Big EV Opportunity

1. Big EV Opportunity

2. India’s commitment to its climate goals is reflected by the notable actions being taken for transition to a low-carbon economy. After announcing massive renewable energy targets, the country has set yet another ambitious target – to move to 100 per cent electric vehicle (EV) sales by 2030. • The National Mission on Electric Mobility Plan (NEMMP) is aimed at achieving the sale of 6-7 million hybrid and electric vehicles every year from 2020 onwards. This will also help the country reduce the burden on the exchequer through a reduction in oil imports while reducing its carbon footprint.

3. To make the EV plan viable, one of the crucial components of the EV ecosystem is the charging infrastructure. Significant investments are required in the development of publicly available, fast-charging stations to support the massive EV growth. At the same time, the EV ecosystem would need smart charging solutions that provide network management, dynamic billing, energy savings, etc. The industry has been responding positively to the new business opportunity. There has been a rush of activity in the sector, including several announcements in terms of new EV manufacturing and setting up charging infrastructure. On the back of such ambitious targets, the auto industry is gearing up to draw up plans for electrification. Auto players are strengthening their existing portfolios with more launches, investing in research and development.

4. For the power sector too, the government’s EV push provides a number of opportunities. EVs are expected to open up additional areas of revenue generation for discoms. For gencos, which are struggling with low power off take, EVs would drive up power demand and allow them to improve capacity utilization. However, to fully capitalize on the available opportunity, several challenges need to be overcome. Some of the barriers to the adoption of EVs include high financial risks for the industry, high cost of ownership for consumers, lack of charging infrastructure, policy and regulatory hurdles, undeveloped battery swapping infrastructure, lack of adequate focus on R&D in batteries, EV components and domestic manufacturing, as well as lack of awareness.

5. India can draw valuable lessons from global markets like the US, Europe, Japan and China, which have been early-adopter markets for EVs. These markets have been supported by government initiatives, funding and technology development. Read more – https://powerline.net.in/2017/12/10/big-ev-opportunity/