Electric Vehicles - India’s Future Flashcards
INTRO
India is the fifth largest car market in the world and has the potential to become one of the top three in the near future — with about 40 crore customers in need of mobility solutions by the year 2030.
To ensure a positive growth rate towards achieving India’s Net Zero Emissions by 2070, a transportation revolution is required in India which will lead to better “walkability”, public transportation; railways, roads and better cars. Many of these “better cars” are likely to be electric.
Electric Vehicles and India
Origin and Increasing Scope: The push for Electric Vehicles (EVs) is driven by the global climate agenda established under the Paris Agreement to reduce carbon emissions in order to limit global warming.
The global electric mobility revolution is today defined by the rapid growth in electric vehicle (EV) uptake.
About two in every hundred cars sold today are powered by electricity with EV sales for the year 2020 reaching 2.1 million.
The global EV fleet totalled 8.0 million in 2020 with EVs accounting for 1% of the global vehicle stock and 2.6% of global car sales.
Falling battery costs and rising performance efficiencies are also fueling the demand for EVs globally.
NEED for electric vehicles.
India is in need of a transportation revolution.
The current trajectory of adding ever more cars running on expensive imported fuel and cluttering up already overcrowded cities suffering from infrastructure bottlenecks and intense air pollution is unfeasible.
The transition to electric mobility is a promising global strategy for decarbonising the transport sector.
India’s Support to EVs
India is among a handful of countries that support the global EV30@30 campaign, which aims for at least 30% new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030.
India’s advocacy of five elements for climate change — “Panchamrit” — at the COP26 in Glasgow is a commitment to the same.
Various ideas were espoused by India at the Glasgow summit, such as, renewable energy catering to 50% of India’s energy needs, reducing carbon emission by 1 billion tonnes by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2070.
Associated Challenges
Battery Manufacturing: It is estimated that by 2020-30 India’s cumulative demand for batteries would be approximately 900-1100 GWh.
However, there is concern over the absence of a manufacturing base for batteries in India, leading to sole reliance on imports to meet rising demand.
As per government data, India imported more than $1 billion worth of lithium-ion cells in 2021, even though there is negligible penetration of electric vehicles and battery storage in the power sector.
Consumer Related Issues
In 2018, India was reported to have only 650 charging stations, which is quite less than the neighboring counterparts who already had over 5 million charging stations.
Lack of charging stations makes it unsuitable for the consumers in covering long range.
Moreover, it takes up to 12 hours for a full charge of a vehicle at the owner’s home using a private light-duty slow charger.
Also, the cost of a basic electric car is much higher than the average price of a car running on conventional fuel.
Policy Challenges and Lack of Technology and Skilled Labour
EV production is a capital intensive sector requiring long term planning to break even and profit realization, uncertainty in government policies related to EV production discourages investment in the industry.
India is technologically deficient in the production of electronics that form the backbone of the EV industry, such as batteries, semiconductors, controllers, etc.
EVs have higher servicing costs which require higher levels of skills. India lacks dedicated training courses for such skill development.
Unavailability of materials for domestic production.
Battery is the single most important component of EVs.
India does not have any known reserves of lithium and cobalt which are required for battery production.
Dependence on other countries for the import of lithium-ion batteries is an obstacle in becoming completely self-reliant in the battery manufacturing sector.
Electric Vehicle as Way Forward
EVs will contribute to improving the overall energy security situation as the country imports over 80% of its overall crude oil requirements, amounting to approximately $100 billion.
Opportunities for Battery Manufacturing and Storage
With recent technology disruptions, battery storage has great opportunity in promoting sustainable development in the country, considering government initiatives to promote e-mobility and renewable power (450 GW energy capacity target by 2030).
EV Charging Infrastructure
An EV charging infrastructure that draws power from local electricity supply can be set up at private residences, public utilities such as petrol and CNG pumps, and in the parking facilities of commercial establishments like malls, railway stations, and bus depots.
The Ministry of Power has prescribed at least one charging station to be present in a grid of 3 km and at every 25 kms on both sides of the highways.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the Model Building Bye-laws, 2016 (MBBL) has mandated setting aside 20% of the parking space for EV charging facilities in residential and commercial buildings.
Giving effect to the MBBL will also require the state governments to introduce necessary amendments to their respective building bye-laws.
