Suitable policy, infra to ignite EV dreams

The transition from mechanical (100 year-old Internal Combustion Engine/ICE technology) to the 20-year-old EV tech; heavy metal components to light composites; fossil fuels to renewables and Internet of Things (IoT) inclusion were the talk points governing a CII session on ‘Future of Urban Mobility’ here on Thursday.

B Visweswaran, Chairman, CII Chennai Zone and VC, Sanmar Engineering Technologies, remarked that the disruptive nature of technology has been felt across the supply chain with auto companies focusing on software as part of their preparatory efforts. Ford, for instance, is setting up a dedicated software development centre for future technologies in Chennai. 

P Bala, Co-Founder-CTO, Ampere Vehicles, which entered the EV space a decade ago, said the foray has begun bearing fruit only now. Red tape and paucity of funds compelled the firm to focus on lowering operational costs and the product price. “EV is a paradigm shift unfolding with disruptions in multiple planes – in business, technology and application,” he said.

Dr Prabhjot Kaur, Director, Centre of Battery Engineering – EVs & Principal Scientist, DoE, IIT-M, said affordability was an aspect to be considered while bundling latest technologies. Production of Teslas and BMWs were heavily subsidised by the respective administrations. This is not the case in India. A key learning was the absence of standardisation globally. The ownership-based charging infrastructure model may have succeeded in other countries. In India, it would be a hurdle. Inter-operability and affordability are the key factors here, she said. 

Priyamvada Balaji, Director, Lucas TVS, said a phased adoption was necessary for the EV drive. She remarked that China and Chile had huge lithium reserves and India should not be in a situation where oil import bills get swapped with bills for battery imports. Auto is the biggest industrial employment generator but the impact on the aftermarket operators should be considered while EV ushers in cleaner technology. 

BC Datta, VP, Corporate Affairs, Hyundai Motor India Ltd, said users of passenger vehicles were uncomfortable with battery swapping mechanisms unlike commercial vehicle owners. The government is still debating this, he said. He cited the example of a Japanese auto major, which had faced failure in two countries due to charging and battery swapping related issues. He noted battery types have to be standardised (across brands and vehicle categories). With three types of charging standards – Chinese, European and Japanese available, the Indian government seemed to be in favour of the European model. 

He also sought to allay the “unfounded” fears concerning charging in the context of distance. A car owner does not buy fuel along with the vehicle unlike in EVs which come with batteries. So, the frequency of charging and servicing is being discussed by OEMs and the government, which is taking steps to amend the charging infrastructure, he said. 

Recently, Hyundai’s fuel cell vehicle was showcased to the Prime Minister, who was impressed with the capability of the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle which had to be charged every 800 km. Such vehicles were already running in Europe and Korea, Datta said, adding the 300 km per charge facility could be done in fast charging mode in 2030 minutes while the 800 km charging could be done using five minute points. The Niti Aayog had also asked for selection of 10 cities with worst environments where these vehicles could be piloted. Ola and Uber too had taken up 100 EVs as part of a trial run in Nagpur for a 150-km range.