Hyderabad: Startup develops AI tool to repair EV batteries

Hyderabad: Going a step forward, the IIT Hyderabad-incubated start-up PURE EV has developed Artificial Intelligence-driven hardware that automates identification and repair of defects in lithium-Ion batteries of electric vehicles. This next-generation technology completely does away with the requirement for customers to visit service centres to address battery defects.

PURE EV researchers have designed artificial neural network (ANN)-based algorithms for the system called 'BaTRics Faraday'. It identifies defects in various series in the battery and auto heals them to the best of the electro-chemistry potential of the cells. This process is fully automated by the hardware and no manual intervention is required till complete capacity restitution. This system will be rolled out in the first quarter of 2021.

Giving details of the new system, Dr Nishanth Dongari, founder, PURE EV, and associate professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, IIT Hyderabad, said lithium batteries are the most critical component of electric vehicles. They contain multiple lithium cells welded together in series and parallel arrangements to meet the desired voltage and ampere-hour (Ah) capacity.

In case of any defects coming to batteries in any of the cell series, it leads to significant downtime to the EV owners.

Additionally, the usage behaviour pattern and Indian environmental conditions put more load on the batteries. This makes it a very difficult task for battery OEM to get the defects rectified through diagnosis and replacement of defective series of cells.

Against this backdrop, PURE EV has developed AI-driven hardware which carries out the diagnosis and resolution of defects in the battery through an externally - connected device to the battery. This saves precious man-hours otherwise spent in replacement of series of cells and significantly reduces the battery 'Turn Around Time' (TAT), he added.

Rohit Vadera, CEO, said that with the significant take off happening for EVs, PURE EV plans to establish company-owned high-end 'Battery Diagnostics and Repair' workshops at major demand centres across the country.