Electric vehicles have become so popular these days that we don’t need any introductions about them, as it has become a cleaner and safer mode of transportation all over the world. Here are things listed below what you should know about EVs in this quarantine.
EVs in this quarantine
In India, most preferred vehicle category is two-wheeler and it leads in the Indian market, similarly in the EV segment too the electric two-wheeler is becoming more popular, not only this the electric three-wheeler, four-wheeler, buses, etc are also becoming popular.
We have conducted a poll on our YouTube channel to know the likes and interest of the people.
We have asked them that Which vehicle do you like more? and the options were
a) Electric b) Petrol c) Diesel d) Any other
You won’t believe! 88% voted for electric vehicles isn’t it amazing right? and 7% of people voted for petrol. For diesel vehicles, we got 2% votes and any other 2% which commented hybrid vehicles, Electric+fuel cell vehicles, fuel cells and hydrogen-powered vehicles.
We can see here many people are looking towards electric vehicles technology, as well all know this is the future technology which will rule the auto industries.
Whether we want to accept them or not, we need to take it as an important and most needed technology as it is environmental friendly which benefits to our environment as well as it helps to save our money which we spend on buying oils such as petrol and diesel. This will not only save our money but it will also help the country to be independent not importing crude oils for the operation of vehicles.
However, currently, we are dependent on other countries for electric vehicles’ batteries, as we lack lithium reserves in our country.
Battery facilities establishment initiatives in India
But there many initiatives that government and private companies are taking to establish the battery manufacturing facilities in India as almost all the electric vehicles (EVs) batteries are imported from other countries mostly from China. The total cost of a Lithium-ion battery accounts for 40% of the total cost of an EV.
The Indian government has been discovering approaches to push electric mobility in the nation as it plans for 30% electric vehicle reliance by 2030. Besides the enormous number of electric vehicles on roads, the government is additionally concentrating on the framework regarding the Infrastructure and manufacturing issues.
Recently federal government asked states to compete to establish a globally competitive Li-ion battery manufacturing facilities. For the adoption of electric vehicles and renewable energy in India, the central government wants to establish 40 GW of battery manufacturing capacity in States.
The Telangana State government made a proposal to compete to establish a globally competitive Li-Ion battery manufacturing facility which has the capacity of 200 acres of land near Hyderabad’s airport and outer ring road.
Similarly, many major global manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries started exploring and finding opportunities to set up first build assembly units. The manufacturing of lithium-ion cells will be in a large-scale.
For example, The Indian major battery manufacturers such as Exide Industries Ltd and Amara Raja Batteries Ltd as joint ventures working with foreign companies to start assembling batteries.
The explorations have been started to set up a facility for assembling lithium-ion battery modules in India by a Japan’s Panasonic Corporation.
There are some other players such as South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd and Japan’s Toshiba have also joined hands to jointly work for assembling battery packs with Indian companies like Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) Ltd.
The State-run oil refiner Indian Oil Corporation Ltd will set up a 1 Giga Watt (GW) plant to make batteries for the electric vehicles in partnership with an overseas start-up, Phinergy, an Israel based startup which develops ultra-lightweight metal-air batteries for electric vehicles.
It is in talks with few governments to set up an aluminium-air batteries factory. The factory is likely to be set up in Chennai and the investment details are still being worked out.
Electric vehicles charging solutions
The very first question that comes to our mind when we talk about electric vehicles is the charging of EVs. People are worried about how to charge electric vehicles,? where we can find charging stations? will it affect much on my electricity bill? what if my EV suddenly stops due to lack of charging?
We know these all are common, but India is improving slowly but steadily in setting up charging stations all over the country.
Here also government and private entities coming forward and taking the initiatives to provide people with adequate charging infrastructure.
For example, Andhra Pradesh is to get Power charging stations for electric vehicles at 32 places. The state-owned New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) and Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Ltd (REIL) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop public charging infrastructure (PCS) in 32 locations covering Vijayawada, Kakinada, Tirupati and Guntur districts.
Tata Power Company Ltd plans to increase its network of electric vehicle charging stations to 700 by next year. It is having 100 fast-charging stations across various cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad. It plans to add 200 more by the end of next month.
Tata Power has also signed an MoU for installing EV charging stations at fuel stations operated by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. and Indraprastha Gas Ltd.
Even many startups are taking initiatives in this such as the Bengaluru based EV Startup FAE Bikes announced the launch of its ‘Kirana Charzer’ which is a low-cost smart EV charging station which will just cost Rs 10,000. The small shops and individuals can install their own charging stations and earn some additional income out of it. This will not only boost the EV industry but also benefits the individuals in earning some extra money without much efforts.
An EV charger startup, Magenta Power which is supported by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited announced that it is planned to introduced a street lamp EV charger called ‘ChargeGrid Flare’ by April 2020.
The ChargerGrid Flare manufacturer has said it is mainly designed with the partnership of HPCL to provide energy-efficient street light combined with an EV charging station. These charging stations are unique as it looks like a traditional street light.
Earlier, the Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Indian oil refiner announced a pilot program for swapping batteries for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers at its outlets by December.
In January, The Directorate of Urban Transport under the Government of Uttar Pradesh has invited tenders for the installation of 25 EV charging stations for electric buses at Mahesara in Gorakhpur, UP.
So, this is what all about electric vehicles that you should know. There is a lot more, we will update more such information here. Stay updated, stay home and stay safe.
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Mastered in Journalism and I am a dedicated writer for ElectricVehicles.in since 2018. I am an EV enthusiast. I love to write about electric vehicles, technology, startups, people, fashion, and trends. Through my writings, I love to contribute to my team's efforts to reduce the pollution levels in the world, especially from India.
