According to the Economic Times, Ola Electric has become the first Indian e-scooter (e2W) enterprise to qualify for the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) programme. The PLI certification is expected to offer the company benefits worth Rs 15,000 to 18,000 per unit. A number of other significant firms have also registered for the PLI scheme, including Hero MotoCorp, TVS Motor Company, and Bajaj Auto. According to experts, this financial boost should make electric cars more affordable, leading to a rise in the number of EVs on the road in the country. However, neither Ola Electric nor the government has provided an official confirmation. The minimum investment required by e-scooter firms to be eligible for this plan is Rs 1,000 crore. It is noteworthy that Ola Electric has experienced a notable rise in net loss. The company recorded a net loss of Rs 1,472 crore for the fiscal year 2022–2023, which is nearly twice as much as the Rs 784.1 crore loss from the year before.
New material can lead to better hydrogen-based batteries and fuel cells
In a breakthrough, researchers in Japan have developed a solid electrolyte for transporting hydride ions (H−) at room temperature. In order to generate energy, the hydrogen protons in the fuel cells used in electric automobiles currently go across a polymer membrane from one end of the fuel cell to the other. Water is necessary for the efficient, high-speed hydrogen movement in these fuel cells, so the membrane needs to be kept hydrated at all times to prevent drying out. The viability of a next-generation hydrogen-based energy economy is hampered by this limitation, which raises the cost and complexity of battery and fuel cell design. The novel substance enables high-rate hydride ion conduction at room temperature. It is a lanthanum hydride compound that has been altered with strontium and oxygen. This innovation reduces the need for water and constant hydration in hydrogen fuel cells, which simplifies design and reduces cost.
New solid state battery design gets charged in minutes, runs for thousands of cycles
A new lithium metal battery that can be recharged in a couple of minutes and charged and drained at least 6,000 times, more than any existing pouch battery cell, has been developed by researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). This research provides fresh insights into the materials utilised in these potentially revolutionary solid state batteries, in addition to describing a novel approach to producing them with a lithium metal anode. The battery was constructed by the researchers as a postage stamp-sized pouch cell, which is 10–20 times bigger than the coin cells produced in the majority of university labs. The battery outperformed other pouch cell batteries on the market today, retaining 80% of its capacity after 6,000 cycles.
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