Mahindra's educational arm MEC to set up laboratory to work on EV solutions

Mahindra Ecole Centrale (MEC), an engineering and international technology school of the $20.7 billion Mahindra Group, is setting up a laboratory which will work on scientific and technological solutions for green and clean mobility. Students from all streams of engineering at MEC will work on the design, development and testing of electric vehicles.

Clean mobility has been given high priority by the government and MEC is working towards finding solutions.

MEC noted that electric vehicles were the future and so were fast charging Li-ion batteries as well as energy sources to power these vehicles.

MEC’s EVT lab will work on these and will carry out research on all aspects that will propel this technology sector. "We are looking at tying up with relevant partners to work on exciting live projects together”, said Dr Yajulu Medury, Director, Mahindra Ecole Centrale.

The EVT lab will mainly focus on aspects of mechanical, electrical and embedded systems. Under the mechanical segment, the laboratory will focus on thermal management systems for batteries, testing facilities to analyse and optimize the battery characteristics under different running conditions, development of robust battery management systems, transmission systems of EV, methods of recycling and reuse of spent batteries, new materials to serve as catalysts of Li-ion batteries and new energy source technologies for EVs. 

From the electrical engineering perspective, the focus on MEC’s EVT lab will be on electric motor control, power electronic converters, battery charging technology, robust charging infrastructure, and regenerative braking systems. It is expected that embedded systems and intra- as well as inter-vehicle communication will be also be investigated in the near future.