stated that research is still underway to determine the specific charging time of electric 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers and 4-wheelers.

The ARAI-developed EV fast chargers could be installed at 22,000 petrol pumps across India. The charging stations would be set up at 25 km intervals on highways and within a radius of 3 km in cities.

Link to Team-BHP News

[mug:mush]

Very curious to know what the definition of "fast charging" in India is going to be. Going by how our regulation defines "broadband", I am not very hopeful. For those of you who may not know, even today, 512 kbit/s is defined as high speed internet, while there is a recommendation to raise it to 2 Mbps, it is still not the case. While western countries are at speed, migrating from DC Level 1 fast charging to DC Level 2, in India, we are mostly at DC Level 0.5. I believe we need to aim higher and directly move to DC Level 2 so that EV adoption is rapid and makes a marked difference to the new EV buyer. All this requires high expenditure and detailed planning but this will be basic rights for the future generation just like - roti, makaan, paani, internet and fast bijli

[vinaydatla]

I was having a chat with a EV vendor for our housing society. He has mentioned that high speed high capacity charging is not recommended for vehicles on a regular basis. It is his suggestion that for every 2-3 quick charges a slow charge is needed keeping battery health in mind.

[Shresth_EV]

Power output aside, I’m just praying that it doesn’t come with some stupid “DC001” standard type of thing.

Just follow CCS2 and AC type 2.

[mohanphadnis]

Originally Posted by vinaydatla

I was having a chat with a EV vendor for our housing society. He has mentioned that high speed high capacity charging is not recommended for vehicles on a regular basis. It is his suggestion that for every 2-3 quick charges a slow charge is needed keeping battery health in mind.

RWAs should stick to AC chargers. Nothing over 22kW, 3 phase AC charging. May be even go with single phase 7.2kW chargers. it is quick enough and good for the car's battery as well. I would say that RWA should think about 7.2kW chargers + standard 15 Amps in 1:2 ratio depending on society's size and space.

[vinaydatla]

Originally Posted by mohanphadnis

RWAs should stick to AC chargers. Nothing over 22kW, 3 phase AC charging. May be even go with single phase 7.2kW chargers. it is quick enough and good for the car's battery as well. I would say that RWA should think about 7.2kW chargers + standard 15 Amps in 1:2 ratio depending on society's size and space.

Agree. These are some options I have gathered based on discussions with EV partners.

2 wheelers
• Single phase 16 Amps 3 pin socket

4 wheelers
• Single phase 3.3 Kwh
• Single phase 7.6 Kwh
• Three phase 11 Kwh
• Three phase 22 Kwh

AC charger with output of 7.4 KW. Based on this capacity, a Tata Nexon EV with 30.2 Kwh battery is expected to charge for a minimum of 4 – 5 hours.

A hybrid charging setup can be configured with 4-wheeler charger where 2 two wheelers charging points are included in the setup with 3.3 Kwh and 16 Amps capacity. Ola scooter with 3.7 kwh battery should take around 90 mins for full charge.

A 3-socket setup can be done for 40000 which can be used to charge 3 two wheelers simultaneously.

Residents of housing societies can install a dedicated smart plug in their parking slots to charge their vehicles at their own convenience. This smart plug costs 12000 per plug and works with a capacity of 3.3 Kwh. A car is expected to take 10+ hours for charging. The smart plug works with the help of mobile app using Wi-Fi or mobile data.

[Samarth 619]

Good move. It will help the cause, although not many will travel on highways on these vehicles.
One issue is that there must be some kind of pastime for the vehicle owners. Maybe a spa, video game parlour, mall, powernap beds, etc. (We aren't looking at a 3 minute full tank, its more a 1 hour battery recharge, maybe 40 minutes at best. Not the kind of time you'd want to spend standing in the sun with crying kids in your lap.)

Although I still believe we're not thinking long term enough. One day lithium will go expensive (it still is, somewhat). What about the waste generated? What about coal & electricity shortage?
We should be looking at some sort of decentralised hydrogen distribution, that should satisfy most needs- travel, emergency electricity, emergency water, etc. Is it impossible?

Or, will someone still debate that EV's are the "atleast 50 years ok" solution we all can depend on?

[Shresth_EV]

Originally Posted by vinaydatla

Based on this capacity, a Tata Nexon EV with 30.2 Kwh battery is expected to charge for a minimum of 4 – 5 hours.

Nexon only supports 3.3kW AC charging since that’s what the rectifiers are rated at.

Still, going by our own example, our Nexon EV clocks about 35-40km daily. We plug it in at around 5-6pm and by dinner time, (8-9pm) it’s fully charged.

So even a 3kW charger won’t keep a slot blocked for more than 3-4h daily as nobody is driving full 250km range everyday inside city.

Kona and ZS are compatible and will benefit from 7kW though. But still, if we had a ZS, our daily use would still remain same and so would consumption and charging time because even the MG can give the 130 ish Wh/km we are getting right now.