India’s first biogas powered electric vehicle charging station - Benefits and challenges
Eco Friendly,zero tailpipe emission,energy efficient,low maintenance cost,less noise pollution,low running cost, tax and financial benefits these are all advantages associated with electric vehicles.
But the charging source used to charge EVs is not a sustainable or renewable energy source and this is where technology is constantly coming into the picture with newer innovations.The recent one is India’s first Biogas-powered EV charging station.
This first of its kind project has been executed by GPS Renewables with support from Biotechnology Industry Research assistance council (BIRAC) and aeroclean energy.
GPS Renewables is a Bangalore based cleantech firm founded in 2012 by IIMB graduates Mainak Chakraborty and Sreekrishna Sankar.The company currently focuses on bio-methanation technologies to solve the organic waste management challenge, accelerate substitution of fossil fuel with bio-energy and play a key role in mitigating climate change.
This charging station is located at Haji ali in Mumbai.This charging station has been inaugurated by Aditya Thackeray ,minister of environment and tourism ,government of maharashtra on May 9 ,2022
How this charging station works
Food waste collected from its nearby areas, mostly from bulk generators like hotels and offices, restaurants and small eateries in and around the region. Discarded organic wet waste from their operations which goes in as feedstock into the plant.
This waste is collected by green waste collector trucks appointed by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM).Purified biogas is fed into a Genset designed to use biogas as fuel, which in turn produces current. This renewable power then becomes the input to the EV charging station, which supplies renewable energy to charge the electric vehicles.
This particular plant produces nearly 240 cubic metre of biogas in a day that can charge upto 8 cars.Processing capacity of this plant is 2 tons of organic waste per day. To remain operational the plant needs 1 to 2 tons of wet waste.
Below is the detailed block diagram of biogas plant
Image credit-Researchgate
Benefits of bio plant
This biogas powered charging station is a fast charging station, which takes 45 min to completely charge a 4 wheeler.
GPS renewables has designed this biourja plant in a leak proof and compact manner to avoid any emissions.Since fossil fuels are replaced, GHG emissions are minimised.This energy plant will also power street lights along with electric vehicles.
Electricity production depends on the quantity and quality of biogas.This particular biogas plant can produce 240 cubic meters of biogas and 300 units of power daily.
The GPS Biourja system is a high rate dry anaerobic digestion system. It digests biowaste and produces clean bioCNG (biogas which contains high percentage of methane). The gas can be directly used for cooking and thermal applications. It can also be used with a gas engine for power generation. The post digested liquid is used as a fertilizer.
Challenges for mass adoption of such EV charger
One of the major challenges to be addressed is supply of organic feedstock.Other challenge is to manage proper transport facility of bulk wet waste from wet waste generating sources like restaurants,offices,hotels to plant.
Scope of application
Powering an EV charging station with biogas-generated electricity is a new concept. It will take some time to create awareness about this new concept.Biogas plant at Mumbai Haji ali , used to its full capacity. This station can fully recharge 8 EV cars daily.
GPS renewables one of core products is the BioUrja, The company has close to 100 BioUrja installations across India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka with Fortune 500 companies such as Microsoft, Intel, Bosch, Cummins, Saint Gobain, Reliance, JW Marriott Group, and the TATAs. These BioUrjas help GPS’ clients convert organic waste into clean energy for captive usage, significantly reducing their carbon footprint.
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