THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Vinod Bhaskar, a native of Palkulangara in Pettah, has come up with the technology to increase the mileage of electric autos with the help of solar energy. The name of the autorickshaw is Phoenix Auto.

Vinod has developed a technique that helps a battery of an autorickshaw, which is capable of running 100 km, run up to an extra 25 km by charging it with the help of solar cells. A fully charged battery will benefit from this technology. When the charge drops to a certain level, the battery must be fully charged on electricity. After being fully charged on electricity, the battery can be connected to solar cells and the autorickshaw can run for longer distances.

It took three years for Vinod to build the prototype. He spent a total of Rs 8 lakh on this. If built on an industrial basis the cost will come down to 4 lakhs.

Vinod built the auto using his 26 years of experience in automobile companies in Sweden. He graduated in Aeronautical Engineering and Electrical Vehicle Assembling and Manufacturing courses in Sweden. When the Clean Motion company started selling electric autos in India, he worked as a supervisor in its plant. He left the job in 2016. Later, he started a start-up called Twist with Kumbalangi native Shanmaduran and Kozhikode native Vinu Abraham. That's where the idea of ​​Phoenix Auto came up.

Solar panel
A 400-watt solar panel mounted on top of the autorickshaw charges the battery. Solar cells can be charged in the sun. The solar cell is connected to the battery of the autorickshaw with the help of a power controller. A high-capacity battery can cost up to Rs 60,000. It costs Rs 35,000 to install a solar cell.