Ecozen, India’s premier climate smart-tech startup, is driving the transition toward sustainable and innovative solutions in key industries. As climate-smart technology reshapes global markets with a projected CAGR of 21.6% to reach $1.2 trillion by 2026, Ecozen stands at the forefront of this transformative shift. Specializing in AI-integrated and IoT-enabled technologies, Ecozen focuses on revolutionizing battery and motor systems with eco-friendly solutions. Its portfolio includes advanced motor controls for Brushless Direct Current (BLDC), Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSM), and Synchronous Reluctance Motors (SynRM). Strengthening its impact, Ecozen has partnered with Germany-based Volektra Technologies to introduce SEEM technology, a cleaner and more sustainable alternative to conventional EV motors, further solidifying its commitment to a greener future.
Below is an email interaction between FYI9 News Correspondent and Vivek Pandey, CTO and Co-Founder, Ecozen Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Prateek: How does Ecozen leverage AI and IoT in its motor control systems to optimize performance and energy efficiency in electric vehicles? Can you walk us through the technical process?
Vivek Pandey: Ecozen’s approach to enhancing electric vehicle (EV) performance and energy efficiency involves multiple layers of AI and IoT integration. Here’s how we apply these technologies:
#1 Design and Improvement: We utilize AI in the design phase to accelerate and optimize development. Simulation software traditionally takes considerable time to iterate through design constraints. By integrating AI, we can streamline this process, enabling more efficient and accurate design iterations.
#2 Control Systems: AI plays a crucial role in our control software, especially in dynamic conditions where heuristic algorithms might fall short. We employ advanced AI and machine learning methods to create look-up tables and training models that adapt to varying conditions, ensuring robust and reliable control performance.
#3 IoT Integration: IoT is integral to both future design improvements and ongoing development. By leveraging IoT, we gather valuable data through digital twin models, which provides insights into performance and areas for enhancement. This continuous feedback loop allows us to refine our designs and optimize our systems further.
Prateek: What are the key innovations in Ecozen’s eco-friendly motor controls, particularly for BLDC, PMSM, and SynRM motors, that differentiate them from traditional motor technologies?
Vivek Pandey: Ecozen’s eco-friendly motor controls incorporate several groundbreaking innovations that set them apart from traditional motor technologies:
#1 Sensor-Less Motor Control: Traditionally, sensor-less motor control has been challenging in mobility applications due to the highly dynamic nature of these environments. However, Ecozen has pioneered advancements that enable effective sensor-less control even in complex scenarios. This innovation enhances robustness by eliminating the potential failure points associated with sensors, leading to improved reliability and torque performance compared to conventional, sensor-based controllers.
#2 Magnetless Motors: Our work on magnetless motors is a significant step toward sustainable climate-smart technologies. While magnetless motors present unique control challenges and are less popular due to their constraints, Ecozen has successfully addressed and overcome several of these difficulties. This innovation contributes to a more eco-friendly transition by reducing reliance on rare materials and enhancing sustainability.
#3 Cost-Optimized PMSM Motors: PMSM Motors are widely used, but Ecozen has achieved a notable reduction in costs through optimized designs specifically for industrial and pumping applications. By refining the design and manufacturing processes, we have made PMSMs more affordable without compromising on performance, furthering the accessibility of advanced motor technologies.
Prateek: Can you discuss the role of AI in predictive maintenance for motors and batteries within your solutions? How does this technology contribute to reducing downtime and extending the lifespan of these components?
Vivek Pandey: AI plays a crucial role in predictive maintenance for motors and batteries within Ecozen’s solutions by leveraging physics-coupled machine learning to enhance prediction accuracy. This advanced approach allows us to anticipate potential issues, enabling planned maintenance interventions. By predicting when a component is likely to need servicing, we can prevent damage and manage the Total Cost of Ownership more effectively, especially for fleet management companies and businesses using our products. Furthermore, AI-driven predictive maintenance helps avoid breaching technical warranty clauses set by OEMs, thereby reducing long-term costs. In the event of a failure, our analytics enable precise identification of the root cause rather than just addressing symptoms. This facilitates faster service and minimizes the likelihood of recurring issues, ultimately extending the lifespan of the components and ensuring operational efficiency.
Prateek: With the increasing demand for climate-smart solutions, how does Ecozen ensure that its motor controls and technologies are scalable and adaptable to various industrial applications?
Vivek Pandey: Ecozen addresses the growing demand for climate-smart solutions by leveraging its technically adept and focused team, which excels in power electronics, motors, control systems, thermal management, industrial design, IoT, and more. This comprehensive expertise, combined with our platform approach to both hardware and software, sets us apart and facilitates easier development and adaptation for new applications. Our robust systems and processes support seamless iteration and design modifications, ensuring that our technologies can be efficiently adapted to various industrial contexts. By approaching the climate-smart transition with a broad perspective, we aim to integrate electric drive trains across multiple sectors, driven by key innovations tailored to meet specific end-consumer needs. This ensures that our solutions remain versatile and relevant across diverse applications.
Prateek: Ecozen’s focus on minimizing environmental impact is well-known. From a technical standpoint, what measures or technologies are you implementing to achieve this goal in your motor and battery systems?
Vivek Pandey: At Ecozen, minimizing environmental impact is central to our approach, and we employ several advanced technologies and strategies to achieve this. We prioritize energy efficiency in all our solutions, even when utilizing renewable energy sources like solar. By focusing on optimizing energy use, we reduce material consumption and overall environmental footprint. For our battery systems, we are developing Thermal Energy Storage (TES) solutions that offer significant environmental advantages over traditional Li-Ion batteries. TES utilizes more sustainable materials compared to rare metals, thus enhancing both performance and sustainability. Additionally, we are committed to reducing dependency on conventional materials such as magnets, which further aligns with our environmental goals. Our integration of IoT and in-depth analytics plays a crucial role in monitoring, improving, and preventing inefficiencies, ensuring that our technologies contribute positively to sustainability while delivering exceptional performance.
Prateek: How does IoT integration in Ecozen’s solutions enhance real-time monitoring and data analytics for motors and batteries? What benefits does this bring to end-users in terms of efficiency and sustainability?
Vivek Pandey: IoT integration in Ecozen’s solutions significantly enhances monitoring and data analytics for our motors and batteries. By employing IoT technology, we can continuously track and analyze performance metrics, which allows for precise and timely insights into the operational status of these components. This integration enables proactive maintenance and immediate response to any anomalies or inefficiencies.
The benefits for end-users are substantial. Monitoring helps in optimizing performance, reducing energy consumption, and extending the lifespan of motors and batteries. Enhanced data analytics allow for more informed decision-making, contributing to improved operational efficiency and reduced downtime. Moreover, by preventing issues before they escalate, our IoT-enabled solutions support sustainability efforts by minimizing resource waste and extending the lifecycle of critical components. This results in both economic and environmental advantages for our customers.
Prateek: What challenges do you face in developing advanced motor controls for climate-smart applications, and how do your engineering teams overcome these hurdles through innovation?
Vivek Pandey: Developing advanced motor controls for climate-smart applications presents several challenges, which our engineering teams address through strategic innovation. One significant challenge is the need for specialized skills. While we are fortunate to have a talented team, finding and retaining engineers with the right expertise is increasingly difficult. To tackle this, we have established strong connections with academia and implemented internal skill-building initiatives. By nurturing passionate individuals and creating a pipeline of skilled professionals, we ensure that our team remains at the forefront of technology development.
Another challenge is the cost of hardware and software. Developing advanced motor controls often requires expensive components and tools. To manage this, we leverage open-source software and internally developed testing setups, complementing these with market-available products. This approach not only helps in managing costs but also enhances our long-term capabilities and rewards. The vendor ecosystem also poses challenges, particularly in obtaining prototypes and meeting development timelines. To overcome this, we focus on building close partnerships with like-minded industries. By fostering these relationships, we streamline the development process and ensure that prototypes are delivered on time, supporting our long-term goals. Through these innovative strategies, we continuously push the boundaries of what’s possible in climate-smart technology, driving progress and maintaining our commitment to sustainability.
Prateek: Can you share any upcoming technological advancements or products from Ecozen that are set to push the boundaries of climate-smart tech, particularly in electric mobility or other key sectors?
Vivek Pandey: Ecozen is at the forefront of climate-smart technology with several exciting advancements on the horizon. We are integrating IoT with deeptech and physics-based analytics to move beyond traditional data-based approaches. This advanced analytics framework offers more precise and actionable insights, allowing us to enhance the performance and efficiency of our systems.
Our next-generation motor controls feature highly intelligent control algorithms. This innovation is set to significantly improve the efficiency and reliability of our technologies. We are also pioneering the development of magnet-less motors, which reduce reliance on rare and costly materials. This not only lowers the environmental impact but also enhances the sustainability of our products.
In addition, we are working on reducing material use in magnet-based motors. These advancements reflect our commitment to creating more sustainable and effective solutions across various sectors. These technologies are poised to drive significant progress in electric mobility and other key areas, aligning with our mission to lead the way in climate-smart innovations.
For any authored article/press release and interview opportunities please write to us at pr@fyi9.com.
