Adopting electric mobility: Making India better ready for EVs
By NN Sinha
The Centre and the states have initiated many measures to encourage early adoption of EVs. However, the Indian EV market is yet to grow as fast as it has grown in China. Infrastructure for charging and lack of incentives to adopt electric mobility may have been a factor. While the second factor has been addressed, the first one is yet to be given a very serious system-wide look.
EVs are currently required to be tethered to charging points for long hours. Even in most well spread out colonies, if all the cars were to be EVs, there would not be enough space for them. Per force, these have to be tethered to domestic power points. Even then it would require substantial sums on laying out the needed electric cables. Another issue is charging for taxis and autos; their owners are too poor to get a fixed location for charging. Petrol pumps, airport/railway parking lots, etc, come to mind, but their capacity to accommodate vehicles for charging could be limited. Then, there are issues of investment in charging infrastructure. Most such institutions would be loth to invest when capital availability is a serious concern. One suggestion could be to permit them to open their campuses for setting up these facilities for a fee by PPP operators. Another is to develop roadside charging facilities.
One exciting option for pushing EVs in India is having a batter-swap policy. While this may leave out multiple innovations in charging and force the market to behave a certain way—an entry barrier to many foreign firms—this is no different from specifying a currency or voltage specifications for electric devices or ICE engine regulations on fuel efficiency. It also solves the problem of surplus energy availability during the day. Oil companies can become full energy companies, and hold stock of swappable batteries. They simply have to convert pumps into battery stations. Many public and private facilities that have substantial land holdings could go into business themselves or get into partnerships with charging agencies and thus earn additional revenue.
This model can work in rural areas, with unreliable power supplies, too. Panchayats could become providers of swappable-batteries. The rural youth or SHGs could be engaged for operations. Since batteries can be charged as and when power becomes available, lack of continuous power may not be a bottleneck. This model is relevant for those panchayats that are far from the national or state highways, as well as those on the NH/SH, given the earnings and employment potential. Thankfully, this has been recognised by the Centre and, the finance minister said in her Budget speech this year that that the government will release a policy for battery-swapping in FY23 to bring in standardisation and interoperability.
There are other issues, e.g., the electric supply network, that need tackling. While availability of power may not be an issue, most of the supply networks are designed with certain load in mind. EV charging was certainly not included in the capacity calculations. Thus, this has to be factored in while developing charging infrastructure, and electric supply companies—supported either by grant or compelled by regulations—must create additional power carrying capability. Many cities are flood-prone, carrying the risk of vehicle submergence. While ICE vehicles do not face a significant problem, EVs would certainly face a great threat. The design needs to be resilient to such risks. Also, the insurance policies for the EVs need to factor in these risks.
The world over, cities have taken the lead in adopting and spreading these innovations. How do we make it happen for India needs to be debated. Surprisingly, very few cities—even Smart Cities—have gone for this. They need to be consulted and empowered to make it happen.
The author is Secretary, ministry of rural development, and former chairman, NHAI