IIT Delhi Made 'Zero Emission' Battery Charger For All Electronic Devices
IIT Delhi recently inaugurated an environmental-friendly charging station for electronic devices within the campus. The new charging outlet comes from the efforts of IIT Delhi s Sustainable Environergy Research Lab SERL at the Department of Chemical Engineering.
Under its Smart Campus Initiative, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi recently inaugurated an environmental-friendly charging station for electronic devices within the campus.
The new charging outlet comes from the efforts of IIT Delhi¡¯s Sustainable Environergy Research Lab (SERL) at the Department of Chemical Engineering.
IIT Delhi / Reuters
The charging station is based on Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) technology. VRFB utilizes liquid electrolyte to store electrical energy. During charging, the electrical energy is stored in the liquid electrolyte and during discharging the stored energy is used for various applications like charging portable electronic devices including mobile phones, laptops, tablets, and power banks.
The big plus of the VRFB is that it can efficiently store and utilize renewable energy for a wide range of applications such as rural electrification, e-vehicle charging station, domestic and commercial power back-up etc. leading to zero carbon footprint.
Vanadium Redox Flow Battery based Charging Station at IIT Delhi (Image: IIT Delhi)
It is non-polluting (no emissions), easily scalable, safe and environmentally friendly, and highly durable. One of the major differences between the flow and conventional battery is the independent scaling of power and energy capacity.
The VRFB can store energy from kWh to MWh range and is suitable for long discharge time with low cost in contrast to the conventional battery. The technology is highly suitable wherever diesel generators are used.
Now deployed at the IIT Delhi campus, the VRFB charging station provides various charging ports to the students, faculty and the visitors alike. The team has designed it for charging operation of around 9 hours in a day.
Dr Anil Verma, Professor at Chemical Engineering Department, IIT Delhi said that the research group led by him developed the 2nd generation prototype in the SERL. In a recent university release, he informed that the group is working on a kW level battery stack. The project is funded by DST, MHRD, and IIT Delhi.
