INVESTIGATION ON USE OF PLUG-IN HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE (PHEV) TECHNOLOGY USING RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR AN AUTORICKSHAW

Availability and access to energy are considered as catalysts for economic growth. Harnessing clean energy for sustainable development is the keyword in today’s scenario of energy utility. With the transport sector, contributing 32% of the total pollution levels, development and increased utilization of hybrid electric vehicles would be the best possible method to adopt for a cleaner and greener tomorrow. While lithium-ion technology is expected in production HEVs in the very near future, use in PHEVs are expected to be more gradual and dependent on solving the life, safety, and cost challenges. As a result, battery technologies for EVs are not fully matured due to range and charging-time issues, which are yet to be addressed. These two issues are normalized substantially in our study as the result of implementation of a battery swapping technique, thereby fast charging the batteries. This study focuses on battery systems as the electrical energy storage device and thus evaluates commercially available technologies for PHEV penetration in India through use of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power in specific demographic areas as a typical example. The three-wheeler vehicle, popularly known as auto-rickshaws are one of the most important type of commercial transportation in majority of the Indian cities. An example of such a typical urban use auto rickshaw is considered for our study. This project has three main objectives: To convert the existing three wheeler into a PHEV and to determine the state of technology for PHEV batteries through an extensive literature review, develop a battery pack model and its charging cum swapping station at the above two places using renewable energy sources and finally to assess the environmental benefits of greenhouse gases emission, CO 2 reduction and decrease in fuel consumption.