The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has developed a solar hybrid electric car and successfully tested it on an uphill drive.
The solar car has been designed using in-house resources at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvanathanapuram, the facility centre for making various types of rockets like the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and the Reusable Launch Vehicle.
Since conventional vehicles using fossil fuels cause problems to environment and life, an ideal transportation system should envisage zero emission without any pollution, said ISRO.
To run the car, energy was supplied to the vehicle by lithium ion batteries, which can be recharged using sunlight, connected across high power density super-capacitors.
Other technologies that went into the vehicle include designing a solar panel on top of the car, integral gearbox, control electronics for the battery and solar panel, and a conversion kit for fitting an electric motor to a vehicle with an internal combustion engine (ICE).
ISRO has demonstrated the car successfully and working on improving the electric car. ISRO also plans to cut costs by using indigenous Li-ion pouch cells/Fuel cell with super-capacitor.
ISRO unveils solar hybrid electric car
