In March 2013, Mahindra REVA
launched their vehicle, the E2O, in the Indian market. It was declared to be
the smartest and the greenest car there is, in India. And, truly to Reva’s
claim, this electric car turned out to be the most eco-friendly car in the
subcontinent. It runs 100% on electricity and emits no polluting gases. Plus, it
uses a Li-Ion battery, which emits no fumes like the old Lead-Acid batteries.
The body of the car is made up of impregnated plastic, which makes it not only
scratch-proof and dent-proof, but also harmless as there are no toxic paints
used. So, if you consider the green quotient of only the car, then it stands at
par with all the world-class electric vehicles.
But there has been speculation by many experts and critics that green cars are not as green as they claim to be. According to a report by FoxBusiness, 30000 pounds of the CO2 emissions happen by the time a conventional electric car rolls out, most of which goes in the Lead Acid battery making.
Now, where Reva stands out from
all this speculation, is the process of manufacturing the car. The company has followed a policy of 'Born
Green' by making a great deal of effort in minimizing the impact, of all manufacturing
processes, on the environment. They mention it as being green from dirt to dust, which means that the lifecycle of the car is totally eco-friendly. The assembly plant was developed in accordance
with the standards set by The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC, India). Built just outside the city of Bangalore, this great looking plant is a truly state-of-the-art plant, and is the first automobile unit
in India to be certified the highest rating for any green plant, the 7-star PLATINUM
rating. Reva claims that the plant is mostly naturally lit and ventilated, so the electricity
consumption is low. They also mentioned that the plant has no paint shops and does not use paints, so we can say no
fumes there either. Also, no welding is done in the body and everything is fitted
with bolts, so lesser electricity consumed and even lesser pollutants generated.
All-in-all, the process of production of an E20 is what makes it Greener than any other
electric car.
One may
think that ‘Ok! This is as green as a car can be’. But Reva doesn't think so. They foresaw another big challenge. They knew that most of the country’s energy is
coming from renewable sources such as Coal, and the electricity on which the car runs isn't so green itself. So, to compensate for the
polluting electricity, they came up with the remarkable idea of their
innovative solar charging solution, which they call the ‘Sun2Car’.
Sun2Car is actually a charging solution for Reva cars where-in
they use solar energy to charge the car and, also, provide electricity to the
consumer’s house circuitry. What they do is install some solar panels at the
consumer’s home and then connect their car & the house meter via some
complex electronic circuitry. So, when the car is parked and plugged-in, this
charges the car and the rest of the time it provides electricity to the user’s
house appliances. They also provide compatible battery packs and inverters so
that this power can be stored and used as a backup in the scenario of power
cuts. Overall, this gives users like me, the independence from grid supply, reduces
my electricity bills, and makes the overall process of charging the car
green. The whole setup has some initial setup cost but thereafter the cost of
charging the car is zero. This makes the whole process of running the car not
only green but also economical.
So,
Reva has not only made a green car which runs on electricity, but also made it
greener by reducing emissions in the production process, and the greenest by
providing a charging solution which uses the abundant sunlight. 
