Hyderabad: Five exceptional students have exhibited outstanding innovative abilities by transforming a decade-old abandoned car into solar-powered vehicle. Among these talented youth, four hail from the old city, while one comes from the new city. They are Mohammad Muzammil Farooqi, Mohammad Yousuf Ahmed Talha, Mohammad Amin Hussain Farhan, Mohammad Nauman Ahmed, and Hafiz Dilair Ali, all final-year mechanical engineering students at Nawab Shah Alam Khan College of Engineering and Technology.
For their major project, they undertook the challenge of developing a car that could run on solar energy, surpassing the conventional reliance on petrol or diesel.
This ground-breaking achievement involved the conversion of a traditional combustion-engine car into an electric vehicle (EV). Once charged, this solar-powered car can travel for a distance of 60 to 70 km at a speed of 80 km per hour. The vehicle is equipped with four solar panels affixed to its roof. The students incorporated a BLDC motor and an 80-amp 48V battery, consisting of 16 dry cells made of metaphosphate. While the market value of such a battery ranges from one to one-and-a-half lakh rupees, these students assembled the battery themselves, thus reducing the cost to approximately 80,000 rupees.
The overall expenses for the car’s preparation amounted to around 2 lakhs. The students expressed their gratitude to their Head of the Department, Syed Mujahid Hussaini, and their guide, Muhammad Abdul Moeed. It was Hussaini who generously provided the students with the vehicle, which had been abandoned in the college’s backyard, for their project.
Amer Ali Khan, News Editor at Siasat, commended the five students for their remarkable project. He assured them of his full support in their future endeavors and highlighted the abundance of talented students in the old city. Khan emphasized the importance of encouraging and guiding these children, urging them to explore the conversion of auto-rickshaws into eco-friendly vehicles. Such an initiative would benefit economically disadvantaged auto drivers, shielding them from the adverse effects of expensive fuel and diesel.
In a show of confidence, Khan not only reviewed the car manufactured by the students but also experienced a ride in it, witnessing first-hand the vehicle’s impressive functionality.
