RUET’s Formula Student team, Crack Platoon, has unveiled an innovative battery pack developed in collaboration with global electric vehicle leader, Tesla.
This marks the first-ever collaboration between Tesla and a student team in Bangladesh, making it a groundbreaking moment for the country’s engineering and automotive sectors.
On 15 September 2024, RUET hosted the inauguration ceremony for the battery pack designed in collaboration with Tesla. The event was attended by Vice-Chancellor (In-Charge) Dr. Tarif Uddin Ahmed, chief advisor Dr. Md. Rokunuzzaman, and other distinguished faculty members.
Founded in 2014, Team Crack Platoon represents Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET) in the international Formula Student competition, where engineering students build and race their own vehicles. To date, they have successfully constructed four cars: CP-B17, CP-E17, CP-E19, and CP-E23.
In a recent live unboxing event, team member Sudipto Mondal introduced the newly developed battery pack, a product of multiple meetings with Tesla engineers.
The custom-designed battery pack consists of nine parallel-connected cells, equipped with an advanced temperature sensor for enhanced safety and performance. This cutting-edge technology will play a crucial role in the team’s mission to manufacture Electric Vehicles (EVs) in Bangladesh.
The collaboration with Tesla
We spoke with Saadman Saqueeb, team leader of Crack Platoon, to learn more about the project and their collaboration with Tesla.
What is the story behind the batteries?
Sharing the team’s journey of working with Tesla Saadman said, “We began collaborating with Tesla in 2023, aiming to make electric vehicles (EVs) a reality in Bangladesh. They’ve been our technical partner throughout this process. For our latest project, we sent Tesla our battery designs, which led to a series of meetings with their engineers. Eventually, Tesla custom-made the batteries based on our designs.”
What is the project all about?
When asked about the project, Saadman explained, “Team Crack Platoon is part of Formula SAE (Society of Automobile Engineers), similar to Formula India, Formula Germany, Formula Japan, and others. Teams from universities worldwide build their own F1-style racing cars and compete in these competitions. We are working on building our own racing car to participate in these contests.”
Tesla’s involvement in the journey
Saadman described how Tesla became involved in the project and said, “While the battery design was fully developed by Team Crack Platoon, we relied on Tesla’s expertise for refinement and production guidance. After reviewing our design in a series of meetings, they praised its innovation and provided valuable insights on how to make the batteries more efficient.”
The future of EVs in Bangladesh
Looking ahead, Saadman shared his vision for the future of EVs in Bangladesh, “Although the country still has a long way to go before introducing its own EVs, the concept is gaining traction, and many companies are stepping forward. This is giving us hope. We aim to make cost-efficient EVs using better materials, which will streamline the manufacturing process.”
Team Crack Platoon believes that this landmark collaboration with Tesla heralds a new era of innovation and technological advancement for both RUET and Bangladesh’s growing EV sector.