The Indian government aims to have only electric vehicles on the roads by 2030, but does the country have the charging infrastructure to achieve this target?
By Potshangbam July
Creating a robust EV charging infrastructure is one of the key requirements to ensure the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in India. The country’s drive towards e-mobility is moving at a slower pace than expected. The use of EVs is relatively low at present, despite their many benefits from the economic and environment perspectives. The EV sector is expected to generate more employment opportunities, and ensure a clean and decarbonised transportation system in the future. Unfortunately, India’s EV charging infrastructure is still in its infancy at present and is yet to catch up to meet the country’s requirements, severely hampering EV acceptance. As per reports, with the current charging infrastructure, India can only achieve 30 per cent EVs on the road by 2030, as opposed to the target of a 100 per cent switch.
FAME II – is it the silver lining?
As far as the charging infrastructure is concerned, the second phase of FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) scheme is expected to result in a major boost to the EV segment. FAME II was launched in February 2019. This incentive scheme is an extension of FAME I, which was introduced by the Central government in 2015. Recently, the new finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, in her maiden Budget speech, made some favorable announcements with regard to FAME II. These include:
There will be income tax exemptions for prospective buyers of electric vehicles (EVs) and a reduced GST from 12 per cent to 5 per cent on EVs.
To promote faster adoption of electric vehicles, the government has earmarked ₹ 10 billion for setting up charging stations for EVs. A three-year scheme, from FY19-20 to FY21-22, was launched on April 1, 2019. The scheme proposes to provide the right incentives on the purchase of electric vehicles, and also assist in developing charging infrastructure with the active participation of public sector units and private players.
As per the scheme, about 2,700 charging stations will be set up in metros, other cities, smart cities and in hilly states across India. The aim is to have at least one charging station within a grid of 3km x 3km. In addition, charging stations will be set up on major highways connecting important city clusters. On such highways, the stations will be established on both sides of the road at intervals of about 25km each.
The incentives announced by the government may not be very attractive in comparison with other developed countries. Nevertheless, it will boost the confidence of investors and manufacturers to roll out environment-friendly vehicles in the country. Many industry experts have welcomed these steps, and stated that they can create a difference in the industry.
Standardisation of EV charging technology
To promote electric vehicles, it is crucial to have charging infrastructure standards that are both practical and applicable in India.
Globally, the charging standards vary from one country to another. In Japan, the industry
uses the fast-charging standard CHAdeMO developed by five major Japanese automakers, including Mitsubishi, Nissan and Toyota. The GB/T fast charging standard is used in China, a new version of which is being developed and will be released in 2019-2020. Another standard is the Combined Charging System (CCS), which is commonly used in the US, Europe and Korea. US based electric car maker Tesla has its own different standard known as Supercharger. Indian companies are required to purchase the licences from other countries to set up charging stations here. This is a major challenge as these licences are quite expensive.
The Indian government is also coming up with its own standards for setting up EV charging infrastructure. According to a report in Livemint, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology (DST), is working on an indigenous charging standard that is expected to bring down the cost of deploying EV charging stations in the country. The standards under development will cater to three types of electric vehicles—light, medium and heavy.
The Centre has adopted both the CHAdeMO and Combined Charging System (CCS) fast-charging technologies in the country, besides the existing Bharat Standard. The government is pushing to use these technologies at all public EV charging stations. However, some experts claim that the electric vehicles that are currently popular in India are two- and three-wheelers. These charging technologies are expensive, and it is not financially feasible to use the high-capacity fast charging CHAdeMO and CCS technologies in India for such vehicles.
To bring about standardisation in the EV charging domain, the Centre has roped in Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Ministry of Power, as the official aggregator to procure the charging infrastructure and chargers for setting up the stations. The procurement costs will be funded by a capital grant from the Union government, available under FAME-II.
Government guidelines for the installation of EV charging stations
Recently, the Ministry of Power issued a set of guidelines for the development of EV stations in India. According to the guidelines, private charging at homes or offices will be permitted, and discoms can facilitate this. There will be no licensing procedures to set up public charging stations, and any individual or entity is free to set these up. But the stations should meet the technical as well as performance standards and protocols issued by the Ministry of Power and by the Central Electricity Authority, from time to time. Any person intending to set up a public charging station can apply for power. This will be provided on priority by the distribution company licensed to supply power in the area.
In addition, the following rules have been framed for those setting up public charging stations:
There should be at least three fast charging points, one each of the CCS (minimum 50kW), CHAdeMO (minimum 50kW) and Type 2 AC (minimum 22kW) configuration.
- The station will also have to provide one Bharat DC-001 (15kW) charge point, and three charging points that supply Bharat AC-001 (10kW).
- There should be adequate supporting civil infrastructure and public amenities.
- The operator is required to tie up with a network service provider to let customers book charging slots online.
These guidelines do not apply to private charging points and to captive charging infrastructure for a company’s own fleet.
Major impediments in setting up charging infrastructure
The cost involved in setting up a charging station is quite high, and the financial returns from such ventures are not certain. The reluctance of private players to invest in charging infrastructure is proving to be a big hindrance in setting up charging ports. By and large, automobile makers have not got involved to speed up the charging operations across the country.
Besides this, the awareness level about the government’s EV charging policy is quite low. Not many know whether or not one requires to obtain a licence to set up a charging station. The confusion around charging standards should be addressed. The government should initiate certain programmes to educate the public on the importance of charging standards.
With no clear business model, no entity has taken on the responsibility to build charging stations. Therefore, policy makers have to play a smart role by not only putting the laws in place, but also offering good incentives in the charging infrastructure space to tackle these challenges.
India’s current EV achievements do not look encouraging in comparison to those of various other countries. Private players are still not confident enough to invest in setting up EV charging stations as they do not foresee much profit considering the low uptake of EVs in India.
However, the Central government is making an effort to promote the use of EVs, but will need to do more. The government, private players, investors, etc, should come together to address the issues pertaining to charging infrastructure. Automobile makers, too, need to be more proactive and join the EV revolution in order to bring about a smooth transition from the current fossil fuel-powered vehicles.
Vinit Bansal, founder and managing director, EV Motors India Pvt Ltd, shares insights into why charging infrastructure is the most crucial enabler in the transition to electric mobility.
EB: What is the current level of the EV charging infrastructure in India?
Electric vehicles hold enormous potential for India not only because they are eco-friendly but also because we can emerge as a hub for EV manufacturing, generating employment and growth opportunities. However, limited availability of charging infrastructure seems to be a major hurdle for a transition to e-mobility in India.
The EV charging market in India is still in its nascent stage, and in order to boost it, the government is framing new regulations and policies As per the FAME II incentive programme, there is budgetary support of ₹ 100 billion, of which ₹ 10 billion has been earmarked for the development of charging infrastructure over a period of three years commencing from April 1, 2019.
In line with the government’s vision of transitioning India into an electric automotive nation, EV Motors has launched its first public EV charging outlet ‘PlugNgo’ at DLF Cyber City, Gurugram, in association with major players like DLF, Delta and ABB. The government has also started making an effort to install more charging stations in major cities. It aims to install 2,700 charging stations across India in the next three years. As the number of charging stations has started increasing, people have started noticing the efforts towards building a charging infrastructure.
EB: Do you think the lack of EV charging infrastructure could be one reason for low EV uptake in India?
Yes, absolutely. Charging infrastructure is the most crucial enabler in the transition to electric mobility. Even though the government is pushing for electric vehicles, there is a long way to go before India develops a robust charging infrastructure.
EV Motors as a startup is working on helping the early adoption of EVs in India by providing charging infrastructure under its PlugNgo brand. Over the next three months, EV Motors plans to set up 20 outlets in the Delhi NCR region, and over the next 12 months expand its reach to other cities including Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Amritsar, Bhubaneshwar, Cochin, Indore and Chennai. The company will also be setting up service centres at each of the cities to provide seamless support for its customers.
EB: What type of EV charging technology is more suitable in the Indian context?
As per the Ministry of Power, India will deploy both CHAdeMO and Combined Charging System (CCS) fast-charging technologies at its public electric vehicle charging stations, besides the existing Bharat Standard. In addition, the BIS standard BIS AC001 has been released for AC chargers (slow chargers) with industrial sockets for two- and three-wheelers.
Fast chargers, based on CHAdeMO and CCS 2 for cars and buses, usually have a capacity of 15kW – 350kW or more. These chargers send direct current (DC) to the EV’s battery through a port and can charge a vehicle in half an hour to 90 minutes. These are mostly useful for individuals, e-fleet operators and corporate users who have fleets of electric cars.
PlugNgo charging stations will comply with both the Indian and international standards, including the Bureau of Indian Standards, the Combined Charging System (CCS), and CHAdeMO.
EB: What are the major challenges faced in the installation of EV charging stations?
There are three major challenges in setting up charging stations. One is access to land, the second is access to the electricity load connection, and the third is access to capital. We are working on addressing these major challenges through partnerships with real estate developers, as well as various discoms and financial institutions.
EB: How do you visualise the EV charging stations market evolving in India over the next five years?
There is a huge opportunity to establish charging infrastructure in India. EV Motors is seeking to install over 6,500 charging outlets, each with multiple charging stations, across India, spread across cities, businesses and residential complexes, over the next five years. These chargers will be networked and connected to PlugNgo’s innovative cloud based integrated software platform.
