Mahindra Solar One, the solar business arm of the country’s largest utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra’s cleantech ventures division, is in the process of developing a solar technology for use in electric car Reva, according to Vish Palekar, business head (cleantech ventures) of Mahindra Partners.
Mahindra Partners is an over $500-million division of M&M that manages the group’s new and non-automotive businesses such as retail, logistics, engineering, chemical products, media and entertainment, and energy.
“We are working on options of how solar can be deployed in automotives. It is in an early stage but we see that as something that will clearly evolve in the future. We look at this (solar) as a potential for hybridisation of cars like Reva,” he told Business Standard on the sidelines of Solarcon 2011 in Hyderabad recently.
Mahindra & Mahindra had bought a majority stake of over 55 per cent in electric car company, Reva, in 2010. Mahindra Solar One is currently evaluating two options – solar-and-electric and diesel-and-electric – for deployment in Reva.
Palekar said Reva was interested in driving standards on green energy automotives . “They (Reva) had done that in batteries and they had done that in the Reva car. I am sure they are going to look at these options as a potential option for hybridisation,” he said.
Stating that if successful, the solar energy subsidiary would offer the technology to the Mahindra Group’s automotive division for use in its vehicles like Xylo and Bolero, to start with.
“We see solar as a technology that will be deployed for sure. How, when and how it will be balanced against other hybrid options, I think that’s for M&M’s automotive division to take it up. We are there to support them,” he said, adding something concrete on the solar tech for Reva would be announced in two years from now.
