Bengaluru based Log9 Materials aims to overhaul charging tech for electric cars

Electric Vehicles segment is on a growth spree in India. Last year, EV sales in India grew by 20 percent at 1.56 lakh unit and the sales are only bound to grow as the industry makes a shift.

However, there is one major problem with EVs as compared to traditional vehicles we’re used to. With normal petroleum-based vehicles, we can just go to a gas station and get our tank filled in a matter of minutes. This is not the case with Electric Vehicles. Batteries take time to charge and have a limited range. Moreover, India lacks an extensive charging infrastructure network.

Addressing these concerns, a Bengaluru based startup Log9 Materials have developed their own brand of aluminum fuel cells (AFCs) that offer five times the range of a lithium-ion battery and costs 30% less. The key difference between a lithium-ion battery and AFC cell is that the lithium-ion battery is a power storage device, while AFC cells are pure power generation devices. AFC cells are supposed to offer a range of above 1,000 Km, unlike their lithium-ion counterparts which have a maximum range of 250 Km.

Log9 Materials, with a specialization in Graphene related products, have developed AFC in which aluminum cassette is in the middle of two graphene membranes. The graphene helps to keep the carbon dioxide out while letting oxygen in. Whenever there’s a requirement of energy, water flows into the cassette and mixes with oxygen. A chemical reaction takes place which results in the production of aluminum hydroxide, inturn generating useful energy.

These aluminum cassettes wear out over a period of time, after running a little over 1,000 KM, after which this can be replaced with a new cassette. Moreover, the aluminum hydroxide particles, which are created by the reaction, can be re-smelted back into aluminum using clean energy.

Currently, India is highly dependent on China, in terms of petroleum, and if India’s targeting mass EV adoption by 2030, India will have to be dependent on China for lithium-ion then. Materials used by Log9 are readily available everywhere in India, and given the current situation of ‘boycott China’, this can turn into a major push for AFC cells.

If Log9 succeeds in mainstreaming AFCs, it’s going to change the whole game of energy consumption in the country.