Batteries and EVs

Part of Electronics, energy and space. Semiconductors, telecom, electric vehicles, batteries, clean power and space.

4 stories so far

All programmes 4BCE Civil 1BCT Computer 0BEI Electronics 4

Electronics, energy & space11 Oct, 3:03 pm · 6 min read

Sodium-ion batteries scale up, but deliveries are still unconfirmed

CATL has added 40 GWh of sodium-ion capacity and signed a 60 GWh deal, yet no storage delivery had been independently confirmed by early October.

For you: Sodium-ion cells use no lithium or cobalt and work in cold weather, which could suit Nepal's hills and cheap home storage if prices fall. The current tender prices show they are not yet cheaper than lithium iron phosphate. Students should learn to separate announced targets from delivered products. For BEI projects, the practical point is that a different chemistry changes voltage curves and battery management settings, so charger and BMS design must be adjusted for each cell type.

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Electronics, energy & space11 Oct, 2:23 pm · 5 min read

India expects 45 to 50 GWh of grid batteries within two years

India's grid battery storage jumps from about 1 GWh to a planned 45 to 50 GWh by 2028, though rising cell prices put some projects at risk.

For you: Batteries are being added to India's grid to move midday solar power into the evening peak, the same problem Nepal faces in reverse with dry-season evenings. Each project needs power conversion systems, battery management, protection and control software, which are BEI power electronics and control topics. Indian storage developers and integrators are hiring now. Nepal will likely add grid batteries alongside solar and hydro, and engineers who understand inverter control and grid codes will be needed here as well.

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Electronics, energy & space11 Oct, 2:17 pm · 5 min read

China's 2026-2030 battery plan targets solid-state cells by 2030

Seven Chinese agencies set goals for early large-scale use of all-solid-state batteries, 15,000-cycle lithium cells and parts-per-billion defect rates.

For you: Most batteries in Nepal's electric cars, e-scooters and home inverters come from Chinese factories, so Chinese targets set what will be on sale here. A 15,000-cycle cell would change the cost of solar-plus-storage for rural Nepal. For students, the growth area is not only chemistry but the battery management system: cell monitoring, balancing, thermal sensing and state-of-charge estimation. Those are embedded systems and power electronics topics in BEI, and a used-battery recycling rule will also matter as Nepal's early EV packs age.

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Electronics, energy & space11 Oct, 2:11 pm · 5 min read

Mercedes gets first access to ProLogium's Gen4 solid-state cells

ProLogium claims 400 Wh/kg and a 5 to 80 percent charge in 6.4 minutes for its new cells, which Mercedes will put through independent tests.

For you: Claims of 400 Wh/kg and six-minute charging are the kind of numbers students see in headlines. The useful habit is to ask who measured them and how: here they are the maker's own figures until Mercedes and outside labs report. Fast charging at this rate also means very high currents, so charger design, cooling and grid connection become the hard part. Those are power electronics and thermal problems that BEI graduates working on EV chargers in Nepal will meet.

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