Sounds good, doesn’t it? A battery life predictor is a boon for many a electric vehicle maker. They can tell prospective customers about the life expectancy of their electric vehicle batteries. Moreover, it is a breeze if one were to predict when to replace the battery rather than wait for the fault indicator to show up on their vehicle’s instrument console. MakerMax Inc, a Gurugram as well as Canada-based battery solutions expert seems to have got this on their agenda. Headed by Akshay Gill, an ex-Tesla engineer who has worked in the Battery Hardware and Firmware team at Tesla, MakerMax has been instrumental in developing solutions. His company makes battery analysers, characterisers and battery management platforms. Akshay also holds online workshops on battery technology for professionals in his field. We had a word with Akshay on how the system works and what all went in to making this CCAX4 Battery Analyser.
How did the thought of starting MakerMax stem from? Who are the investors/partners, where is the facility located and how much investment has gone into this venture?
The Tesla R&D experience and working on a six month project in the University of Toronto during my post graduation gave me some insight into the gap that exists between the academia and the industry. Back home in India, I discovered that we are one of the few countries that have a huge potential in the field of electric vehicles but also has the largest gap in the skill set required for jobs and businesses. Educational institutes are not able to keep pace with the fast-changing EV technologies and therefore end up churning inadequately-trained engineers. Companies have to invest huge amounts of resources to bring the talent up to a level before they are able to contribute effectively. Thats when the thought of starting MakerMax grew stronger.
We started as a boot strapped company and slowly grew into two locations one in Vancouver and another in Delhi, all with the help of own funds and support from friends and family.
It is great to know that you can predict the life of a battery or perhaps a particular cell. How much time did you take for the development of this product?
It took the team more than two years and three iterations to come to a successful and compact design of the CCAX4 Battery Analyser. The hardware was largely designed and developed in Canada whilst the software was developed very cost effectively in India. That’s how we have been able to offer a state of the art equipment at a cost effective price that can not only predict the useful life of a battery but also simulate battery behaviour on a standard or customised drive cycle.
Has any automaker in India or abroad adopted/purchased this technology from you? How much will the cost be, if one has to predict, say the life of electric scooter batteries.
OEMs as well as the battery makers are liking and buying this equipment. A leading EV powertrain n battery maker bought this equipment recently for their test lab. The price of the CCAX4 analyser varies between Rs.4 and 5 lakh depending on the cloud connectivity, artificial intelligence features and the battery capacity.
Do you see a widespread adoption of this technology in the near future?
Battery is the costliest part of an electric vehicle and perhaps the most unpredictable. All the stakeholders in the chain, whether the battery pack maker, OEM or the consumer need to know that they are choosing the right cells and the appropriate chemistry and getting the worth they are paying for in a battery cell. Predicting the useful life takes out the guesswork from the estimation of the total cost of ownership. This prediction can help in the confidence building in EV adoption, financing and leasing of the batteries as well as the risk free offering of warranty.
What other products has MakerMax designed? How has the auto industry responded to this?
Makermax is currently focussed on providing high quality intensive courses for students and professionals, coupled with uniquely designed hardware kits, interactive live sessions and mentorship from industry experts for enhanced engagement and higher retention. MakerMax helps engineers get the right jobs in up and coming EV ecosystem and also trains the professionals to contribute more effectively to organisations, The exclusive masterclass on batteries and BMS comes with a unique custom designed hardware kit that makes the learning process extremely engaging and effective. The hardware kit that is supplied along with the course will continue to be a useful tool for years to come to test functional and safety algorithms, determine the characteristics of lithium ion cells and analyse cells from various manufacturers.
