 "BNC Challenger")
After becoming one of the five electric two-wheeler companies that faced the heat during the fire accidents that happened last year, Coimbatore-based manufacturer Boom Motors has now not just rechristened itself to Bharat New-Energy Company (BNC), but on Tuesday announced the launch of its in-house developed battery - Etrol 40.
The major EV two-wheeler manufacturers that were part of fire incidents happened across the country included Ola Electric, Okinawa Autotech, Pure EV, Jitendra Electric Vehicles and Boom Motors (Now BNC). After changing its name, the company is looking to ensure that the energy that powers its vehicles is coming from sustainable sources. The company had also re-introduced its electric crossover bike named as BNC Challenger.
“The primary driver for us to develop this battery has been safety. Even though there are over 100 battery manufacturers in India, there is an absolute shortage of good-quality vendors. We want to ensure first and foremost that there is zero probability of safety-related issues with the battery and that is exactly what we have accomplished” said Anirudh Ravi Narayanan, chief executive officer, co-Founder, BNC. The electric vehicle battery market in India is currently valued at $4.3 billion as of 2022. The market is at a CAGR of 22.1 per cent and is expected to grow to $25.3 billion by the end of this decade, BNC said.
The company is also working on a portable fast charger that can plug into a standard three-pin 16A socket and charge the battery in two hours. The fast charger will be an optional additional purchase. On average, the battery can cover over 90 km in eco mode. The company has set up a separate plant within its Coimbatore facility capable of manufacturing 100,000 batteries per annum, with extensive capital investments right from individual cell level characterization and capacity grading to complete battery pack functional and capacity testing. Further investments are planned in automation and increasing capacity. BNC envisions a five-fold increase in production of its 200MWh batteries by the end of the current fiscal.
The Etrol 40 is certified to the latest standards: AIS-156 Amendment 3 Phase 2. The battery is tested to safety requirements beyond even the latest norms including nail penetration, crushing, thermal testing to 400-degree celsius, and continuous operations at over 45 C. Multiple redundancies are built-in for every possible failure to ensure there is no possibility of safety incidents, the company said.
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The Etrol 40 is a 2.1 kilowatt hour (kWh) battery pack that can be used by two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and light vehicles. The battery is removable/swappable and comes with a portable charger that can be plugged into a standard three-pin 6A socket and charged the battery in four hours. The battery is IP67 waterproof and dustproof. It is modular and can be paralleled as required to increase capacity.
“The battery is the most important component of the electric vehicle and plays a huge role in the lifetime value and experience of the vehicle. The Etrol 40 will offer a standard warranty of five years and 60,000 km per battery. Vehicles that use two batteries will therefore have a standard warranty of up to 120,000 km, which is best-in-class in the industry.” It added.
BNC also plans to market the battery more broadly – not only for internal consumption. “We are very proud of the battery we have built and believe it is best-in-class by any objective measure – safety, longevity, lifetime cost. We believe opening up our technology for usage by others will benefit the eco-system, and hence plan to market this broadly,” Narayanan added.
In the future, as and when the Battery Swapping Policy is implemented, the company plans to set up a swapping network based on the Etrol battery. “With this battery, the customer will be able to swap and go in a minute, like refueling traditional petrol-based vehicles – except without the pollution. We await the Battery Swapping Policy to be implemented so we can begin to roll out this benefit to our customers” he said.
