Global endeavor towards development of the electric vehicle; Dr Mathew

An expert in Fuel Technology Dr. Mathew Abraham, an alumnus of IIT – Roorkee & Madras and Consultant, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. delivers a lecture on “Fuel Economy Development in Automotive Vehicles” to the faculty & students of the Mechanical Engineering Department, School of Engineering UPES. The event was organized by the ‘Department of Mechanical Engineering’, School of Engineering of the University.

Dr. Mathew discussed about different aspects of Automotive Emissions, Emission Norms & challenges associated with future emission norms and next generation systems such as CRDI, GDI etc. He also highlighted upon the use of materials, HVAC loads to enhance the fuel efficiency and reduction in pollution during his session with students. Expressing his happiness to be at UPES, he shared that it was always refreshing to be back in Dehradun where he had worked for 24 years in Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) on R&D related to Engine Combustion, Emissions, Alternate Fuels and Lubricants. During his interaction with the faculty, he apprised them of the future research opportunities available in the field of vehicle design, environmental protection, resource optimization, and customer satisfaction. Providing an insight on the upcoming trends in vehicle design viz. vehicle-to-vehicle communication, sustainable vehicle technologies and improved electronics in automotive, Dr. Mathew also recommended ‘engine downsizing’, ‘advanced turbocharging’ and ‘reduced accessories/parasite losses’ as focus areas of research that can be explored by the faculty. Emphasizing on the importance of ‘Industry-Academia Partnership’ to enhance the research environment he urged the faculty to come out with concept-ready research proposals to support industries in development and execution of automotive technologies.

Expressing his thoughts on the current global endeavor towards development of the electric vehicles, Dr. Mathew shared his in-depth views on the various challenges & opportunities in this area. “Implementation of a new technology is an exhaustive task requiring an in-depth research. The development of e-vehicles faces a huge challenge in terms of cost and charging infrastructure. Scaling up of batteries adds to weight of the vehicle, leading to a reduced performance” he shared citing the example of delays & difficulties in CNG Implementation in the national capital – New Delhi. He suggested enhanced research activities targeting improvement of drive range, development of light-weight high-capacity batteries and improvement in efficiency of drive trains for supporting the ‘E-vehicles’ global endeavor.

Dr. Shyam Pandey, Prof. & HOD – Automotive Design Engineering & Rotating Equipment, UPES thanked the faculty team of  Roushan Singh, Dr. Shival Dubey, Ram Kunwer, Swapnil Bhurat and Mr. Dishant Beniwal for their committed efforts and hard work behind this successful event while thanking Dr. Mathew Abraham for educating the students & faculty in identifying the current & future needs of automotive industry. Over 300 students & faculty members from the Mechanical and Electrical & Electronics Department of the University benefited from the knowledge sharing through this event.