Sustainable mobility has assumed greater significance in the past
decade owing to concerns related to depleting fossil fuel reserves and
increasing carbon dioxide emissions.
According to a 2009 report by the International Energy Agency,
global energy consumption is likely to rise by 53% between 2006 and 2030, and
about three-quarters of the projected increase in oil demand is likely to come
from the transportation sector. Fossil
fuel-based transportation constitute the second largest source of carbon dioxide
emissions globally. The world over, these concerns are driving governments and
automobile manufacturers alike to invest heavily in developing vehicles based
on alternative propulsion systems including hybrid and electric drives.
Various alternate powertrain technologies such as hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), plug-in hybrid electric
vehicle (PHEV), range extender electric vehicle (RE-EV) and battery electric
vehicle (BEV) have been developed and experimented
with globally. But their development across the world has not yet reached a
critical mass because of the vicious cycle of technology complexity, low
volumes, high cost, low demand and underinvestment.
Therefore, across the world, governments are playing a key role in
facilitating greater adoption of electric mobility through interventions such
as demand and supply incentives, investments in R&D; and the creation of
power and charging infrastructure.
 |
| What a Hybrid Car ? |
- For instance, the
US still provides various direct subsidies to customers of electric
vehicles in the form of cash and tax incentives.
- In addition, direct
subsidies are also granted to private industries for new technologies such
as new generation battery development and manufacturing.
- Japan has targeted 2 million
electric vehicles by 2025 and has earmarked $250 million for R&D and
the development of new technology components required for such vehicles.
In India, the gap between domestic crude
oil production and consumption is widening due to rapid economic growth. This,
coupled with increase in crude oil prices, has led to widening deficit;
thereby, posing a serious challenge to India’s fuel security. The Indian
government is also working on defining fuel efficiency norms for vehicles.
Considering the long-term requirements of the country, a strong need was felt
to develop a national mission plan for electric mobility and a detailed study
was initiated by the department of heavy industries and the industry.
In January 2013, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unveiled
the national electric mobility mission plan 2020 (NEMMP 2020). NEMMP 2020 outlines India’s vision and provides the roadmap for
achieving penetration of efficient and environment friendly electric vehicles
in India by 2020. India is expected to announce various schemes, interventions,
policies and projects to activate this.
Factors and Challenges in India
In line with the initiatives by governments the world over, the
Indian government’s focus is on demand and supply creation, promotion of
R&D, and the development of charging infrastructure. While it is always
good to benchmark and learn from other developed countries about policies
implemented for greater penetration of electric vehicles, the policies and solutions
for India need to be developed keeping in mind the country’s unique
requirements.
- Unlike other countries, the Indian passenger car market is predominantly a small
cars one.
- India has a huge two-wheeler
population and the country is the world’s second largest manufacturer of
two-wheelers.
- The Indian customer is highly
cost-sensitive and therefore India-specific electric vehicles solutions
have to be cost-effective.
- This is essential to retain
India’s small car market leadership (even in the electric vehicles domain)
as envisaged in auto mission plan 2006-16.
Similarly, Indian component and vehicle manufacturers are also
likely to face the same situation like other countries, where, in the initial
phase, volumes will be low, and not justify the huge investments required.
Keeping this in mind, it is important that NEMMP 2020 outlines incentives over
a longer period of time that will provide confidence to vehicle and component manufacturers
to make required investments.
- Another challenge for India
is the development of charging infrastructure. Currently,
there are issues around the availability of electricity in India. Much of
the electricity generated in India comes from fossil fuels. Given this,
electricity vehicles may not help meet the objectives of reducing carbon
emissions and reducing import of fossil fuels. Hybrids and
plug-in hybrids may be the more viable solution in the short to medium
term; these do not require as much charging infrastructure, and will also
help reduce fuel consumption.
- In the long term,
battery-operated electricity vehicles will become popular only if the
government’s policies focus on widespread availability of charging
infrastructure. In addition, building laws may also require amendments to
facilitate charging at the parking lots.
With regard to the technology development, India has a good chance
to lead in the areas of systems integration, and the development of motors and
battery management systems. Indian traffic and weather conditions are very
different from western countries and hence solutions for India need to be
India-specific. We should be continuously collecting data on Indian conditions
and validating the performance of electric vehicles in such conditions.
The NEMMP R&D projects should be more focused on systems
integration at component sub-system level and the vehicle level. In addition,
focus is required on developing skilled manpower to work on these new
technology areas.
A Plan yet to materialize
To be sure, in 2010, the ministry of new and renewable energy
(MNRE) did introduce a Rs.95 crore subsidy for EV buyers. Under the
scheme, subsidies of up to 20% was to be given on ex-factory prices of EVs,
translating into discounts of Rs.4,000 for low-speed, and Rs.5,000
discount for high-speed electric two-wheelers; and nearly Rs.1 lakh for
electric cars.
EV sales jumped nearly 70% in the following year. But after the
scheme expired, there was a major drop in sales to about 3,000 units a month
with not a single electric car being sold in April and May in 2012.
Challenges for Battery technology
- So far, limitations of
battery technology in terms of range (how far the car can travel before
the battery runs out of charge), battery replacement and its costs,
battery composition and safe disposal, energy efficiency of battery, and
infrastructure constraints have narrowed the scope of its application”.
Battery technology needs to evolve more to improve energy, power
density/efficiency, increased useful life, and use of environment-friendly
substitutes for harmful lead and cadmium
The trajectory of zero-emissions vehicles will become clearer
after some of these uncertainties are resolved.
“This is the policy challenge. EV regulations will have to
address these barriers and the fiscal incentives that the government is
crafting must be linked with performance benchmark of the EV technology.”
Conclusion :-
In summary, for reaching a sustainable position in the area of
alternate propulsion system, such an ecosystem needs to be developed with
long-term government support and the involvement of industry and academia.
NEMMP 2020 is expected to play a key role for creation of a sustainable
ecosystem for the development of electric vehicles in India.
*************************************************************************
Some facts :-
- At least 15
Indian-made electric, hybrid vehicles are on display at the Delhi Auto
Expo, a radical shift from the previous editions this year.
- Some of these cars are Maruti Suzuki India Ltd’s Swift
RE, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd’s Camry Hybrid, Tata Motors
Ltd’s Iris and Magic, TVS Motor Co. Ltd’s electric
scooter and electric three-wheelers and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd’s e2o and
Maxximo.
- A report by Yale and Columbia universities last week
called Delhi the world’s most polluted city. Electric Vehicles could be a
viable solution to this (Arvind Kejriwal r u hearing me ?)
- In India, the department of heavy industries has
undertaken studies on how sales of hybrid cars had been incentivized
around the world, including the US, the UK, China and Germany.
- A major incentive to increase EV sales is subsidies, and
there have been scattered attempts by the government on that front.
- In the UK, the Toyota Prius—a hybrid of electricity and petrol—is one of
the most common cars used by government departments, including senior
ministers, members of parliament and civil servants.
 |
