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Retroffiting matatu for cleaner public transopt

Company: Rathithi Institute

Major(s):
Primary: EE
Secondary: ME

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

The current phase of the EV program is the design and assembly of a Controller Unit. This need arose from the current controller units being a single source of failure for the project. The controllers for both vehicles have historically gone into weird error states and stopped working altogether. The team has received little to no support from the manufacturer. From this arises the need to design our own controller unit, one customizable to the available components such as the installed battery and motor. Battery assembly The team currently sources batteries from a local supplier that collects Li-Ion and Li-Po batteries from discarded electronics and repurposes them into battery packs. The process the manufacturer uses involves the collection of 18650 Lithium cells; testing of their State of Charge and IV characteristics, then grouping them into packs that meet the customer’s requirements. It is the opinion of the team that such a process can be replicated in-house, making the batteries more affordable by avoiding the mark-up added by the supplier