Komaki gears up to launch fire-proof batteries in India

As fires in electric two-wheelers give jitters to riders on the streets, EV company Komaki, which launched the Ranger and Venice electric two-wheelers in January and the DT 3000 last month, is geared up to launch fireproof batteries in India.

The need to build safer batteries for EVs is the top concern for various stakeholders, including the government, as there have been at least four incidents of two-wheeler EVs catching fire in recent days.

According to Subash Sharma, Operation Head, Komaki, the battery safety is in the technology that is used to harness the energy.

“Electric vehicles catch fire due to three reasons, such as poor quality lithium, cell leakage inside battery and the mismatch between parameters of battery controller and motor (powertrain),” Sharma told IANS on Monday.

According to him, both gasoline and lithium are highly flammable. The only difference is the fire catching temperature.

In contrast, the gasoline self-ignition temperature is 210+ degrees Celsius, and the Lithium self-ignition temperature is 135+ degrees Celsius.

“The ICE engine industry is ancient and had these complications during its early stages, and as for the electric sector, it is new. It can improve itself over a while like ICE counterparts,” he added.

After Ola Electric and Okinawa e-scooters caught fire and raised alarms in government circles, another electric scooter of Hyderabad-based Pure EV reportedly caught fire in Tamil Nadu late last month.

The incidents woke up the government, and the Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry ordered a probe.

The battery manufacturers are cautious and are assuring exhaustive tests and technology to deal with the overheating issue.

Sharma said that at Komaki, their vehicles are actively observed and checked with accurate calculation parameters between current flow and battery capacity with temperature control features in BMS and controller.

“We launched Ranger and Venice in January 2022. We plan to launch fireproof batteries in India that we have been working on for the last year; we are also acquiring its patent,” he noted.