Audi unveils an amazing tuk-tuk for India, powered by an electric motor powered by recycled batteries from its e-tron.
If the batteries of electric cars are indeed recycled and recovered, contrary to certain received ideas, this process is sometimes complex depending on the type of accumulator. If some are reused in other vehicles, those that are damaged or too old then have a new life, sometimes unusual.
Indeed, some manufacturers such as Nissan or more recently Suzuki have used used batteries from their electric vehicles to power streetlights. But Audi has for its part found another solution intended for the Indian market, which the German firm details in a recently published press release.
An amazing electric tuk-tuk
As part of his Audi Foundation for the Environment, the Ingolstadt firm has teamed up with start-up Nunam to design an amazing tuk-tuk for India. Operating thanks to an electric motor, it is powered by used batteries from vehicles in the Audi e-tron test fleet. The objectives of this initiative are numerous, in particular making it possible to explore the possibilities of recycling and reusing batteries. These, having a high energy density, display a reduced weight, allowing the vehicle not to need a very high power.
Otherwise, the batteries can be recharged using solar energy, thanks to panels installed on the roofs of the local partners of this initiative launched in India. A solution that limits the use of coal, still the majority to produce electricity in the country. This project could also reduce the use of lead acid batteries, still very common in India, having a short lifespan and not being recycled properly. This material is also very harmful to the environment.
A social project
But this project also has a social impact, since these tuk-tuks, which should be circulating for the first time next year, will be made available to a non-profit organization, especially women. They can then be more independent in going to the markets to sell their merchandise. Several apprentices from the Neckarsulm site in Germany took part in this project and developed another tuk-tuk, which will be visible during the Greetech Festival in Berlin, from June 22 to 24.
As stated in the Audi press release, the recycled batteries could experience a third life after being installed in the tuk-tuks co-developed with the start-up Nunam. Indeed, the firm with the rings specifies that “ the remaining battery power could be used for stationary applications such as LED lighting“.
The central issue of battery recycling
Manufacturers are working a lot on the issue of battery recycling. The idea being to avoid reusing the batteries (since they have lost their capacity) but rather to recycle the materials in order to produce new batteries with a capacity equivalent to that which the recycled battery had when it was was new. And the projects are numerous, like that of Volkswagen.
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