Professor explores electric vehicles project during trip to India

Glasgow Caledonian University Professor Emad Farrag has just returned from a visit to Chitkara University in the Punjab region to progress a joint project exploring the impact of electric vehicles on India.

In March, academics in the School of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment (SCEBE) were awarded £10,000 from the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scotland Asia Partnerships, Higher Education Research (SAPHIRE), which aims to encourage collaborative research between Scottish and international universities.

The SCEBE project involves sharing and developing research ideas in the area of electric vehicle uptake, the impact on national grid networks and on decarbonising the transport sector.

GCU's research strategy is underpinned by the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The project contributes to SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 13: Sustainable Cities and Communities, and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

Professor Jim Baird, SCEBE Chair of Waste and Resource Management, Department of Civil Engineering and Environmental Management; Professional Services, is Principal Investigator in the research project and Professor Emad Farrag is lead researcher.

Professor Farrag, a Chartered Engineer and Academic Accreditor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, went out to Chitkara University to explore the joint research project further.

He explained: "The week-long visit was to explore the joint research conducted by the two institutions, focusing on the challenges and opportunities for Electrical Vehicles (EVs) in both India and Scotland.

"The project involves looking into policies and initiatives on both sides, increasing the uptake of EVs and exploring their impacts on the electrical grid at distribution level. In addition, we have been investigating the Solar Pump concept for battery swapping for two and three-wheel vehicles."

The photograph shows Sumeer Walia, Director of Centre for Entrepreneurship (left) meeting Professor Farrag (right) at Chitkara University.

Professor Baird said: "Our project involves working with Chitkara University in the Punjab region of India. We have established a small network of students from both universities, working on different aspects of electric vehicles including battery technologies, swappable systems, photovoltaic recharge and how the adoption will meet net zero aspirations for the transport sector."