BILITI Electric recently revealed plans to establish the worlds largest electric 3-wheeler manufacturing facility in Telangana, India. The factory will be able to produce 240,000 electric automobiles annually. The new plant is anticipated to generate $150 million in private investment and over 3,000 new employment in the state, in line with the state’s objective to establish itself as a major centre for the production of electric vehicles and energy storage systems. GEM Global Yield LLC, a Luxembourg-based company, has previously made a $400 million share subscription facility commitment to BILITI.
BILITI Electric presently manufactures its 3-wheelers through an exclusive production partnership with Gayam Motor Works (GMW), a company situated in Hyderabad. The Taskman from BILITI is a well-liked last-mile delivery vehicle that has been used in 15 nations around the world, including Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Germany, Lebanon, Uganda, Kenya, Senegal, Nepal, Bangladesh, Dubai, and India. It has also traveled more than 20 million miles. Electric tuk-tuks made by BILITI have been used in Uganda in collaboration with Wasoko , previously Sokowatch. Depending on the model and configuration, the electric tuk-tuks Li-ion battery offers a range of 100 km per charge, a top speed of 50 km/h, gradeability of 20, and a payload of 600 kg. It can be fully recharged in 3 hours. The batteries of the car can be changed using BILITI’s SmartSwapp technology in under a minute.
According to BILITI, a 3-wheeler market subset could profit from a hydrogen fuel cell-powered version of its tuk-tuk. According to BILITI Electric, the world’s first tuk-tuk powered by a hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) has recently been unveiled.
The press release reads as follows:
The BILITI FastMile HFC tuk-tuk has a long range of up to 130 miles and a short refueling period of less than 3 minutes. A superior motor that has a gradeability of 20 and a payload capacity of 1500 lbs is included with the vehicle. The majority of fuel cells on the market right now are not designed for on-road and mobility installations; instead, they are intended for fixed or warehouse applications. BILITI has successfully upgraded all the fuel cell parts to automotive standards and integrated them. The car has been put through more than 6,000 kilometers of testing on rough roads.
This is a significant step in establishing the direction of fuel cells and hydrogen energy for international markets. By incorporating the technology into small, reasonably priced cars as well, we are revolutionizing the use and commercialization of HFCs. says Rahul Gayam, the company’s CEO
The key distinction between the two is that whereas FCEVs produce their own electricity using a hydrogen fuel cell, BEVs feature a sizable battery to store electricity. The market for refueling three-wheelers worldwide is approximately $40 billion a year. 3W FCEVs reach price parity with their conventional equivalents powered by gasoline or diesel at a price threshold of $7/kg of hydrogen. By the end of the decade, when the price of green hydrogen is anticipated to fall to roughly $1/kg by 2030, the value proposition will have significantly improved.
BILITI is placing a wager on HFC tuk-tuks for particular use cases and duty cycles in the last mile and on campus installations, possibly because forklift manufacturers are also considering HFC forklifts. However, there has been a widespread consensus that fuel cell vehicles are likely worth considering for the truly large goods transport segments, like shipping. Please share your thoughts in the section below.
Photograph provided by BILITI
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