EMERGING TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Regn.No.: MAHENG/2019/77824 Volume 7 - Issue 3 – May-June 2020 – `250

Gearing for Post-lockdown Challenges

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IESA Annual Members Meeting

IESA Industry Excellence Awards Virtual Exhibition

Nov| Thursday 5th5th Nov Thursday

6th Nov | Friday

Stationary Energy Storage India (SESI)

e-Mobility (Electric Vehicle & Charging Infra)

Energy Storage & EV R&D Summit

Women in EV & Energy Storage Forum

Buyer-Seller Forum

Country/State Roundtable

Country/State Roundtable

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Energy Storage & EV Investment Summit Start Up Competition

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CONTENTS

Volume 7 – Issue 3 • May-June 2020

COVER STORY

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EARTH DAY REVIEW

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STATE FOCUS

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Procedure

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The RTM is designed based on Intra Day Market Mechanism as follows.   

The market is based on double-sided closed auctions with uniform market clearing price The RTM is conducted once every hour for delivery in four fifteen-minute blocks in each hour RTM will work with following timelines:

Auction Start Time

RTM Auction End Time

22:30 Hrs (of the previous day) 23:30 Hrs (of the previous day)

23:00 Hrs (of the previous day) 00:00 Hrs (of the delivery day)

07:30 Hrs

08:00 Hrs

21:30Hrs

22:00Hrs

RTM Clearing Interval

Communicati on with RLDC/SLDC and Schedule Preparation

23:00 Hrs –23:30 Hrs (of the previous day)

Delivery Period (Delivery on the Same Day, MCP and MCV will be discovered for each 15 minute block)

23:30 Hrs – 24:00 Hrs

00:00:00 - 01:00:00

00:00 Hrs - 00:30 Hrs

00:30 Hrs – 01:00 Hrs

01:00:00 – 02:00:00

08:30 Hrs – 09:00 Hrs

09:00:00 – 10:00:00

22:30 Hrs – 23:00 Hrs

23:00:00 – 00:00:00

…

08:00 Hrs - 08:30 Hrs) …

22:00 Hrs –22:30 Hrs

Pictorially, the above schedule is reflected as:-

POWER

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| Figure 1 May-June 2020

INSIDE TECHNOLOGY

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EXPERT'S NOTE

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FROM THE EDITOR

12 NATIONAL NEWS 20 INTERNATIONAL NEWS COVER STORY 22 Post-lockdown: Old order changeth... opinion 28 Public transport post-lockdown: Prasanna Patwardhan

FUEL CELLS

POWER TALK 32 Anil Srivastava, Principal Consultant & Mission Director, NITI Aayog

POWER TALK 44

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interview 34 N Mohan, Deputy GM, Head - EV Charging Infrastructure at EESL 36 Sohinder Gill, Director General Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles STATE FOCUS 38 Karnataka – Charging ahead on India’s energy transition

ETR PODCAST

E-MOBILITY 40 The wheels of change – electrifying mobility globally

INTERVIEW 62

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leadership speak 42 Jatindra Nath Swain, Chairman and MD – Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd ETR PODCAST 44 Behind the scenes of the PM’s ‘lights-out’ call success CORONA IMPACT 48 Global energy demand amidst COVID-19 pandemic POWER 50 Balancing the energy market in real time

BATTERY STORAGE

CORONA IMPACT

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policy 52 Roundtable for EV Battery Swapping Roadmap 54 IESA seeks clear policy framework for energy storage FUEL CELLS 56 Dr V K Saraswat: Future Fuel INSIDE TECHNOLOGY 60 Clean fuel hydrogen: Dr Satyajit Phadke

FUEL CELLS POLICY

BATTERY STORAGE 62 Back to the future of lead acid batteries 64 Second-life lithium-ion battery scenario

FUEL CELLS 52

CLEANTECH 66 Sidharth Choudhary, ASST. VP - Invest India EARTH DAY REVIEW 68 IESA unites clean energy and transportation leaders on one platform May-June 2020 |

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TH

Inviting nominations for the Industry Excellence Awards 2020 Leaders who inspire change It could be your time to be in the spotlight.

Nomination Categories ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

Energy Storage Company of the Year Energy Storage Tech Innovation Leader of the Year Energy Storage Project of the Year Microgrid Solutions Company of the Year Electric Vehicle Company of the Year Electric Vehicle Project of the Year EV Infrastructure Company of the Year Power Electronics for Energy Storage Solutions Company of the Year Powerful CEO of the Year in Energy Storage Powerful CEO of the Year in Electric Vehicles Women Leader of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award in Energy Storage

Deadline for the nomination submission August 2, 2020 Note: Submission of the application will be deemed acceptance of the award’s terms and conditions as available on the website - www.indiaesa.info Information provided by the nominee will be used for internal purposes only and will be confidential.

For more information write to: event@indiaesa.ifo Visit: www.indiaesa.info Host Magazine Partner

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EXPERT'S NOTE

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Business 'not' as usual: Reimagination to acceleration The past three months have been a time to introspect and also review plans for the future amidst unprecedented scenarios. As India and most of the world entered the lockdown in March, a few of us could anticipate the way the world around us is changing. Although the pandemic has posed a severe challenge for the health care industry, all the other businesses have been affected due to the risks posed to the ‘business-as-usual’ scenario. Almost all industries and commercial establishments have been forced to adopt unprecedented steps, and it has taken us three months to have some normalcy back in our lives. At the same time, the risks are not over - both for the health Dr Rahul Walawalkar President – IESA of individuals as well as for the health of the economy.

Managing Director – CES India Given the current crisis, experts are suggesting many of the initiatives led by the government and private sector will have to be reimagined or at least pushed back. While others, including our core team, believe this is an opportunity and that business-as-usual is no longer acceptable. We have to step up and be prepared to accelerate the pace of adoption towards a sustainable ecosystem. This would require, in some cases, for us to re-evaluate the over-reliance on global supply chains, as Prime Minister Modi outlined in his call for Atma Nirbhar Bharat. This does not mean that we need to go in a shell, but we definitely need to stop thinking about cost as the only parameter for such decisions. The way the world economy and supply chains were disrupted, many nations are realizing that we need diversification and alternative options for the manufacturing ecosystem instead of completely relying on China as the global hub.

We do anticipate China to remain a key part of the supply chain for decades to come, but there is a great opportunity for India as well as many other countries to shore up domestic manufacturing, so The way the world that economy does not come to standstill if another pandemic hits economy and supply us in the future. chains were disrupted, This is a tough time for Indian business leaders. On one hand many are facing challenges due to disruption of labor and logistics, many nations are resulting in challenges of managing cash flows. At the same time, realizing that we need almost all experts agree that this is a temporary disruption and all diversification and other underlying factors still suggest that India would resume the growth story or accelerate it once we tackle this challenge. alternative options The short break has opened our eyes to clearer skies and cleaner for the manufacturing water. We anticipate that this experience could result in a faster ecosystem instead of transition towards clean energy and e-mobility solutions. The Indian government has also added solar and battery manufacturing as new completely relying on champion sectors. With this, we are now anticipating the launch of the China as the global hub.

National Mission for Battery Manufacturing with an ambitious target of 50GWh advanced chemistry cell manufacturing in the coming weeks. India Energy Storage Alliance has also stepped up the efforts for skill development through the launch of a new learning platform for IESA Academy and has adopted the digital pathway to continue building coalitions for achieving our mission.

I hope that all of our readers are staying safe and staying engaged. I am sure, together, we will emerge much stronger and better prepared to transform India into a global hub for advanced technologies in the coming decade.

May-June 2020 |

FROM THE EDITOR

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The many faces of COVID-19 The world’s biggest lockdown had all of us caged in our homes and brought industry and traffic to a complete standstill! Around the world, the lockdown brought on a drastic emission cut. Thanks to it, many of us experienced, for the first time, clean air to breathe and views of the Himalayan Ranges after almost 30 years. Once lifted, we were ecstatic. But the virus attack and the resulting lockdown had completely changed the world. We suddenly realized that we were still not really free – not free to do as we wished: overnight we were responsible for the other person’s life as well as our own. The COVID-19 has made us into a community working together at saving lives!

Then lockdown turned into a catch-22 situation – if the pandemic spares you, income loss will get you. The entire manufacturing setup had ground to a stand still. Even the most promising sectors are still down and struggling to find Ashok Thakur Chief Editor – ETN their feet. Consumer behaviour has turned into a ghost of its athakur@ces-ltd.com former self. COVID-19 has thrown down a major challenge – how to retain business in the face of a lockdown scenario.

Unexpectedly, the virus brought out that section of our society which gives the country the most and receives .. nothing. We have COVID-19 to thank for bringing to light the plight of those who enable the glitzy malls, the high rises and highways and then disappear without a murmur. Now thanks to the publicity, they have to be better cared for.

The COVID-19 ruthlessly disrupted all supply chains and exposed our inefficiencies and weaknesses. We responded with Atma Nirbhar Bharat.

COVID-19 has mocked all sincere efforts of COP21s and solar COVID-19, the mighty alliances: this mighty microscopic virus, by shutting down the world, virus, has demonstrated has demonstrated what measures are actually needed to make what Mahatma Gandhi really effective carbon cuts.

So, now that COVID-19 has demonstrated what needs to be said, “The world has done, how do we go about achieving it? enough for everyone's Right from school we have learned about Gandhiji’s swadeshi need, but not enough for movement and self reliance. We need to revisit this home grown everyone's greed.” truth with which we have grown up. It is up to us citizens to adopt this ideology so that the government is induced to follow suit. It has to be pull and push and not the other way.

India and the world have gone through a period of rapid economic growth. Sadly we have been hypnotized by materialism and forgotten to care for Mother Earth. Our environment has suffered greatly due to deforestation and plundering of the environment. We now urgently need to remove man-made pollution by moving to clean energy and transportation, tree planting on a massive scale and by sincere efforts at recycling.

COVID-19 has given the whole world a rude shock and a loud wake up call to be sustainable, clean and caring of the place we call home.

May-June 2020 |

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NATIONAL NEWS

Energy Storage

PM Modi urges businesses to invest in battery manufacturing and R&D

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 11 delivered the inaugural address to the 95th annual plenary session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) addressing the industry and business leaders via video conferencing.

PM stressed that India is faced with many challenges such as COVID-19, cyclone, earthquakes and more but there is a need find a way to convert these challenges into opportunities, and termed ‘self-reliance’ as the key to moving forward in a post-pandemic world.

PM urged the industrial body and businesses to carve out strategies to achieve this goal by increasing investment in R&D and manufacturing across various industries, and especially those which are currently

heavily reliant on imports of goods such as medical equipment, defence manufacturing, coal and minerals sector, electronics and solar panels, batteries and chip manufacturing and the aviation sector.

Speaking of the need for self-sufficiency in renewable sector PM Modi commented, “Invest in R&D and manufacturing of better batteries to increase the power storage capacity of the solar panel in the country.

You can do handholding of MSMEs, and other such institutions, that are engaged in this work.”

“In the changing world, solar rechargeable batteries are going to be a huge market. India can become a huge hub in this area,” he added.

Highlighting the work of International Solar Alliance PM Modi

PM Narendra Modi addressing the 95th annual plenary session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Source: ANI news

said, “Efforts are being made to share the benefits that India sees for itself in the field of solar energy with the whole world. I request all the members of the Indian Chamber of Commerce to extend their contribution and investment towards the targets set for renewable energy, solar power generation in the country.”

He also highlighted that there is a need to be “vocal for local” i.e. arts and crafts which are indigenous or locally manufactured need to promoted and he stressed on the need to control the trend of getting the same goods from abroad.

Advanced cell battery storage recognized as ‘Champion Sector’ as a part of 'self-reliant' India Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 16, announced government plans to launch an incentive scheme for the promotion of new “champion sectors” with a focus on advanced cell battery storage and solar PV manufacturing in an effort towards making ‘Self-Reliant India’ (Aatma Nirbhar Bharat).

The emphasis of this scheme is on cell manufacturing as it aims to reduce India’s reliance on the import of battery cells and substitute it with domestic manufacturing. The plan is to come up with a suitable performance-linked fiscal incentive

Image for representation only

program to incentivize advanced cell chemistry (ACC) manufacturing in India, said Aman Hans, PublicPrivate Partnership Consultant at the NITI Aayog and Secretary of the ACC Battery Storage Program.

The minimum size for individual factory under the proposed mission is 5 GWh and the maximum is 20 GWh. The performance-linked incentive scheme is designed such that the government will be giving actual cash incentive to the ACC manufacturers. The subsidy disbursement will be based on the levels of performance specifications (i.e. cell cycle life and energy density) of ACC manufactured and the ability of the firm to make actual sales in the market.

NITI Aayog has also proposed to incentivize the entire national ACC manufacturing by proposing a composite matrix of customs duty

| May-June 2020

which will be imposed to facilitate trade for upstream components like raw materials and cell component and there will be relaxation in terms of import duties. While for companies importing end component where the domestic value addition is very minimal, there will be higher custom duty. In addition, for investor assurance, the government will be executing a composite agreement that will ensure the bankability of such projects.

The National Mission for Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage will be the implementing agency for the scheme and the application process will be conducted through a transparent bidding process.

The government is in the final stages of evaluating a 50GWh ACC manufacturing proposal of NITI Aayog and official program launch date is yet to be announced.

14

NATIONAL NEWS

Renewable Energy

ReNew Power bags India’s first roundthe-clock solar power tender

ReNew Power, a major RE producer in India has bagged India’s first round-the-clock (RTC) solar power tender floated by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) at a record low tariff of `2.90 per unit.

ReNew Power won the bid for the whole 400-megawatt (MW) capacity by quoting a tariff of `2.90 per unit.

As per the tender conditions, the tariff will increase three percent annually up to the 15th year of the 25-year term of the PPA, taking the levelized tariff for the project to `3.59/ kWh per unit.

This tender is a significant leap for India’s renewable energy sector as it is the first tender that mandates developers to supply round-the-clock energy from 100 percent RE-based energy generation sources such as wind and solar PV, combined with storage.

The projects under this tender will be set up under the Build-Own-Operate model and the developer will have the option to build hybrid plant using wind or energy storage systems. The project also offers flexibility in the type of storage used – it could be a battery system or pump storage or any other. Power from this project will be sold to the NDMC and Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli, with each entity off-taking capacity of 200 MW. There was no ceiling tariff for the projects, and the developers are free to set up the project on a Pan-India basis.

Other bidders for the 400 MW RTC solar power project included Greenko Energies Pvt. Ltd, HES Infra Pvt Ltd, and Ayana Renewable Power Pvt. Ltd. SECI awarded the tender to ReNew as it quoted the lowest tariff for the entire 400MW capacity.

Recently, ReNew Power also won the auction to supply clean power for peak requirements through the world’s largest renewable-cum-energy storage power purchase tender by SECI through a reverse auction method.

Image for representation only

| May-June 2020

CERC notifies draft regulation for tariff determination from renewable energy sources The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) issued the draft regulation for tariff determination from renewable energy sources on April 29.

The draft regulation applies to cases where tariff for a grid-connected generating station or a unit commissioned between July 2020 to March 2023 and based on renewable energy sources.

The regulations will come into effect from July 2020 and will remain in force up to March 2023, unless reviewed earlier.

The scope of the draft includes wind power projects, small hydro projects, biomass power project with Rankine cycle technology, non-fossil-fuel based co-generation projects, solar PV power projects, floating solar projects, solar thermal power projects, renewable hybrid energy projects, RE with storage projects, biomass gasifier based power projects, biogas based power projects, municipal solid waste based power projects and refusederived fuel-based power project subjected to fulfillment of eligibility criteria.

The eligibility criteria for renewable energy with storage project is a RE project including renewable hybrid energy project that uses, partly or fully, renewable energy generated from such project to store energy into storage facility which is connected at the same point of interconnection as the renewable energy project.

The tariff for renewable energy with storage project will be a composite tariff determined for energy supplied from the project including the energy supplied from the storage facility, provided that such tariff may be determined for the supply of power on a round-the-clock basis or for time periods as agreed by project developer and beneficiary.

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`90,000 crore liquidity infusion for cash strapped Discoms

Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi takes charge as MNRE Secretary Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi has assumed charge as the new Secretary to the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) on May 11.

An IAS officer of the 1987 batch, Chaturvedi belongs to Jharkhand cadre and succeeds Anand Kumar who took charge as the new Secretary to the Ministry of Culture.

Prior to being appointed as Secretary to the MNRE, Chaturvedi was serving as Additional Chief Secretary and Additional Secretary (Climate Change Department) of the Ministry of Climate Change, Environment & Forest, Government of Jharkhand.

He holds a B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT- Kanpur and a P.G. in International Development from Harvard University (USA).

He has worked in the state government of Jharkhand and Government of India at various positions including field and policy level. He has also worked as Joint Secretary or equivalent in PMO, Dept. of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.

Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman on May 13, announced `90,000 crore liquidity injection for power distribution companies (Discoms) as a part of the first tranche of measures to revive the country’s battered economy.

The measures for relief and credit support in the first tranche were focused on businesses and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and were aimed at strengthening Non-Banking Finance Institutions (NBFCs), Housing Finance Companies (HFCs), microfinance, and power sector as well.

As per the announcement the state-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification (REC) will infuse the liquidity of `90,000 crore.

This amount will be used by Discoms to pay their dues to the transmission and generation companies.

The FM underscored the Central Public Sector Enterprises and generation companies should give a rebate to Discoms who are passing the benefit to the end consumer as a relief towards their fixed charges.

In additional measures, government also announced a rebate for Discoms in the lockdown period amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

On May 15, the government directed Gencos under the Ministry of Power including their subsidiaries and central public sector transmission company to offer a rebate to Discoms for passing on to the end consumers for the lockdown period.

Central Power Gencos/Central Transmission Companies have been suggested to consider giving rebate of 20-25 percent on power supplied (fixed charges) to Discoms during the this period.

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Bid submission deadline extended for solar+storage project in Leh & Kargil The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in May extended the bid submission deadline for the 14 MW solar power plant with 42 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at Leh and Kargil to June 30, 2020.

SECI had floated the tender for setting up the plant under Prime Minister Development Package (PMDP) in February this year. The bid submission deadline prior to the extension was June 1, 2020.

In April, SECI extended the bid submission deadline for the project to June 01, 2020, from previously announced April 16, 2020. This is the second extension of the deadline announced

by SECI.

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May-June 2020 |

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NATIONAL NEWS

Renewable Energy

NTPC and ONGC to set up joint venture for renewable energy business

India’s biggest power generator NTPC along with state-run oil and gas explorer ONGC signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up a joint venture for renewable energy business on May 21.

As per the MoU, NTPC and ONGC will explore the setting up of offshore wind and other renewable energy projects in India and overseas. They shall also explore opportunities in

the fields of sustainability, storage, e-mobility, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) compliant projects.

The MoU was signed by Subhash Kumar, ONGC Director (Fin) in-charge Business Development & Joint Ventures and A K Gupta, NTPC Director (Commerce) through virtual conferencing.

NTPC presently has 920 MW of installed renewable power projects in its portfolio and about 2300 MW of RE projects under construction. With this tie-up, NTPC would accelerate its RE capacity addition program and also expand its footprint in offshore wind and overseas renewable energy projects. This will help India's largest power generator achieve its ambitious target of 32 GW of Renewable Energy Projects by 2032.

ONGC has a renewable portfolio of 176 MW comprising 153 MW wind power and 23 MW of solar. This development is expected to help the company's presence in the RE power business and achieve its ambition of adding 10 GW of renewable power to its portfolio by 2040.

MNRE issues draft guidelines for off-grid solar power plant scheme in RESCO mode The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued draft guidelines for the implementation of off-grid solar power plant in renewable energy service company (RESCO) mode.

RESCO model is considered one of the most successful ways to expand solar installation as it is a less capital-intensive solar scheme.

In RESCO mode consumer pays only for the electricity generated, while the solar system is owned by the developer.

As per the guidelines the scheme is applicable only in the Northeast States of India for installation of offgrid solar PV plants through RESCO mode with Central financial assistance (CFA) of 90 percent of the

Image for representation only

| May-June 2020

benchmark cost of the system.

The guidelines provide design aspects for both isolated off-grid systems and grid-connected system and tariff estimation for two cases – one, in which subsidy is paid upfront, the levelized tariff discovered is `5.96 per kWh, and two, in which 50 percent subsidy is paid upfront and the balance after completion of five years, the levelized tariff is `9.55 per kWh. The guidelines propose that under RESCO model the vendor should install and operate the solar power plant of capacity up to 10 kWp for at least 10 years and solar PV plants of capacity above 10 kWp for at least 15 years. Solar power plants will be installed by the RESCO on a build, own, operate, and transfer (BOOT) basis. After completion of this time, the plant will be handed over to the beneficiary in operating condition.

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Terms Terms && Conditions Conditions TheThe Great Great Global Global Cleanup Cleanup Hero Hero campaign campaign willwill bebe conducted conducted as as a part a part of of Earth Earth Day Day Network’s Network’s Great Great Global Global Cleanup Cleanup campaign campaign • Great • Great Global Global Cleanup Cleanup is aisworldwide a worldwide campaign campaign to to reduce reduce waste waste and and plastic plastic pollution, pollution, improving improving habitats habitats and and preventing preventing harm harm to to wildlife wildlife and and humans humans • The • The competition competition willwill runrun from from January January 20,20, 2020 2020 to to March March 31,31, 2020; 2020; during during thisthis period, period, entrants entrants must must undertake undertake actions actions that that result result in ainCleanup a Cleanup • Entrants • Entrants may may organise organise activities activities such such as as poster poster making, making, jingle jingle composition, composition, comic comic drawing drawing or or slogan slogan writing writing to to further further awareness awareness • A•report A report must must bebe submitted submitted of of thethe activities, activities, clearly clearly providing providing data data onon thethe number number of of participants, participants, thethe amount amount of of waste waste collected, collected, thethe approximate approximate percentage percentage of of plastic plastic waste, waste, number number of of activities activities (number (number of of programs, programs, competitions competitions and and clean-ups) clean-ups) and and thethe impact impact of of thethe program. program.

TheThe jury jury willwill shortlist shortlist fivefive heroes heroes based based onon thethe reports reports • On • On or or around around April April 22,22, 2020 2020 (the (the 50th 50th Earth Earth Day), Day), thethe shortlisted shortlisted heroes heroes willwill bebe invited invited to to present present a report a report onon what what they they achieved. achieved.

TheThe three three best best willwill bebe awarded awarded • This • This competition competition is open is open to to entries entries from from anyany individual individual or or teams teams in India. in India.

AnAn entrant entrant cancan participate participate if they if they have have been been able able to to influence influence others others to to join join him/her him/her in the in the cleanup cleanup drive drive • A•team A team may may bebe a corporate a corporate team, team, a school a school team, team, a college a college team team or or a community a community team. team.

In case In case of of a team/group, a team/group, thethe team/group team/group lead lead willwill bebe awarded. awarded.

18

Electric Vehicles

Will expedite vehicle scrappage policy: Nitin Gadkari

The Center on February 25 notified the Battery Waste Management Rules 2020 and sought public suggestions for the same.

As per the draft rules, the government has directed manufacturers and dealers to record and collect used batteries against the new batteries sold, excluding those sold to original equipment manufacturers and bulk consumers.

The notification has four chapters which are divided into eight rules, aimed at fixing the responsibility of battery manufacturers, importers, assemblers, and re-conditioners.

The rules state that it shall be their (manufacturers and others) responsibility to ensure that the used batteries collected back are of similar type and

specifications as the new ones sold, and that collection centers must be set up by them, either jointly or individually, at various locations for collection of used batteries from end consumer and dealers.

The rule adds that it must be ensured that used batteries collected are sent only to the registered recyclers, and the necessary arrangements must be made with dealers for safe transportation from collection centers to the registered recycling spaces. The rule further states that they need to ensure no damage is done to the environment during the process of transportation of batteries from collection centers to recycling areas.

The rules include that manufacturers and others must create public awareness through advertising, publications,

Gemopai to launch mini e-scooter ‘Miso’ in June

Nitin Gadkari Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

posters and other means as deemed necessary to inform consumers of the hazards of lead, cadmium and mercury and their obligation to return used batteries to dealers or collection centers alone. They should also provide instructions for handling and disposal of the equipment after its use.

The notification was issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the draft will be open to public suggestions and objections for 60 days since the rules were notified, following which the government will bring the notification into effect.

Tata Power to have 700 EV charging stations by March 2021

Gemopai Electric Scooters, a joint venture between Goreen E-Mobility and Opai Electric is planning to launch a mini electric scooter ‘Miso’ in India by next month. The company which offers a single-seat option in Miso is calling it “India’s first social distancing mini scooter” that will enable safer mobility amid the COVID-19 conditions.

The Miso mini electric scooter will be available in two variants. One will be equipped with a loading carrier at the rear or luggage rack for use in the commercial fleet segment. The other, will not have a loading carrier, designed for buyers who wish to use Miso for personal mobility.

Gemopai will come with different battery options that will provide a range of 65 km on a full single charge.

With the exception of the battery pack, Gemopai Miso will be a wholly ‘made-inIndia’ scooter.

Private electric utility company and a forerunner in the clean energy sector, Tata Power announced plans to expand its network of smart EV charging points from around 170 at present to over 700 by end of the fiscal year.

The company plans on enabling EV migration in India by creating a national network of charging infrastructure under the brand name of Tata Power EZ Charge.

According to the company, the growth in demand for EVs is expected to outstrip ICE vehicles after witnessing a prolonged slump.

The year 2019-20, recorded a 20 percent jump in volume sales from 1.35 lakh EV sales in 2018-19 to over 1.5 lakh sales.

Tata Power EZ Charge has already installed 170 fast and smart-charging points in various usage environments in more than 20

| May-June 2020

cities across the country, including major metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad, and plans to extend the network to more cities by the end of the fiscal year.

The company is also in talks with metro rail authorities and municipal corporations for setting up EV charging stations across the country and plans on expanding its public charging locations at metro stations, malls, theaters, and along national highways.

Tata Power already has signed MoUs with petroleum companies for setting up commercial EV charging stations at fuel outlets and has tie-up with Tata Motors, Jaguar Land Rover to provide entire charging solutions to them including stations at their locations and home charging for the customers. Tata Power is part of Tata uniEVerse (along with other Tata Group companies) – a concept that has been conceived and developed to enable a complete e-mobility ecosystem to provide for future mobility demands strongly anchored on sustainable solutions.

19

Ather Energy and Bounce announce new bike ownership scheme parking charging solution that is made available to other customers.

This enables users to charge their Ather 450 anywhere from a regular 5A socket. Further, it also provides free access to Ather Grid, the fast charging public network, for one

Electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy announced a new scheme with rental bike platform Bounce that allows Ather 450 owners to rent or lease the e-scooter through Bounce.

As per the new tie-up, buyers can earn money per month by listing their Ather 450 purchase through this deal on the Bounce platform. If shared for 8 days in total, you can earn up to `2,500 per month, depending on successful matching. If you share for more days in a month, you can earn more than 2,500 said Ather Energy.

The e-scooter comes with a portable charger as opposed to a home

year post the purchase in any of the 30 plus locations in Bengaluru.

In order to list your Ather 450 for rent through Bounce, you are required under the Motor Vehicles Act to obtain a commercial permit, Bounce said.

The registration fee of the vehicle will be facilitated by Bounce.

The final price of the Ather 450 under this scheme is `1,15,494, inclusive of Ather portable charger, the FAME II subsidy (`26,732), and five-year comprehensive insurance.

The Ather-Bounce scheme is only operational in the city of Bengaluru for now.

Nitin Gadkari urges EV manufacturers not to depend on China substitution and India should no longer depend on China.

The announcement by the minister came the wake of escalating tensions at the Ladakh border between India and China.

The union minister was speaking at a webinar on India’s electric roadmap post COVID-19.

Mr Gadkari urged that though Indian EV companies earn significant profit by importing parts from China,

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and MSME, Nitin Gadkari in June said the government is formulating a new policy on import

in the long term the country should produce everything locally.

He also stressed that there was a need to focus on research and innovation to ramp up domestic manufacturing in India. He, however cautioned Indian companies saying Chinese companies may give a reasonable concession in the beginning but later as industry production increases, they will hike the charges.

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20

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Energy Storage

Fluence unveils sixth-generation energy storage technology

Fluence on June 16 announced the launch of its sixth-generation energy storage technology stack combining factorybuilt hardware, advanced software, and data-driven intelligence.

The company which is a result of two pioneers in the energy storage field coming together, Siemens and AES, has already secured orders for 800 MW, 2300 MWh of projects using the new technology. Fluence already is the popular choice for customers in the renewables industry such as Enel,

Fluence’s sixth-generation energy storage technology built for Gridstack.

Source: Fluence

LS Power, sPower, and Siemens, and major power suppliers and industries have already committed to deploy Fluence’s sixth-generation technology in Asia Pacific, North America, and Europe.

Fluence sixth-generation technology stack creates the foundation for three purpose-built systems, Gridstack, Sunstack, and Edgestack, that are configured for grid, renewable and commercial & industrial (C&I) applications, respectively, while easily addressing the need for larger systems and larger fleets of systems.

According to the company, the sixthgeneration energy storage technology includes three components: Fluence IQ: Digital intelligence engines use data and machine learning to improve system decision-making, manage battery degradation, reduce operating costs, and optimize energy market dispatch.

Fluence Operating System (OS): Built on a decade of digital control system development, the fully integrated operating platform combines comprehensive controls, system visibility, and asset management to improve asset performance at a single site or across entire fleets.

Fluence Cube: The factoryassembled building block is 4-5x more modular than traditional systems and incorporates the latest technologies for rapid installation and scale, consistent operations & maintenance, and improved quality control.

Fluence over the years has reduced the total cost of energy storage systems by 90 percent and the new technology stack "focuses on driving down the non-battery costs of energy storage systems by up to 25 percent" addressing the need for larger systems” company claimed.

Form Energy secures its Amara Raja partners with first utility deal: to deploy Gridtential Energy for bipolar battery technology 1MW/150 MWh energy storage technology Amara Raja Batteries Ltd, one of the leading industrial and Form Energy, the Bill Gates backed startup which is working on creating a new class of batteries that would provide long-duration storage at ultra-low-cost has secured its first utility deal for novel super-long duration energy storage technology.

The Massachusetts-based startup signed a contract with Minnesota utility Great River Energy to jointly deploy a 1MW/150 MWh pilot project which will come up in Cambridge, Minnesota. Minnesota utility Great River Energy on May 7 confirmed that it will pilot Form’s technology – an 'aqueous air' battery system. Form Energy’s battery system is a significant leap as it delivers 1 MW of power for 150 hours — significantly huge over the Li-ion batteries currently in use at most grid-scale storage projects lasting for about two-to-four hours max.

"A true low-cost, long-duration energy storage solution that can sustain output for days, would fill gaps in wind and solar energy production that would otherwise require firing up a fossil-fueled power plant. A technology like that could make a reliable, affordable 100 percent renewable electricity system a real possibility," said Jesse Jenkins, an assistant professor at Princeton University who studies low-carbon energy systems engineering. | May-June 2020

automotive battery manufacturers, has entered a formal agreement with Gridtential Energy to collaborate on bipolar battery technology on June 1.

As per the technology evaluation agreement, Amara Raja Batteries and Gridtential Energy will assemble and test Silicon Joule bipolar reference batteries (invented by Gridtential Energy) using Amara Raja's active material to determine improvements in cycle life, energy density, battery efficiency, charging rates and manufacturability.

According to the statement released by the two companies, Silicon Joule bipolar technology enables an innovative class of advanced lead batteries with silicon at its core. It is a design-driven, low-cost, high-performance, patented energy storage solution that provides improved power density, cycle life, dynamic charge acceptance, and wider temperature range, with up to 40 percent lower weight, while retaining full lead-battery recyclability. Gridtential Energy offers non-exclusive licenses for Silicon Joule technology, enabling manufacturing partners to easily adapt their factories to provide high performing, higher voltage 24V and 48V batteries to their customers for the hybridautomotive, low-speed electric vehicles, energy storage system and home back-up markets – all without giga-scale capital investments.

Image for representation only

Lithium, cobalt production to soar as demand for clean energy increases: World Bank The latest World Bank report states that production of minerals like graphite, lithium and cobalt could increase by nearly 500 per cent by 2050 to meet the growing demand for clean energy technologies.

An estimated three billion tonnes (3,306,933,932 tons) of minerals and metals will be needed to deploy wind, solar and geothermal power as well as energy storage required for achieving a below two degrees celsius future.

The report 'Minerals for Climate Action: The Mineral Intensity of the Clean Energy Transition' also finds that even though clean energy technologies will require more minerals, the carbon footprint of their production -- from extraction to end-use -- will account for only six per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions generated by fossil fuel technologies.

The report underscores the important role that recycling, and reuse of minerals will play in meeting increased mineral demand. It also notes that even if we scale up recycling rates for minerals like copper and aluminum by 100 per cent, recycling and reuse will still not be enough to meet the demand for renewable energy technologies and energy storage.

In the current global context, COVID-19 is causing major disruptions in the mining industry across the world. In addition, developing countries that rely on minerals are missing out on essential fiscal revenues and, as their economies start to reopen, they will need to strengthen their commitment to climate-smart mining principles and mitigate any negative impacts.

The report states some minerals like copper and molybdenum will be used in a range of technologies while others like graphite and lithium may be needed for just one technology: battery storage. This means that any changes in clean energy technology deployments can have significant consequences on demand for certain minerals.

Leading French RE producer Neoen to construct Australia’s largest solar farm

Renewable Energy

Leading French renewable energy producer Neoen announced that it has signed 352 megawatts photovoltaic (MWp) capacity PPA with CleanCo Queensland in one of Australia’s “most substantial renewable energy agreement to date.”

As per the statement released by Neoen, the landmark contract will enable Neoen to build Australia's largest solar farm, the 460to-480 MWp Western Downs Green Power Hub near Chinchilla in southeast Queensland, and bring in clean energy into Powerlink Queensland's transmission network.

CleanCo, is Queensland’s publicly owned clean energy company that works towards making electricity affordable, contributes towards achieving Queensland’s target of 50 percent renewable by 2030 and helps create new investment and jobs in Queensland.

With this agreement, Neoen confirms its status as Australia’s leading independent producer of renewable energy.

Image for representation only The construction of the project is expected to begin by July 2020 and energy generation from the solar farm is scheduled to start by the first quarter of 2022.

Sterling & Wilson Solar commissions its first solar PV project in Oman Sterling & Wilson Solar Limited (SWSL), one of the leading Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) provider announced the commission of operations of its first solar PV project in Oman on June 2.

With this project, Sterling & Wilson Solar has become the first Indian company to commission a solar PV project in this region.

According to the company, Sterling & Wilson Solar received the order from Amin Renewable Energy Company SAOC. The Amin Solar PV project, with an installed capacity of 125 MW (DC), will be Oman’s first renewables-based Independent Power Project (IPP) and the biggest single-unit solar park in the world to use bifacial modules, which generate less heat and can withstand the desert’s temperature fluctuations.

Sterling and Wilson Solar has about 9.2 GWp projects commissioned around the world. This portfolio includes a 1,177 MWp solar project Image for representation only in Abu Dhabi, which is one of the world’s largest single-location solar PV plants. The company also manages a portfolio of 7.4 GWp of O&M projects globally.

22

COVER STORY

Post-lockdown: Old order changeth...

Amid all the confusion that the coronavirus pandemic has created, at least one thing stands clear – that we will have to live with the infliction in the near future. So far, we have been fighting the disease with the only remedy we have at hand: ‘lockdown’. But while it has helped create distance with the contagion, it has pulled the whole world into a vortex of change. It is imperative that we come out of it before the economic conditions get harsher.

Image for representation only | May-June 2020

23

Nishtha Gupta-Vaghela Consulting Editor ETN

‘

Crises and deadlocks when they occur have at least this advantage, that they force us to think’ (Jawaharlal Nehru). It is the time to seek a solution for the problems that the pandemic has snarled us in. It is time to rise above the blame game and get down to brass tacks. It is time to rethink, resolve, and evolve.

Now, with lockdown restrictions gradually easing, everyone is staggering to get back on their feet.

The business scenario is gathering its bearings as well. Faced with a slew of deterring issues, getting business back on track is going to be tough.

The road ahead is bumpy, sure, but with careful and measured footfall one can find a way. Like the finance minister has cautioned ‘we have to take baby steps’ towards recovery.

The onslaught

One of the first things that happened with the lockdown was the slowdown of the movement of money; less selling, lesser buying. Enduring the lockdown was a survival feat for most businesses. Some could stretch it on reserve funds; some had to make concessions like pay cut, price cut, and reduced production; and some sadly, had to shut shop.

Post-lockdown, the scene would be no better. Uncertainties are always there, with or without the pandemic; what is more of a concern is the certainty. A look at some postlockdown challenges: - An obvious cash crunch: A report, published in the Economic Times, featured a survey by the community platform LocalCircles that covered around seven thousand businesses across the country. The survey showed that 47 percent of these had almost exhausted their cash funds. Startups and smallscale businesses probably were hardest hit as they have lesser cash reserves and were least prepared to bear a sudden decline.

- Manpower issues: There are

mixed issues here - companies that worked with migrant labor are left without a workforce as most of them have headed back to their native places; others who have managed to retain their workers, are hard-pressed to pay them. So, even if production were to start postlockdown, tackling worker issues will be daunting.

A few associations like the CII, FICCI, AIMO and Assocham, recently had a virtual interaction with Labor Minister Santosh Gangwar to improve the workforce situation of MSMEs. Measures suggested to the minister included discharge of liabilities under the labor laws, increase per day working hours, and relax the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act to treat the lockdown period as lay-off.

- Loans and interest rates: Financial support is what most cash-crunched businesses are expecting from the government to tide over their problems. While the government has released a `3-lakhcrore credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs, the criteria to avail the funds will enable only about 5-6 percent of the MSMEs to benefit from it. There are companies that are now struggling to make existing loan repayments, for them taking on new loans is going to be a disincentive. What the enterprises suggest that could actually help them is deferment of loan payments, and relaxing bad loan norms.

- Supply-chain disruptions: The lockdown has not only affected the manufacturers but also the suppliers in the chain to cease supply. As

Lockdowns delay the rapid spread of the disease, but lockdowns also delay the recovery process

most transportation sectors were also badly hit, the logistics providers found it difficult to move goods too.

For the whole network to restart operations is going to take time.

China, as we all know, is the hub of all global supply chains. It has grown in importance as the main producer of critical components and high-value products. The pandemic has made most countries take a re-look at their dependence on one major source of production and supplies. But decentralizing the juggernaut of global supplies will require a critical evaluation of ones own home-grown capabilities. Well, we are sitting on the tip of an iceberg here; all depends on how hot or how cold it gets.

- Dip in demand: This is an inevitable part of a lockdown; no one’s buying.

Jobs are at risk, salaries are being cut (or cut-off completely), and the uncertainty of the situation is making people stretch the buck in hand.

Spending is a habit we will have to re-cultivate, whereas saving is going to become a necessity.

These are just some of the generic issues that need to be resolved. It is the issues specific to different industry segments that will require real fire-fighting. In the following pages, you can read the views and opinions of industry stakeholders about the post-lockdown challenges and their expectations from the government.

The unknown factor

Amid all the factors that industries will have to face, there are certain that are yet not clear. These unknown/unclear factors are what will remain the same across sectors: - Consumer behaviour: nobody can say with certainty how the consumers will behave after the lockdown. They are cash-strapped too, will spend cautiously as the threat of the virus still looms large. EV sector is hopeful that the consumer might want to buy personal vehicles to avoid shared transportation, and might opt for an EV for its eco-benefits. On the other hand, fleet operators and cab services are expecting to get back on track with new distancing conditions.

May-June 2020 |

24 But, the fact remains: we don’t know what the consumer will do.

- Duration of the infection and the lockdown conditions: we are still iffy on that one. That the virus is going to be around for some time, is something we will have to live with and adopt a cautious lifestyle.

Lockdowns delay the rapid spread of the disease, but lockdowns also delay the recovery process. Right now the decision seems to be based on trial and error.

- The time it will take for economic conditions to stabilize: this point depends upon decision taken on the lockdown. Recovering from a threemonth breakdown (which might extend if there is a second wave of infection) is going to be a slow process, but hopefully steady.

Since this is an unprecedented event, there are no prior references to handle a situation like this. It would be a guesstimate at best.

Government support

All eyes today are hinged on government support. The COVIDweary governments are at a scramble to put things in perspective... there is so much happening all at the same time. There is urgency in trying to move the gears of the economy, but there is also the constant pressure of the increasing COVID cases.

Seeking a balance is easier said.

The government officials representing various sectors have begun meeting industry stakeholders and leaders, in a bid to understand their needs and work out a solution that favours all. Broadly, what most segments are looking at is how the funds of the rescue package will be allocated; if it is through loans, will the interest rates be favourable?

Will there be waivers or reduction in import duties? Will there be tax consideration by way of reduction?

No company is looking for a long term benefit package, just long enough to kick-start and get rolling.

Everyone wants the economy to get on the recovery path; the government, the businesses, the banks, and the people. The sellers, the buyers and the regulators - all need to get the rupee cycle moving, to get the life cycle going.

RE, EV, and ES

India had made plans to move towards green energy, committing to a target of 175 GW RE capacity by 2022, and further extend it to 450 GW by the end of the decade. The COVID crisis had pulled the brakes on the energy transition and with it, the subsequent technological progress in the area of EVs and energy storage. RE projects, specifically rooftop solar, were facing delays due to problems in acquiring material and organising manpower.

To save the future RE plans from derailing the government has taken strong measures to support the industry: according ‘must run’ status to RE projects (solar, wind and small hydro), and granting supply chain delays to be treated as ‘force majeure’.

Furthermore, there is a possibility that a draft bill to amend the Electricity Act, notified during the lockdown period, might make additional provisions for a national RE policy. All this is an indication that maintaining the course of the transition is important to the government.

The EV segment, still in its nascent stages, will probably bear a lesser impact since the market size of EVs in India is still very small. There is no denying that it could prove to be a fast-growing

business, with the consumers now aware of the environmental benefits the lockdown has revealed. The setback for this sector will be seen in the procurement of batteries and maintaining infrastructure.

China accounts for almost 3/4th of the battery manufacturing capacity, and dominates the Li-ion supply chain. With the pandemic causing disruptions in battery supply, the effect will be felt on the EV and stationary energy storage market.

The India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) has stated that it will make a written appeal to the Central government on behalf of the industry representatives, recommending special incentives package for the RE, EV and ES sectors. This includes special GST reduction for a specified period (3 months to 1 year), creation of special ES procurement targets for the next 1-5 year, skill development and capacity building training programs to increase employment.

Change is in order

A sub-microscopic, non-living, parasitic, infectious agent has brought the mighty world to a grinding halt. It has changed the way we live, function and think.

Change is the new order waiting to be embraced. A new set of rules, new risks, and new challenges.

Businesses will assume startup roles, some more than the other.

There will be new markets to explore, more virtual presence, and newer ways to sell. Business models will have to be reworked: reconfiguring the marketing strategy, keeping expenses in check and only focusing on what is essential to survive.

What change to expect: more plastic money, online marketplace, digital transactions, virtual offices, home-office concepts, virtual events (meetings, conferences, webinars, training, etc.), more machines less human intervention...

How long will this change last?

Maybe till it’s time to change again.

“The old order changeth, yielding place to new And God fulfils himself in many ways Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.”

- Alfred Tennyson

Image for representation only | May-June 2020

25

Post-lockdown challenges: Industry views and expectations

Priyank Agarwal Vice President, Head - Business Development & Strategy Exicom Tele-Systems Limited

P

ost-Covid, while the overall sentiment may take time to recover (we expect the market to be back to preCovid levels only by Diwali), we expect EVs to recover faster than the general automotive market, for reasons ranging from higher environmental awareness to lower cost of operating EVs. All of us have seen the amazing benefits to the environment during this lockdown period, which solidifies the benefits of increasing EV adoption.

In the B2B space, we see demand shifting from shared mobility to rentals and e-commerce delivery space. With the need of social distancing, EV-based mobility startups like Yulu and Bounce have started renting their vehicles on a long-term basis. This not only promotes e-mobility but also provides a window for people to understand the ease of owning electric 2Ws. We see two major challenges over the next six months: Challenge 1: Increasing our localization levels by developing a reliable local supplier base.

Exicom has always supported ‘Make in India’ and has high localization content in its products – whether manufactured in-house or sourced through local suppliers. However, there are still several key components which we were importing due to lack of local supply base or lack of economies of scale locally. With lockdown across the globe, our supply chain took a serious hit temporarily.

We are working to develop a local vendor network in the shortest lead time. The orders have been prioritized and multiple sources are being used to keep up with the timelines. We have

also made sure that all our resources are completely optimized.

Challenge 2: Financial situation of MSMEs The EV industry is a nascent one, dominated by MSMEs – both on the customer side and the vendor side.

The last two months have been tough for MSMEs, despite the government’s supportive measures.

We are working with our customers and vendors to evaluate their status and are in constructive dialogue with them on how we can support them tide over this challenging time.

Some specific steps that the government could consider: - Review FAME II to make it more effective in achieving its objectives - Continue with the programs to support building a charging network in the country; monitor rate of execution to ensure speedy deployment - Continue with the procurement program for e-buses for intracity public transport and increase velocity of procurement - The startups working on e-mobility should be supported with funding and some programs should be created to provide them with mentorship by the industry leaders to enhance their knowledge base

Samrath Kochar CEO, Trontek Group

T

here are a lot of mixed reviews. We supply battery to mainly 2W and 3W makers, and what we are seeing is 3W clients have opened but on a limited scale. They say they are expecting 20-30 percent orders in the coming months. Diwali is typically

is good for the auto industry so we might have a breakthrough, but before that we are not expecting any growth.

By Diwali 80 percent we may see business, but before that only around 20 percent, and that too subject to everything getting normal without hike in cases.

We are an OEM supplier to other manufacturers, and we foresee change in demand from companies.

Right now, I can only diversify my product. We have a lot of time for R&D, project and product development, and we are deploying all our energy in that, so that we have something better for the market in next few weeks and months at least.

Cash flow is the biggest challenge; from the biggest industry to a small startup, everyone is facing cash flow problems. The 20 lakh crore [package] is all in the form of loan. There’s a limit to how much loan we can take. Again, we have to pay interest on the loan, that is not a subsidy or funds we’re getting. We are already paying interest on loans taken earlier. Banks too are cautious now so they will not lend easily. Loan cannot be the answer or solution for the problem.

We do not have a wish list at this point, as we know that the government is busy battling the COVID problem, they cannot take care of the industry right now.

We have to maintain business so now we’re cross-training employees; we do not want to lay-off employees.

In battery, there is no growth for now, but to maintain our company’s balance sheet, position, and maintain turnover we have started a healthcare division.

So, we have also started importing health care products and we are manufacturing face masks. It is only for commercial sales.

There could be a possibility that people might want to buy their own vehicles to avoid public transport, but these are middle-level employees who are also facing other challenges like taking care of family needs first, amid job losses and pay cuts. There are job cuts in all major sectors – IT, manufacturing and other. We must accept [COVID-19] as a fact now and learn to live with it.

May-June 2020 |

26

Tarun Mehta CEO, Co-Founder Ather Energy

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he country is facing serious economic challenges as a result of COVID-19, and every Industry is affected by it. The pandemic has disrupted the local supply chains and manufacturing and has also impacted demand in the short term. But it’s important to keep the medium-long term in perspective and not let the short term issues impact the strategic direction more than they need to.

The impact on EVs will be lower since the market size is smaller.

The fundamental need for mobility hasn’t gone away. If anything, those for whom public transport, rideshare, etc., was the primary mode of transport, will now be open to personal mobility. That is great for the automobile industry.

There are two key customer segments in the EV market today - one that is looking at EVs purely from a TCO (total cost of ownership) perspective, and the other that sees EVs as the future of automobiles, and as technologically superior.

For the former, the tough economic environment makes a stronger case to shift to EVs in the near future. And for the latter, preference is already skewed towards the premium end of the market, and will be relatively less vulnerable to the economic impact.

One of the good things to come off this pandemic is people have now realised the importance of a clean and green environment and have witnessed the quick results that can be seen with reduced air pollution. The transport industry can only reduce air pollution by making a systematic shift to electric mobility, this will drive demand.

The impact will last for the next 2-3 quarters, so we are preparing on all fronts to tackle the market changes ahead. We are choosing to focus on just one product for this year.

It will help to create more clarity in everyone, would help cost reduction and quality improvement, production efficiency, and conserve resources on all fronts.

For a lot of OEMs the supply will be severely affected for the next few months, especially those that are dependent on international partners.

Ather has a strong local supplier base for nearly 90 percent of the product being indigenously built and sourced but even we expect to see some delays ahead.

Since 2018, the Centre has introduced several EV policies such as FAME II and the phased manufacturing plan for EVs. Several States have introduced policies that have focussed on creating attractive incentives for OEMs to set up manufacturing plants and some of them are also offering additional subsidies for end consumers. As a result, EV sales have increased by 20 percent in the past year with an uptick in the adoption of high performance e-2Ws. We are hoping the government will continue to ensure that the timelines and goals set for mass EV adoption are met in the years ahead.

In order to revive the traditional automobile industry which was already seeing a slowdown, the government will have to initiate fiscal or policy support. The current stimulus package does not address demand generation or support consumer purchase. So the automotive industry as a whole will be affected in the years to come, ICE and EVs alike.

We also recommend creating a pool of capital that startups in this sector can tap into for long-term debt to the tune of $100 million each. It will go a long way in helping accelerate capacity creation in the industry. Increasingly, more and more usage of vehicles is shifting to models like lease/pay-asyou-use, etc., and we recommend supporting these with existing incentive programs.

| May-June 2020

Nishant Arya Executive Director JBM Group

C

OVID will have a long term positive impact considering the bilateral ties between India and Japan, Korea, and the USA. Japan has already announced a $2 billion investment package for companies to move out of China. The ‘Make in India’ program is sure to gain increased momentum with the in-flow of foreign companies, thereby, strengthening the manufacturing capabilities in-house and India well-positioned in becoming the contract manufacturer for the world.

The government can come up with new tax brackets to promote new companies to invest in India in sectors such as automobiles, textiles, high-tech manufacturing, EVs, etc.

The EV segment is another opportunity area for India. Having gone through the lockdown phase, people are now more focused on their health, safety, and environmental sustainability. Various government schemes that were announced in the recent past, such as the PMP will stand beneficial to promote localization by way of collaboration between the various EV and EV ecosystem players, thereby reducing the dependence on imports.

As we restart production, there are bound to be some delays as realignment of processes and supply chains will take some time, both at the OEM as well as the suppliers’ end. It will be a gradual process due to underlying issues such as availability of manpower, raw materials, transport, etc.

Moreover, the manufacturing plants will be running at less than half the capacity, may be, on a single shift basis per day to comply with the govt. guidelines of 33 percent staff in the premises.

At JBM, we are moving very swiftly towards incorporating Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

27 across our manufacturing facilities that will not only aid in a smoother resumption of operations post the lockdown, but also sustain a safe and healthy working environment for our employees. We are in regular touch with all our stakeholders to ensure seamless communication.

It is a given fact that the impact of COVID19 is going to have adverse effect on all businesses globally, but with the apt support from the government, resumption of activities can be smoother. In case of the auto sector which contributes more than

Ashwin Mahesh Co-founder and CEO Lithium

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he core driver of demand is the ongoing transition from fossil-fuel powered vehicles to clean-fuel alternatives. This is in its early stages in India, but is certain to continue. In the employee transportation sector, for example, less than one percent of the vehicles are EVs, so the remaining 99 percent is the market for Lithium's services. Covid may impact the size of the market, but that would still leave lakhs of diesel vehicles that will be replaced by EVs in the coming years.

I believe that our business volume could be back to where it was in March 2020 by the end of this year or early next year. Our existing business may only come back by 60 percent or so by then, but the remainder will come from new clients. Our fleet at the first of these new clients will launch this month itself.

A second factor is that some companies are having a hard think about sustainability, and many are deciding that it's time to take this step more boldly. That will accelerate the adoption of EVs. We're also rolling out an 'Accelerate EV' program that makes

50 percent of the national manufacturing GDP, the government needs to introduce special measures to bail the sector out of this phase.

We anticipate the Indian government will come up with supportive measures. Like in 2008-09, the govt. had reduced excise duty in the auto sector, now it could introduce a reduction of GST from 28 percent to 18 percent.

The months of April and May are going to fetch no revenues for OEMs, in such a scenario, the workers’ salaries could be paid out through various funds like ESIC for a brief period of it easier for companies that want to try EVs for a few months to do so with limited negotiations and contracting.

The biggest challenge is outside our control. We are worried, like other businesses, that while the country comes out of the lockdown there may be new twists in the pandemic that pushes us back into shutting operations. There's not much we can do about that, however. The rest of the concerns are mostly operational, and no different than they were before the shutdown. In fact, now the main things on my mind are to drive our vision for the mobilityenergy ecosystem much faster. How can we work closely with OEMs to bring light electric trucks to market?

How can we roll out the right infrastructure for fleet ops in different cities? These are good problems to be working on.

In India, government support is usually for manufacturers. And if they provide any support, Lithium too may benefit like other buyers.

Beyond this, however, I don't think it's right to place any expectations on the government. They have their hands full with Covid, and they are also severely fiscally constrained by the slowdown in the economy.

More importantly, EV fleets don't really require support from the government to be viable; we've already proved that. In the coming months and years, newer vehicles will come to market, and more and more market segments will become viable.

The only new direction I would point to, for governments, is to think about legal definitions of vehicles and service types. These are very sharp, and based on the old economy.

time so as to de-burden OEMs to some extent. For goods and raw material that have been already imported, eliminating demurrage charges for priority sector projects can be a viable step. Immediate relaxation by extension of the moratorium on interest payment and easing the burrowing norms and statutory payments can help us tide through the crisis. Taking a cue from global measures, subsidizing manpower cost with prime focus on blue collar jobs to aid workers can reduce the impact of the downturn to some extent.

Shiv Nath Managing Director, Waaree Energy Storage Systems

D

emand drivers are: pending order execution of government tenders, which were to be completed by March 31.2020. Energy storage demand in non –government sector is driven by economics of cost saving, and we feel in coming quarters there will be expansion in that, if the financing of Capex can be handled. EV fleets for e-commerce delivery will drive demand.

Capacity utilization would be important; there should be focus on new application and demand creation in backup power, and also make it green and emission free. E-commerce must be encouraged to switch to green. Thrust should be on economical phase-out of lead-acid and phase-in of Li-ion batteries. Sectors like telecom and rural green electrification can be create demand as infrastructure spend will get focus from government to revive economy.

Become an alternative to China, beginning with system integrators and simultaneously working on quickly setting up Li-ion cell capacities in India to effectively translate the diminishing worldwide interest in sourcing from China.

May-June 2020 |

28

OPINION

Public transport in India – A post-lockdown perspective

P

ublic transport - state-run or private - plays the important role of providing mobility services to efficiently connect people to economic and social opportunities and enhance quality of life, and connecting businesses to labor and markets.

• Private operators serve 300 million passenger trips per day • STUs serve 75 million passenger trips per day • Indian railways make only 23 million passenger trips • Aviation caters to around 15 million passenger trips per day

Public transport needs to be expanded; it should not be restricted to operation of only intra and intercity passenger transport but must be expanded to include all types of services that are used by general public on seat sharing basis. Particularly in India, transportation of many employees of manufacturing and service units are carried out by private operators, and also transporting school children.

Prasanna Patwardhan CMD, Prasanna Purple Mobility Solutions President, Bus & Car Operators Confederation of India (BOCI)

Public transport cannot be seen in isolation. Together with other sectors that depend on it, like tourism and hospitality, it is a big source of employment across all sections of the society. This sector provides livelihood to over 30 million people.

The road transport sector contributes about eight percent of India's GDP and is a major source of revenue to the government exchequer in the form of various taxes: road tax, motor vehicle tax (varying from state-to-state for private operators), passenger tax, etc. This contributes to almost 7.96 percent of revenue for states (ref: Road Transport Year Book (2015-16) Annexure 6.4: Revenue from Taxes on Motor Vehicle and Passengers, as Percentage of States/UTs on Tax Revenue).

Despite this, unlike in other countries, the public transport sector in India does not receive significant financial support in the form of much-needed viability gap funding.

Instead, it faces various burdens of taxation including GST on sale of tickets and purchase of vehicles, tires, and spares; GST and CESS on fuel and lubricants; and toll tax.

The private sector faces even worse economic challenges than STUs, despite the fact that they perform better in both cost control and productivity. Since the nationalization of public transport, STUs have had the exclusive privilege of operating on stage carriage permits while private operators can only operate on contract carriage permits. This is not due to market segmentation, but a fundamental discrimination to promote state-owned public sector operators. In rare cases, where STUs are unable, or in case of partial nationalization within state, the government allows private operators to operate under a stage carriage permit within certain constraints like fare revision. Instead of STUs and private operators complementing each other, they are forced to face off as competitors, leaving customer concerns unattended.

| May-June 2020

In India, the public transport sector is poorly designed both in regulation and management. This is not the sole responsibility of STUs or private service providers. The government has a responsibility of creating an environment enabling all stakeholders to provide transport as a means of exploring socio-economic opportunities.

Post-COVID-19 scenario

The COVID-19 lockdown has inevitably brought everything to a standstill, making all the above arguments seem irrelevant.

Cities are the powerhouses of our economy. With more than 30 percent of the country’s population living in cities, this is where we most find the opportunity to create ideas, exchange knowledge, and celebrate unique cultures. We are social creatures and our way of life is based on interactions - it is how we are built, function, and prosper.

As India declared a lockdown from the midnight of March 24, 2020, the Indian Railways, STUs, and private service providers announced the suspension of all interstate, city, and metro services. This has had a major impact on the public transport sector in India.

What followed was panic amongst the salaried middle-class and unprecedented hardship for migrant daily wage laborers in India’s megacities. Everything we used to access everyday - livelihoods, education, shopping, restaurants, appointments, arts and culture, entertainment, celebrations - is now restricted or banned. All major conferences, concerts, street fairs, parties, and sports events are canceled or postponed. Our cities and their lifelines have ground to a halt.

Impact on public transport sector in India

- Zero fare revenues for operators, while the burdensome tasks

29 like maintaining fleets, paying employees, and bearing other fixed costs, remained - Burden of installments for private operators: in smaller towns, where transport is largely the domain of private bus operators, the pressure to pay monthly installments on their fleet falls largely on them.

These small business owners will still have to pay the entire loan and interest amounts, despite the moratorium announced by the Central government, which merely allows operators to defer payments.

- No wages for paratransit workers: auto, taxi, minivan, and private bus drivers - most of their wages rely on the daily trips they make - made no money for the entire lockdown period Before getting to the point of restoration of public transport, we need to understand the shifts in commuter behavior and align them with larger demographic and economic shifts in cities.

A phase-wise resumption of operations gives public service providers an enormous opportunity from streamlining operations to creating business practices that enhance efficiencies in every form – cost, sustainability, reliability, and passenger outreach. But this is easier said than done without government support.

City services

As an example, let’s look at B a n g a l o r e M e t r o Tr a n s p o r t Corporation (BMTC), one of the country’s most efficient public transport organizations. Before the lockdown, BMTC operated 6000 buses for an average five million passengers daily. This means each bus carried around 800 passengers per day. The passenger area inside a 12-metre bus is around 20 sq.mt.

During peak hours, the average density is four passengers per sq.mt. (i.e. 80 passengers). Considering social distancing norms of keeping at least one-meter distance, a bus can carry at most 20 passengers at a time. This would mean that BMTC will need to expand its fleet size by four times to meet the

demand. That’s around 24,000 buses.

According to BMTC annual report, cost of operation per km is `60. An average run of 200 km per day would cost `12000 per day. On the other hand, they could fetch revenue of `10,000 a day with overloading to the extent of 80 passengers in peak span. If the capacity is reduced from 80 to 20 (25 percent), the gap of three-fourth revenue cannot be compensated through an equivalent rise in the existing fare structure.

To compensate the shortfall in future capacity, BMTC would need to increase its fleet by four times, and to compensate the additional costs it has to either increase the fare four times or get amount equivalent to that from the government by way of viability gap funding.

If this is the case for an efficient public transport operator, it is clear that the existing public transport infrastructure in the cities cannot meet the current demand (even if it is lower due to economic slowdown) while also ensuring social distancing.

Though very unlikely, let’s assume that STUs might get viability gap funding from the government, but the situation of private operators who are particularly engaged in city operation is much more critical and infeasible.

At the same time, it is unrealistic to expect everybody to have access to personal modes of transport.

Then the question remains: how people will move when the existing operators are unable to provide services and close down or reduce their operations?

If wearing masks makes it possible to lift the physical distancing restrictions in airlines or other communal areas, then this rule should be applicable to all communal areas. Singling out public transport infrastructure will only suggest the incorrect notion that public transport is riskier than other communal spaces. There is a need to limit crowds and human density in all urban areas through staggered schedules for economic and social activities. This would limit and change the impact of peak hours and allow for better management of the demand in public transport systems.

Government to the rescue?

Though the tax structure on public transport varies from State to State and between STUs and private service providers, it is roughly around 35 to 40 percent of the total cost of operation, including tax on fuel and spare parts.

A logical solution for the above gap is to waive this portion of entire tax for at least one year, and increase the passenger fare by another 30 percent. Compensate the remaining portion by waiving interest to existing loans or provide funding without interest for at least next three years.

Since both STUs and private service providers are in the same frying pan, the government should extend both an equal opportunity of serving the public, by liberalizing tax and permit constraints.

As components of the solution, the government should consider the following.

• Do away with all taxes for public transport such as GST, MV and toll tax at least for next one year • Increase validity of insurance policies by at least three months and not increase annual premium for next one year • Give fixed quantity fuel per vehicle without charging excise and CESS at basic rate • Allow such public and private companies to buy more buses without levying GST for next one year • Give them vacant government lands for free parking • Give a waiver on interest on loans for certain period, reschedule loans and provide additional working capital at concessional interest rates • Pay employees salary through ESIC/PF fund till social distancing norms last and get it recouped in next three to five years

Intercity services

The economics of intercity services is not very different from that of city services, except that there is no overloading. But to restrict its seating capacity while adhering to the social distancing, its capacity would reduce to 30 to 50 percent.

Hence, above mentioned solutions also apply to intercity operation.

May-June 2020 |

30

Employee mobility

I believe more and more companies would like to bring their employees to a secure environment with strict health checkup and would likely opt for dedicated transportation arrangements of their own. Under distancing norms, companies would require a large number of buses, even assuming a certain portion of employees would work from home.

Whether they hire a service provider or manage themselves, the cost of operation would increase in a similar range, which employees may not sustain and instead would switch to personal modes of travel. Hence, here too the government is expected to extend help as mentioned above.

School buses

This is a highly sensitive area and finding a right solution is going to be a serious challenge. Highend schools might not face a big challenge as they can increase the fees to some extent to compensate for the additional burden of hiring more buses to transport children.

But in standard schools, collecting more money on account to transport children would be difficult. To address this issue, they will probably have to use the same buses for longer distances by having staggered starting and closing of different

divisions, and giving operators additional money to cover their running cost.

Buses exclusively for tourism

This sector would find it the hardest to survive. These operators will have to find other business for at least the next one year. Due to social distancing norms, capacity utilization of buses in public transport is going to come down by 70 to 80 percent.

Which means, even if the demand goes down by 25 to 30 percent due to recession, there will still be some requirement for additional buses.

Tourist buses can fill this gap if the government allows public transport operators to run them on their existing routes without making many modifications to their body structure, making it a win-win situation for everyone.

Similarly, the employee mobility market will also require luxury buses as many companies may want their employees to travel in more comfort and some companies might change their employees' benefits from car usage to buses to reach their offices.

If the government wants to continue providing safe and efficient public transport services, it is imperative to provide the above

mentioned support. In its absence, personal motor vehicles will congest roads, spoiling the environment and creating more hardships for travelers due to traffic jams. People without the capacity to buy their own vehicles will be deprived of employment opportunities available farther away from their home, which will create a shortage of employees resulting in an economic slowdown.

Transport is an essential service for any economy to grow and must be nurtured well. India is in a good position today, as many countries would like to shift their manufacturing base from China to other countries. India is best placed to grab this opportunity, provided Indian industries sail through this pandemic. Without government support, Indian manufacturers will not be in a position to utilize this opportunity and global giants may choose to shift their manufacturing base to other options from South America, Eastern Europe, or other Asian countries.

Unfortunately, the transport, travel, and tourism sectors are completely ignored in the bailout package. I hope that the government of India takes serious note of the above suggestions and comes out with a real solution which will allow the transport sector to survive.

GROW YOUR NETWORK

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32

POWER TALK

Disruption and the highway to opportunity What does it take to seize the moment and launch Indian industry into one of the biggest growth trajectories ever? Deliberating on how to configure and navigate the changing times in India, Anil Srivastava, Principal Consultant & Mission Director, NITI Aayog, speaks of impending changes and the need to achieve.

I

ndia, like so much of the world today, is at the portal to a future based on renewable energy. Our government takes special mention, since at the Paris Agreement it has committed to 175 GW of RE by 2022.

Numerous steps have been taken by the government to accelerate renewable energy, storage and e-mobility in India. Let us try to delve into what will happen in the future and what is in store for us.

Before I launch into the subject, I would like to mention an interesting observation made by Dr Rahul Walawalkar, where he said that cost reduction is not the only factor for adoption or promotion of electric vehicles. I would add that government subsidy is also not the only factor for the adoption of EVs. The reason being, if we keep the government

away, things would probably move at a faster pace, and overall, it will work in the interest of all the stakeholders.

Take for instance MeitY (Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology) - it tried to enter the cell manufacturing and the handsets business. The resulting consequences are that we are the largest consumers for handsets, but we hardly manufacture any.

The same can be said for solar panels.

What we need to understand now are the outcomes of this massive technology disruption that is currently taking place. Could we, for example, question if it is possible for EVs not to be adopted or not succeed.

EVs appeared in 1837, before ICE technology; but because of the convergence of technology, they came into prominence just recently.

The necessary ingredients which

Anil Srivastava | May-June 2020

were needed for this to happen have evolved almost 200 years later. For any disruption to occur a time needs to come when conditions reach a tipping point - the point, when the time is appropriate for that disruption to take effect. This time has come for the energy sector – it is not only for electric mobility or for the clean mobility industry, but a disruption for the entire energy sector per se.

Disruptions in e-mobility

This enormous disruption which is going to take place in mobility, transport, and energy is beyond what we can imagine: EV operating equipment is 10 times cheaper than ICE; maintenance cost of an electricmotor vehicle is 10 times cheaper than for an ICE vehicle; EVs also last longer in terms of life span and so EVs are bound to succeed. The writing on the wall is the crumbling or the death of ICE technology, as the Economic Times published on their cover page more than two years ago.

The other disruption in store is the falling demand for the automobile.

Transport-as-a-service or mobilityas-a-service is going to be the norm.

Predictions are that by 2030, 95 percent of the miles travelled will be through shared / fleet mobility, and only five percent will be through personally-owned vehicles. Transport would be available on demand, the cost of transportation will be extremely cheap, and that in turn will place greater spending power in the hands of the common citizen; as a result the expenditure within the economy will improve.

As with RE, there are a hundred related disruptions that will take place in the near future. How well prepared we are to incorporate them and how

33

"We have to encourage as well as build confidence in the Indian industry by creating awareness that the size and scale of India is our biggest opportunity" will we embrace the changes? this remains a challenge. A few great advantages we have going for us is that we are one of the fastest growing economies; we have a large pool of young talent and a huge market size. We are also the fastest-growing automobile market in the world. Until recently the entire world had eyes turned towards India, especially for the ICE vehicle and the petro-diesel segment.

The EV has brought about a disruption in global patterns and systems as well: commercially no one would have imagined four

years ago, that Chinese automobile players would participate in the Auto Expo 2020 held in Noida. But these are the facts - the development of the new order.

Keeping pace with development

The biggest challenge ahead for the Indian government and for NITI Aayog is how best to embrace these disruptions. In fact the rate of innovation is so swift that I find it is difficult to keep pace. However, one has to constantly adapt and evolve – we have to encourage as well as build confidence in the Indian industry by creating awareness that the size and scale of India is our biggest opportunity. Our industry should move forward to a position of global leadership. That probably is the toughest challenge for us.

India has made a global name for itself in the software and computer sectors. Similarly, with the participation of IESA and a hundred other such organizations that are working in renewables, we should join

to make India a name in the storage and renewable energy related space.

I am also happy to note that I find the younger crowd, the start-ups, more confident than the established players in this area.

So now the question arises of implications of disruption – and one of the answers to this is the redundancy of the grid structure: why should we invest in infrastructure to transfer electricity? That technology faces a disruption in the form of decentralized generation, decentralized storage and decentralized consumption of energy. And I stress the point again of how lucky we are, because we have so much solar energy available to us. It provides a huge opportunity for Indian enterprises to grow.

All the established players that are in the automobile or the energy business, even those that are Fortune 500 companies, need to look at the kind of disruption taking place. At the same time this is the greatest portal for the Indian entrepreneur to step into, and make the best use of a tremendous opportunity.

Image: For Representation Only

WE CAN STOP CORONA HELP PREVENT THE SPREAD OF RESPIRATORY DISEASES LIKE COVID-19 May-June 2020 |

34

INTERVIEW

Making India EV-ready EESL recently announced ramping up EV charging infrastructure in the country by setting up 2,000 EV charging facilities by March 2021.

Shraddha Kakade, Assistant Editor - ETN interacted with N Mohan, Deputy GM, Head - EV Charging Infrastructure at EESL, in an online interview to understand the revenue model, standards for chargers and other details for their upcoming charging stations.

What will be the standards for the new 2K EV chargers which will be installed?

The new 2K EV chargers that will be installed are Bharat standard DC-001 (15kW) chargers with high capacity 122kW DC fast chargers with combinations of Combo Charging Systems, including 50 kW [European standard], CHAdeMO – 50 kW [Japanese standard], AC-Type 2 – 22 kW [Global standard] Till date, we have installed 84 public charging stations complying with DC-001 (15kW) in cities of Delhi, Noida, Kolkata, Chennai, and Nagpur.

Apart from these public charging stations, EESL has installed a total of 470 captive chargers, out of which 170 are Bharat standard DC-001 (15kW) fast chargers and 300 are Bharat standard AC-001 (10kW) chargers.

What type of revenue model is being considered by EESL for the new charging stations?

EESL is working on aggregating demand by procuring EVs in bulk to leverage economies of scale by reducing the range anxiety among the consumers, and increasing the adoption of e-mobility. The main capital required for setting up charging infrastructure depends on the availability of land, and as of now, it is being provided free of cost by most of the municipal bodies or firms for public charging stations. EESL works with them under the revenue sharing model; EESL pays a certain sum as a land rental to the entity for every kWh utilized by the company.

With EESL’s innovative model of demand aggregation and bulk procurement, it receives EVs and chargers at a significantly discounted rate vis-à-vis the actual market value.

Further, with access to low-cost funds, it is able to discover the most competitive project costs. Using this approach, EESL has established a sustainable business model, which makes EVs and related infrastructure affordable for the company and for end-users.

Where will the EV charging stations come up?

We are planning to set up EV charging stations in 9 - 10 major cities in the current year. These cities include Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Noida, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata.

N Mohan

EESL has installed more than 300 charging stations across India, what has been the response to those facilities?

In pursuit of increasing the charging infrastructure penetration, EESL has partnered with urban local bodies in cities like Hyderabad, Noida, and Ahmedabad, and is in discussion with others to set up charging infrastructure within cities. We have | May-June 2020

Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, is a public energy service company (ESCO), under the Ministry of Power, entrusted with the implementation of energy efficiency programs in India. It is a joint venture of NTPC, PFC, REC and POWERGRID. Its aim is to set up 10,000 charging stations over the next twoto-three years thereby creating an enabling EV ecosystem in the country. It has already installed over 300 charging stations. also tied-up with various private and public companies such as Apollo Hospitals, BSNL, Metro Corporations, BHEL, BPCL, and others, to set up public charging infrastructurein their respective areas to boost the adoption of e-mobility in India.

We have taken a leap of faith and feel that the offer to taxi operators and aggregators is to take the vehicle from us on dry lease [without the driver], and pay us `6,000 per month with 3,000 km free charging at any of our public charging stations in Delhi.

Instead of paying `1,400 for diesel, they would spend `200 per day.

We feel demand has picked up with time and has seen quite a good attraction from the EV fleet and cab aggregators around the facilities. We look forward to making the country electric.

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36

INTERVIEW

India upshifts e-mobility ambitions to top gear Now is the most opportune time to change the mobility landscape of the country. How to achieve the inflection point that is a precursor to exponential growth was discussed by Sohinder Gill, Director General - Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles, in conversation with Ashok Thakur, Chief Editor – ETN. SMEV has been at the forefront of driving e-mobility in India. With the COVID-19 outbreak how do you foresee the EV market for the rest of this year for each EV segment?

The impact of lockdown can be seen across all industries. With companies shutting down their manufacturing units, and supply chains becoming a challenge, it has impacted the market. We anticipated that the situation would normalize post lockdown, but unfortunately the cases have been increasing in the last few weeks. Though several companies have resumed operations, we feel that it will take another 2-3 months for things to become normal.

The first six months of this financial year may give only 10-15 percent of the annual volume, but we hope to recover in the later six months. We will see increased demand, especially for personal vehicles, i.e. entry-level segment cars and two-wheelers.

Sohinder Gill

Speaking specifically of e-2Ws and e-4Ws in the personal segment: while there is increasing environment consciousness among buyers, which could further increase post COVID-19, do you think price still remains a challenge for these vehicles?

The e-2Ws that have speeds between 25km/hr to 40 km/ hr use smaller batteries, which are now cheaper or priced similar to the petrol 2Ws. There can be an exponential growth of such 2Ws, if the government extends subsidy on them. For the high-speed high performance ones, I believe, until we are able to bridge the price gap that exists, the growth will be stunted. The subsidy component thus is an important piece in the growth of e-2Ws. Once we are able to make our local supply chain strong, and with battery prices coming down in the next few years, the issue of pricing will go away.

At the IESA Earth Day webinar you emphasized that now is a good time for the government to promote a strong campaign to accelerate EVs in India. Can you elaborate on that idea and other measures that the government should support?

In order to incentivize a quick adoption of EVs, the government should come up with some bold measures: for instance project EVs as a solution to a clean environment under the Swachh Bharat campaign. This would create massive awareness about the EVs and their benefit to the environment.

Another means could be to instruct banks to finance EVs and reduce the customers’ burden of paying

| May-June 2020

the purchase cost upfront. Lastly, mandate delivery businesses to convert their fleets to electric, which will bring a huge volume of EVs into the market.

In terms of e-4Ws in shared mobility segment or e-taxis, will the segment see a prolonged hit in terms of sale as COVID-19 related safety concerns remain a high deterrent for users?

The segment of shared mobility, whether it's electric or ICE, would have to bear the brunt for a specific period as customers would prefer to travel in their personal vehicles till the situation normalizes. However, once we come out of the current pandemic, we will see e-taxis taking a leap in shared mobility due to lower operating cost.

What were the e-2Ws and e-3Ws sales for the last financial year?

What is your estimate for the current year?

The EV industry sold 152,000 e-2Ws and reported sales of 90,000 e-3Ws, last financial year. The market for e-2Ws looks somewhat optimistic with a robust recovery in the second half of this year due to the surge in demand of personal vehicles as customers consider switching over from crowded mass transport to the sensibly priced e-2Ws at almost the same commuting cost as public transport. New innovative designs are emerging in e-3Ws to maintain social distancing and travel safely. Many companies are planning to expand product portfolios and align their businesses to accommodate customer preferences. We believe both e-2Ws and e-3Ws will see recovery in the second half of the year.

37

“Both the central and state governments have to work in tandem and involve the industry closely in their strategies and decisions to effectively deploy e-mobility” According to you what will be the drivers for e-2W and -3W sales in India?

Increased focus on personal mobility, ease of use and low maintenance cost are some of the drivers for the e-2W segment. In the e-3W segment, affordability, low-running cost and cheaper commuting cost compared to traditional 3Ws are the factors that would drive the demand, especially in the last mile commute.

What are your thoughts on the e-3W segment and its projected growth?

We have seen the e-3W segment growing significantly in the last two years. They have become the preferred mode of last-mile commute. Unfortunately, it is still being dominated by the unorganized sector. However, with companies like Kinetic Green, Piaggio, Mahindra & Mahindra, etc. offering quality products and total business solutions, we see the market consolidating and shifting to organized. We anticipate that this segment will capture a major chunk of the market, surpassing ICE 3W sales by 2025.

Your observation on the current state of e-2W and e-3W market?

Currently, there are approximately four lakh e-2Ws running on Indian roads. In the last five years, the e-2W market has gained significant momentum. The e-2Ws have become

popular amongst customers as they make more sense than ever in terms of environmental benefits and costsavings. Analyzing last year’s sales figure, it shows that the low and city speed scooter category is leading the mass-market adoption in India.

In public transportation, e-3Ws are making a huge impact. We have seen this segment picking up pace in the last few years. As I mentioned earlier, the e-3W segment is still largely run by the unorganized sector. However, we will see this market getting more organized and evolved as many established players have already started investing in the segment.

What will drive demand? Will it be business as usual, or are you anticipating any change factors?

Improved product technology, continued government support, availability of bank finances and a massive awareness campaign would help in driving demand. Also, citizens’ growing consciousness towards environmental-friendly modes of transport is another factor that would push the demand for greener vehicles.

Entry of increasing large and organized players will certainly expand the market and improve adoption.

What do you see as your toughest challenges? How are you prepared to counter them?

The biggest challenge is how to reach the inflexion point that is a precursor to exponential growth. We need to put sufficiently large volumes of EVs in certain cities, say the top 12 polluting ones in the next two or three years to catalyze a positive word of mouth and trigger the inflexion point.

Some of the challenges that exist currently are a lack of mass awareness, a lack of financing and a lack of infrastructure, all of which need to be addressed to scale up the growth of EVs. Beside these, one of the main challenges lies in the lack of

“We need to put sufficiently large volumes of EVs in certain cities, say the top 12 polluting ones in the next two or three years.” an integrated approach between the various ministries and the industry. The absence of a concentrated approach has pushed back the adoption of EVs so far. However, the present scenario offers an opportunity to renew the focus towards e-mobility as everyone, including the policymakers have realized how air pollution can be reduced by substituting fossil fuel vehicles with EVs. How do you think the government can provide support?

Around the world, many countries are making good progress in electric mobility with continued support from their respective governments. We have seen in China and Norway how properly planned and meticulously executed policies can do wonders.

A mix of direct customer incentives, indirect stimulus and a bit of mandating together with an awareness campaign can do wonders to convince citizens to shift to e-mobility.

Reducing the dependence on fossil fuels and cleaning the environment are some of the main agendas of the government. Thus EVs are a definite answer to both these issues. Though we have had some glitches in the policy, it seems that the government is now beginning to clear them up as they have realized the importance of EVs in the larger interest of the country.

I think both the Central and State governments have to work in tandem and involve the industry closely in their strategies and decisions.

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38

STATE FOCUS

Karnataka – Charging ahead on India’s energy transition The Indian state of Karnataka boasts RE share of 62 percent in its power mix and has made concerted efforts towards making Bengaluru, its capital city, the EV capital of India. What remains to be seen is how it will maintain the pace required to sustain the growth.

Source: wikimedia

K

arnataka has been a model for India’s service sector-driven growth over the last decade.

Its contribution to India’s GDP of as much as 10 percent makes it a crucial state for the country’s sustained growth prospects.

In 2017-18, Karnataka became the top state in India for renewable energy capacity, providing a clear leadership and endorsement of the much-needed electricity sector transformation. Ever since, it has retained its leadership position in the Indian RE growth story. As of early June, Karnataka has an installed capacity of 15.2 GW of RE, followed closely by Tamil Nadu. During the financial year 2018-19, 1.3 GW of RE projects were commissioned against a target of 1.9 GW.

The state also possesses the largest solar park in the country at Pavagada which now stands completely commissioned at a capacity of 2,050 MW. The state is also the leader in terms of solar

installations, with 7.1 GW of gridconnected solar PV installed and another 1 GW in development stage.

The state boasts of RE share of 62 percent in its power mix, followed by thermal and nuclear at 35 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. The share of solar in the total installed capacity is around 22 percent.

The Pavagada solar park Source: tumkur.nic.in

Being the leader, Karnataka has also set long term targets. As per the RE policy, the state has set a target of having non-solar RE generation at 6 GW by 2022. It also has set the objective of making Karnataka an investor-friendly State for all forms of renewable investments.

The recent RE success in Karnataka is a result of its prudent energy policies and commitment to comply with renewable purchase obligations enforced by the central government. The fully subsidized open access model for solar power has allowed businesses and developers to mitigate payment and offtake related risks, purchase cheaper and more reliable power supplies, while overcoming the barriers posed by loss-making Stateowned distribution companies.

The state has suffered from an over-reliance on imported coal for its electricity needs in the past decade

| May-June 2020

and has been left with no options but to import electricity from other states or purchase expensive power from the open market. Karnataka does not require any further thermal capacity additions in the coming decade except possibly to replace the 1.7 GW Raichur station, which should be retired as per the guidance in the 2018 National Electricity Plan.

The decade-long ambition to build mega-size gas import capacity and gas-fired power projects has met no success and has rather ended in a waste of capital, land and political effort. The currently under-construction Yelahanka gasbased power project might have to be considered for conversion into a peak-hour power supply facility and even then, without time differentiated tariffs the project could be commercially unviable.

According to BNEF projections, the levelized cost of electricity for coal and gas-fired generation is projected to be much higher than that of Indian wind and solar over the coming decade.

The competition will force either tariff re-negotiations or refusal of expensive thermal power purchase, resulting in more stranded thermal power assets in the state. The state

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should ensure optimum utilization of its current capacity through building more interstate-connected generation and transmission capacity.

Protecting investors’ confidence with offtake and payment assurances will attract capital into rooftop solar, wind-solar hybrid coupled with storage, and potentially offshore wind. The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), a venture philanthropy based in the US that funds investments in clean energy future foresees renewable capacity addition of at least 11 GW by 2027-28, a rather conservative ambition compared with the national target. Building more RE grid export capacity will enable Karnataka to better contribute to the nation’s economic growth, energy security and climate protection effort − all highly commendable goals for India.

Karnataka’s EV journey has also been noteworthy. In his speech, during the 2017-18 Budget, the then CM of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah had announced to make Bengaluru the EV capital of India. A lot of work has been done in the state since. The state was the first to come out with an EV policy and was also seen as the first mover in terms of deploying EVs on road. Karnataka is looking to attract investments to the tune of `31,000 crore from companies looking at research R&D, and manufacturing

of EVs in the state, at a time when the Center is using a heavy hand to force automakers to switch to green technology. Karnataka has been the first state to roll out an EV and energy storage policy that looks not only at boosting sales of EVs, but also setting up charging infrastructure and special manufacturing zones. The state estimates that it will be able to create employment for 55,000 individuals over the next few years through the EV industry.

One of the top mandates for Karnataka’s policy is to set up EV manufacturing zones along with facilities for testing that can be used even by startups. Apart from India’s only electric car manufacturer Mahindra Electric, the State is also home to one of the most promising e-mobility startup, Ather Energy. The state is also home for component makers such as Bosch and Delphi, which have begun preparing for India’s electrification drive.

In the recent state budget announcement, Karnataka Chief Minister, BS Yediyurappa announced that `100 million ($13.56 million) would be allocated to establish an EV and energy storage manufacturing cluster in the state. The chief minister also said that under the FAME-II program, 300 air-conditioned electric buses are being added to the fleet of Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC). On similar lines,

the state government is providing a grant of `1 billion ($13.56 million) for adding 500 ordinary e-buses to the fleet of the corporation.

E-bus launched in Bengaluru Source: karnataka.com

The state overall looks very promising and forward-looking in terms of being the early mover in the energy transition, what needs to be closely watched here is whether the state government keeps the focus strong by means of enabling support in forms of policies, and incentives to make this grow into the dream of making the state a leader not only in RE but also in energy storage and EVs.

May-June 2020 |

Debmalya Sen Senior Consultant CES

40

E-MOBILITY

The wheels of change – electrifying mobility globally EVs are at the cusp of many innovations, and batteries are just one subset of the race. With many new technologies joining the fore, consistent innovation and maintaining a sustainability edge will remain a crucial factor for their success.

Electric vehicle getting charged

W

hile we all sit back at home to work amidst the lockdown to remain safe and fight the COVID-19 pandemic, a few positives can be observed.

The environment around seems to be restoring itself. Suddenly, the air has become clean, our surroundings less dusty and CO2 emissions have dropped. Yes, we may get happy reading this, but we should also recognize that this is temporary. Once the lockdown starts getting relaxed, as it has started to, it will not take long for the environment to return to what it was in the pre-COVID era. So, what do we do? Is it time to revisit our priorities and foster change? The answer is: yes.

The electric s-curve

In B-School, there is a subject called Strategic Innovation. One thing particularly impressed upon me was the concept of ‘S-Curve’. It states that every product or service goes through four stages: inception, growth, maturity, and decline. Let us apply this curve to the automobile sector. The internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles have ruled the market for quite long and continue to play a dominant role but ICE as a technology is reaching its maturity, while electric vehicle is new

and is in its early growth stages. The disruptions caused by the EV in the auto sector are similar to what renewables caused to the power sector. ICE players should not make the mistake that conventional power players in the power sector did, of not gauging the effects of the new entrant fully.

Many leading players have already responded to change with announcements of EVs in their portfolio. EV manufacturers, too, need to be careful as there are many players around in the race, each with an equal potential to cause disruption.

While today we are focusing on lithium-ion technologies, hydrogen fuel cells are already ready to make commercial entry into the market. China has already shared the vision to have 30 percent of vehicles as fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) by 2030! So, for all these new technologies entering the auto sector, one thing remains constant and that is, innovation. It is only through innovation that they can remain pertinent in this ever-changing sector.

Global EV scenario

In the EV sector worldwide, there are more than seven million passenger EVs on the road (i.e. around three percent of total vehicles globally),

| May-June 2020

with around 2.1 million of them getting added in 2019. In this, the share of commercial EVs is slowly starting to increase with many e-commerce players shifting to EVs for deliveries across the globe. The percentage of electric buses in the same is also showing much promise (> 500,000 today).

China has been the undisputed leader in the EV frame− from manufacturing to sales. China is followed

by Europe and South Korea, with US coming fourth. Due to greater adoption and government support in forms of incentives, subsidies and phasing out policies of ICEs (13 countries and many municipal governments have already announced), we see price parity coming faster in Europe, the US and China. Europe’s CO2 regulations and China’s EV credit system accounts for more than 50 percent of the EV market. At present, there is a mix of battery electric vehicle (BEV) and plug in hybrids (PHEV), in future the share of PHEV will slowly decrease giving way for a BEV dominated front.

There are other new entrants too, like FCVs, but projections show that FCVs can make a mark in the global vehicle share only post 2030.

By 2040, FCVs would account for around one percent of total vehicles on road. The world will have around 30 percent e-vehicles (in various forms) by 2030. This also means that there will be a considerable rise in electricity demand. Bloomberg’s New Energy Finance projects that by 2040, electrification of transport can add to 5.2 percent to global electricity demand.

EV demand will fuel charging options

Increase in EVS will also require increase in battery production capacity. Today, the global capacity is around 340 GWh/year. This will

41

Electric bus

Tesla Model 3

need considerable increase to cater to the future demand. Going by projections an annual capacity of more than 2000 GWh/year is expected by 2030. The increase in demand also comes on account of the fall in battery prices, which today, stands at $156/ kWh and can fall to sub- $100/kWh level by 2030.

There are huge improvements happening in the battery industry in terms of energy density, better chemistries, battery manufacturing capacity and lower scrappage rates. What also comes into the picture simultaneously is the need for charging infrastructure to charge these batteries. Thus, development of charging infrastructure is equally important to make this growth sustainable. Currently, there are around 930,000 chargers installed world over. China again leads in this segment with more than 50 percent of the global charging stations installed just in China.

The most preferred mode of charging is home charging/ workplace charging, but apart from that around 12 million public charging points will be required by 2040, to cater to the growing demand of EVs. At present the 150kW charger sees more market share, but varieties like 11kW and 50kW chargers are also having a prominent share in the pie. In terms of sales, Tesla Model 3 has been the leader, with around 45 percent sales in the US alone. The two- and threewheeler market has also seen considerable growth in the EV segment, the maximum share in this market comes from China and India, Vietnam is a large market as well. This market until now had been dominated by leadacid batteries, but lithium-ion is slowly

penetrating with reduced cost premiums. The question that now arises is, will the COVID scenario halt this growth? In the short term, it will; but in the long run, the effect will not be as prominent, and growth will find pace.

EV sales promising in Europe

Let us consider the second largest market for EVs, Europe. Europe is second only to China in terms of market leaders in the EV segment.

Europe has seen a steady increase in EV sales due to national subsidies, tightening of vehicle CO2 regulations, increased model availability and rising concerns over urban air quality. Though Europe is the second largest market, not all countries within are growing at the same pace. In 2019 alone, passenger EV sales rose by 41 percent w.r.t 2018, with a total count of around 540,000 units being sold.

Sales in 2020 are expected to take a dip because of COVID-19, especially in the UK and Italy, where business will take longer to return to normal.

To meet the 2030 fuel economy regulations, EV sales are projected to pick up and by 2030, representing 35 percent of all new vehicles sold annually. The pace is expected to slow down thereafter. As of date, Norway, UK, Germany, The Netherlands, and France together account for 75 percent of the EV sales in Europe. Norway, as of 2019, stands at 53 percent of all EV sales, followed by Iceland at 22 percent. The most sold model among EVs, remains the Tesla Model 3 (17 percent of Europe EV sales).

There are many factors that are propelling the growth of EVs and its attractiveness, but economists feel

that increased number of options and a price drop are the two main factors.

The latter half of 2020s can see accelerated sales due to meeting of emission targets and it may also see more subsidies being rolled out. Due to satisfactory proliferation of EVs in the market, price parity also comes early in Europe. With the lower segments estimated to reach price parity by 2022 and the high-end models by 2030.

Over time, as the market matures, Germany is indicated to come out as the country with the highest EV adoption rate (70 percent by 2040), closely followed by France. This is attributed to the high purchasing power, active policy support and EV push by domestic automakers in the country.

Overall, Europe as a market will maintain its growth and see enhanced activities as the decade progresses.

With the US being close behind Europe, it remains to be seen how the two leaders help in faster adoption of EVs in the days to come. As discussed before, EVs are at the cusp of many innovations which the world will witness in the days to come. Batteries are just one sub-set of the race, there will be many more technologies joining the race. It all depends on how sustainable each of these technologies will be and which ones become successful to maintain the sustainability edge over the other in the long run, and keep innovating consistently. This will be the new normal of the present volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world.

May-June 2020 |

Debmalya Sen Senior Consultant CES

42

LEADERSHIP SPEAK

Giant strides in the renewable energy sector Despite a heavy setback caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the RE sector is making a gradual turnaround. In an interaction with Jatindra Nath Swain, Chairman and MD – Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd, Ashok Thakur, Chief Editor – ETN, gains insights into the management of today’s most dynamic sector.

Rooftop solar developers who are executing the projects are facing roof-accessibility constraints and delays in PPA signing with building owners/occupiers, due to the lockdown. The large-scale and medium-scale ground-mounted projects are also facing problems in acquiring land, in material supply, and in mobilising manpower. After the lifting of lockdown they are slowly coming back on track. Many of these may see a delay of 4-6 months in commissioning. Even inter-state transmission lines (ISTS) under execution are getting delayed and MNRE has granted suitable extension. Further facilitation will be done as per merit and requests.

Jatindra Nath Swain

Could you explain the measures taken up by SECI for timely implementation of solar power projects already awarded, especially considering the impact of COVID-19 on the supply chain?

SECI is closely monitoring the progress of all projects and attempting to address difficulties being faced by developers expeditiously. Since many projects are experiencing difficulties due to COVID-19 lockdown, a timeextension of two months has been provided by MNRE to ensure that developers are not unduly penalized.

Besides, major issues are being flagged and interventions from the highest level are being sought to streamline work execution. Further, time extension to developers will also be given.

It is clear that rooftop solar is the hardest hit. What is the impact on large and medium-scale gridconnected solar power projects?

Solar installations in the country stood at 36.5 GW as of March 2020. What has been the impact on SECI tenders and response to request for selection (RfS) amid the lockdown?

SECI has endeavoured to maintain the momentum in tendering activities to the most feasible extent. Tender for 2.5 GW solar capacity was issued in April. Pre-bid meetings are being held in VC mode.

Reverse auction for 400 MW RTC tender was successfully conducted in May, yielding an excellent firstyear tariff of `2.90/kWh. SECI has awarded 1.2 GW solar capacities in April and recently another 6 GW of

“SECI is working to set up its own generation plants to showcase new and innovative technologies.”

| May-June 2020

“The specific requirements of Discoms need to be identified to develop a bouquet of products involving storage.” solar capacity under manufacturinglinked solar tender. So much of the activities are on track.

For certain activities such as bid submission, the deadlines have been extended suitably to account for lockdown related constraints faced by prospective bidders.

Could you share the steps taken up by SECI to ensure business as usual despite the COVID situation?

SECI has endeavored to maintain the momentum in tendering activities to the extent feasible while complying with government directives on work-from-home rule. Remote working has been permitted and normal activity has been ensured. SECI’s tendering system was already 100 percent online. Now pre-bid meetings and consultation are also being taken up through online mode.

A stakeholder consultation is being planned to identify the way forward to provide flexible and firm RE power with a high plant load factor, in virtual mode.

In a historic moment for SECI and MNRE, we saw the conclusion of the e-reverse auction (e-RA) for 400 MW RE projects with roundthe-clock (RTC) supply at a record first year tariff of `2.90/kWh; also the 1.2 GW Peak Power tender

43

“SECI is already in commercial business trading for about 11,500 MU of RE power and with a power purchase agreement of over 32 GW of RE power.” which achieved a levelized tariff of `43/kWh earlier in January.

Could you elaborate on some of the other significant tenders in the pipeline?

The levelized tariff of `3.97/kWh (weighted average) and `3.59/kWh (`2.90/kWh first year tariff), under the peak power and RTC tenders respectively, are excellent tariff discovery and most of the Discoms have shown interest in this. SECI will continue to bid more such tenders while continuing to tender out plain solar and wind tenders as per RE trajectory. Currently, SECI is working to address intermitting and grid-stability related issues of RE by providing flexible and firm power. As I have mentioned earlier, we are holding a stakeholder consultation in June to get wider views on the subject.

At present, apart from the regular solar and wind tenders, several innovative tenders have been issued, the major ones being 1.2 GW wind-solar hybrid and 5 GW RE complemented with thermal power on round-the-clock basis. SECI has also brought out a substation specific 2.5 GW solar bid in Karnataka.

Would it be right to say that a majority of future RE tenders will have a storage component attached?

Energy storage has multiple use points and considering the

increasing share of RE in the power system, the importance of storage facilities will definitely increase.

However, the feasibility of their large scale deployment with RE generation projects or as pooled transmission assets will depend on the cost of such storage projects.

Moreover, specific requirements of Discoms need to be identified to develop a bouquet of products involving storage. However, it is clear that the presence of storage in RE tenders will continue to increase.

What are your thoughts on the tariffs being achieved in such tenders?

Recent bidding results have been encouraging and if the storage costs keep coming down as projected we may see good results in future.

Although tariffs depend on multiple factors, yet we expect prices to remain competitive enough to be saleable.

What are your comments on the proposed National Renewable Energy Policy in the Electricity Act? The National Renewable Energy Policy being proposed by the Ministry of Power is expected to give a new thrust to RE and bring stricter enforcement of renewable purchase obligations across States. As RE is getting more economical and with steps being taken to address intermittency/availability issues, we are confident that RE will emerge as the preferred electricity source in the times to come.

Please shed some light on SECI’s decarbonization efforts through hydrogen-based options.

We are under discussion with industry players and we see RE produced hydrogen (green hydrogen) not only as an energy storage but also an agent

to decarbonize petroleum refining, fertiliser, and steel industry. We will take steps to enter into the segment at an appropriate time when the technology evolves to be techno-commercially viable in Indian conditions.

What are your thoughts on reducing Discom risks, considering the current issues faced by them?

Discoms face multiple challenges in current times and as a power procurement intermediary, SECI has operational dealings with most of them. We are getting payments from most Discoms without major delays, and till date SECI has been making payments to developers on time. The recent order from the Ministry of Power on compulsory operation of letter of credit for purchase of RE power has been a big help in this regard.

We understand that a significant portion of Discom problems stem from subsidized power to farmers and SECI is advocating solarization of agri-power to reduce the burden on Discoms.

We have heard that SECI is planning to enter commercial business and set up its own generation projects. Can you share more details about these plans for our readers?

SECI is already in commercial business trading for about 11,500 MU of RE power and with a power purchase agreement of over 32 GW of RE power. In addition, SECI is working to set up its own generation plants to showcase new and innovative technologies.

Planning is being done to set up projects in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Lakshadweep etc. and these are under consideration of the respective state government administrations.

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44

ETR PODCAST

Behind the scenes of the PM’s ‘lights-out’ call success

I

ndia’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nine-minute lights-out call was met with resounding support on April 5, 2020, without disrupting the electricity grid in India. The PM had urged Indian citizens to switch off lights at their homes and light up candles, lamps, and mobile phones in a display of solidarity and the country's ‘collective resolve’ to defeat coronavirus.

While there were apprehensions about negative impact on the grid due to the sudden drop and spurt in demand leading up to the event, the Indian power utilities along with national and state load despatch centres ensured grid operations remained smooth and uninterrupted throughout the country.

So, how did India’s grid successfully manage a load drop of 31 GW on the night of April 5, for nine minutes?

Netra Walawalkar spoke with B B Mehta, Chief Engineer, SLDC at Gujarat Energy Transmission Corp Ltd (GETCO) to understand what went behind the scenes in managing this unprecedented event successfully.

Can you share how the load despatch prepared for and coordinated the event? What were some of the planning and projections around the event?

BB Mehta

It was a great event. Grid operators are habituated to managing such grid vulnerability on a day-to-day basis.

However, the challenge here was that it was a pan-India event. It was going to be held across India at the same time, so it was important to have meticulous planning.It was a largescale distributed operation but in one way it was integrated also.

Electricity is a concurrent subject in our country; it is not only looked after by the States but also the Central government. All the States were working in a low demand scenario since the lockdown was announced in the country. The general power requirement of the country has fallen by 40 to 50 percent and amid that there was a massive event. To cope up with that contingency we did a detailed analysis with different stakeholders in the power sector.

As you may know, electricity cannot be stored so we need to generate just the amount we want to use and if there is excess then we have to switch off the generation or reduce it. For that, we need to have a response time of the generator which is analogous with the goal given by the PM. So, the fast ramping or fast response devices in the generation segment is hydro and gas power plant and others, so that

| May-June 2020

they have been called upon couple of hours before the announcement of the program and they were to act as per the plan. They were informed that there needs to be lesser gap between the power that is being generated and demanded either on the plus side or the minus side. So, we had a detailed meeting with our generation stations, with regional despatch centres, then we had national meetings by the POSOCO and SLDCs. All the SLDCs connected through video conferencing, and statistical details were prepared and shared.

Initially with respect to Gujarat we submitted a drop of 12,500 MW but our regional load and national drop came around 700 MW to 800 MW only. By and large there was an idea that there will be load drop of 12,500 MW, but we probably misjudged for when it took place, we had around 31,000 MW load drop.

With respect to preparation, we identified the teams that would do each operation, we put experts on those teams and at the power stations and sub-stations. Our protection team was on its toes, for voltage control our sub-SLDC was informed on time and with that level of precise planning we were ready to meet the challenge on April 5.

45 How exactly was the operation managed during the nine-minute event on April 5?

It was very precisely planned as to who will contribute to the management of the grid variation. Say, the grid is having some base-load and there was some delta factor which is going to vary during the nine-minute window, which plant will play role to control that dynamic, so hydro stations were informed and put on mark an hour before the start of the event. They were operating at a megawatt level as per what was planned by the regional load despatch centre and as soon as the load started to fall, they promptly responded by reducing their generation so as to have the net balance remain as is. As soon as the load dropped, the frequency shot up to some 50-point level but by that time the generation was drastically reduced to ensure it does not go beyond the limit.

Further, once the event was over, instructions were passed as to who will pick up how much generation to ensure there is no hue-and-cry over any imbalance or mismatch. They acted promptly and it was a seamless transfer of information. Overall, it was a very tightly integrated approach and there were no more deviations beyond the standards and the grid code, and we could manage in time.

This planned event is unprecedented in the history of power grid, what are some of the learnings from this event?

An important lesson is that our action plan for mitigating these contingencies should be more precise. We should have more detailed study of the load and the component because we anticipated 12,500 MW drop but it went up to 31,000 MW. Further, we had a strict advisory from the government that other States should not face any problems because of us, so we had to doubly back up.

We could curtail wind generation when frequency crossed about 50.2, it was about 600 MW wind generation immediately shut off and it was planned, advanced intimation was given to the wind generation station and they immediately operated it on just one call. We had taken the help of agriculture load too; some of the [agriculture] load was going to switch off just before 21:00 hours on the day of the event so as to have more inertia on the load of the demand.

Some of the agriculture power which was scheduled to start after 21:00 hours, was done in advance. We told farmers they will get power half an hour early so that there is less load drop from the grid point of view and overall grid management will become easier.

Another learning is that we should take help of these dynamics. This may not be available to distribution companies serving only urban cities like Delhi or Mumbai but for large State Discoms this was one of the good opportunities. We still need to have more flexible generation at our disposal in case such contingency arises in the future.

Since 2011 the Regulatory Commission has talked about tightening the frequency band but there has been no firm step taken in this regard, what are your comments on that.

No, they have tightened the band a little but ultimately frequency is a benchmark which indicates the balance between the generation and load.

Today, what happens is that the load is not in my control, everyone is free and flexible to use power as per his convenience, so requirement of power is not in the hands of the grid control operator anymore. It seems to have declined over the last decade as the portfolio of renewable has increased. What has happened is there is limited control of renewable as we do not know how much of the renewable will be harnessed. Now, there is some forecast regulation but that regulation itself has a lot of loopholes. Say, there is percentage error formula which does not

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May-June 2020 |

46 match with the conventional power percentage error formula. There is already an open band with respect to Gujarat, where for up to 12 percent deviation there is zero penalty.

So, if I have 8000 MW portfolio of renewables to manage but I cannot vary more than 250 MW that is one of my boundaries, that is also one of the regulation.

There is huge mismatch between the regulations being planned. They may have the idea to give incentives and promote renewables, but electricity generation from renewables follows a set of laws and that from conventional is governed by a different set of laws. Therefore, with respect to the management of the grid, our rules should be analogous with each other, while amount of penalty can be different. One more thing, we knew that promoting a type of generation say renewable, is going to have huge vulnerability, variability, or uncertainty but we are not planning any balancing mechanism and we are asking grid to do plus-and-minus 250 MW at SLDC-level.

Frankly, we have planned 175 GW, but we never plan any gigawatts for balancing. Now, they are planning 450 GW, but I do not see any associate planning for balancing. If you know you are planning something intermittent or variable, but are not planning to counterbalance that type of source, that will create a lot of problems with respect to the grid operation.

Therefore, administratively, at the policymaking level we need to take a call to ensure we have homogeneous synchronous planning, regulations and policy that supports grid operations in the true spirit.

Unfortunately, due to the lockdown the demand has fallen, but renewable or wind remains as it is. One other important thing was real market operations date, it has been delayed by two months, it was supposed to be started by April 1, and I am surprised as to why that has happened.

The real market operations date is now postponed to June 1, and Discoms and generators will get one more avenue of managing their schedule with real-time market starting and that will help managing charges and penalty, but how do you see the role of energy storage in grid management?

Energy management and energy storage is the need of the time. I already mentioned that we have missed the bus planning about storage and balancing device. We need to take a call on promoting storage.

Today, suppose someone wants to plan a 10 MW storage he has to think about CAPEX, as soon as he is the member of the grid he has to pay the transmission charges, who will bear that cost? These are some of the problems that need to be addressed.

Some of the storage mechanism, which is already with us, like pumped storage hydro station probably panIndia more than 4000 MW pumped storage hydro stations which are constructed, technically tested, but not in operation due to administrative or small technical issues. So, people are talking storage but are not taking actions, there is still no roadmap that is being prepared.

What are your thoughts on battery energy storage systems?

I think somebody has to take the call.

If you remember the history or solar, Gujarat during 2008-09 invited and paid `15 tariff for the solar. Similarly, if we want to grow towards a new technology, somebody has to pay the high cost todayonly then research can take place, industry will take shape, and someone will come with a much lower tariff. Pan-India I do not think we have more than 100-200 MW of storage solutions in service or under construction. That is to say, we have a 3000 MW grid and we do not even have a 300 MW storage solution under implementation.

Thus, someone has to take a call.

This section regularly features interviews transcribed from the Emerging Tech Radio (ETR) podcasts. The interviews are conducted by Netra Walawalkar who is also the Publisher of ETN. ETR is the radio arm of IESA’s media endeavors | May-June 2020

If required viability gap fund can be utilized, but we need it.

Storage in lieu of the penalty of renewable; my point is why do we have that ‘penalty thinking’. My thinking is storage in lieu of balancing the dispatch of the renewable, if you think and talk in that sense then there will a huge quantum and balancing requirement will be justified, and the course can be determined later.

Today, every State regulator is first keen to know what is the penalty of renewable and whether the storage solution fits in or not, so the RE developer is happy to bear the penalty and not go for storage.

That is not the system need; it is a commerce/economic requirement.

My requirement is very simple, if I have variation of wind, a 1000 MW every day, almost 250 days in a year then I need to have at least 300 MW of storage then I can mitigate something. But then, people start asking how much penalty it can raise?

How much impact on your grid? I say, if 1000 MW variation is already there then we should at least have 1/3rd of that for balancing and to keep it operational wherever the support is required it should be granted.

Large transmission projects have huge impact on the tariff of the distribution company, whether the project is taken up by the CTO or the STO but that is being granted because it is essential for transmission of power from one place to another. My plea is that balancing is also an important element of the grid to maintain the grid discipline and to operate grid within the desirable hygiene.

Lastly, the event was a great challenge for us, but it was a large distributed operation with one integrated theme: let us all control the grid. And, we have all been successful.

Netra Walawalkar Publisher ETN

MICROCAST

47

MicroCast - Giving voice to India’s rural change-makers

I

ndia is a melting pot of diversity and different cultures. Based on the government of India statistics, more than 60 percent of India’s population resides in rural India and consists of businesses that are significantly under-represented in the country’s economy.

MicroCast is an initiative started to delve into these rural businesses in India, which have contributed to positive change in the lives of the village community and other rural citizens.

Undertaken by the Microgrid Initiative for Campus and Rural Micro Grids (MICRO) team at Customized Energy Solutions (CES), the aim of MicroCast is to showcase that electrification in rural India is no longer about energy access; it plays a vital role in powering rural livelihoods and encouraging grassroots innovations.

The series began in November 2019, with an idea to give a voice to small rural businesses such as lentil processing plants running on solar energy, solar dryers used to dry spices in the Northeast of India, solar thermal energy-based cookers, small tea farmers, and other innovation that added value to the day-to-day life in rural India.

MicroCast, today has nine episodes which comprise two types of interviewees – one which talks about operators and change agents such as Clean Energy Access Network (CLEAN) and Mr. Chandrasekharan’s E-Hands Energy, and the other that talks about change-makers in the field, like Mr Loknath - a social entrepreneur in charge of lentil processing plants operated by women homemakers in Ramgarh, Jharkhand.

To preserve the natural rural appeal of the show and to ensure language does not restrict our innovators from sharing their stories, several interviews have been conducted in regional languages including Marathi, Assamese, and Hindi, with translations duly provided.

Figure 1- The team at a lentil processing plant, Jharkhand

Figure 2- Cookies being baked using solar energy, Maharashtra

The episodes recorded can be accessed here: https://soundcloud.com/user-744715700 • Episode 0: Introductory Episode with Harsh Thacker, Customized Energy Solutions, India • Episode 1: In Conversation with Clean Energy Access Network (CLEAN) • Episode 2: In Conversation with Loknath, rural entrepreneur from Ramgarh • Episode 3: In Conversation with Raghuraman Chandrasekharan, E-Hands Energy • Episode 4: In Conversation with Nabajyoti Deka, researcher, Organic Tea Plantations • Episode 5: In Conversation with Smita Ram, Rang De, a peer-to-peer lending platform • Episode 6: In Conversation with Dev, Mlinda Foundation • Episode 7: In Conversation with Ritesh Raithatha, Sunwings • Episode 7- Part 2: In Conversation with beneficiaries, Sunwings • Episode 8: In Conversation with Amir Chhaware, Anandwan Smart Village • Episode 9: In Conversation with Jaideep Bansal, Global Himalayan Expedition

IESA

India Energy Storage Alliance

May-June 2020 |

48

CORONA IMPACT

Global energy demand amidst pandemic Even as demand for major fuels plunged globally in the first quarter of 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, renewables gained fresh impetus indicates IEA’s Global Energy Review 2020. Shraddha Kakade, Assistant Editor - ETN summarizes key findings of the IEA report. in the Q1 2020, and the only source that recorded a growth in demand amidst the pandemic.

“Only renewables are holding up during the previously unheardof slump in electricity use,” said Dr Fatih Birol, IEA Executive Director, commenting on the growth posted by renewables.

Analysis from IEA data through mid-April shows that countries in full lockdown are experiencing an average 25 percent decline in Global energy demand amidstenergy COVID-19 pandemic demand per week, and countries in partial lockdown, a decline Even as demand for major fuels plunged globally in the first quarter of the year due to the on an average 18 percent.

COVID-19 pandemic, renewables gained fresh impetus - indicates IEA’s Global Energy In China, where the COVID-19 Review 2020. lockdown was first implemented with Image for representation only around eight weeks of lockdown in Shraddha Kakade he global energy demand coal was the hardest hit—observing Q1 2020, the drop in energy demand Assistant Editor, ETN 8 percent relative was the most, i.e. seven percent in declined by 3.8 percent in the a drop by almost first quarter of 2020, with the to Q1 2019. Oil demand was neg- comparison with Q1 2019.

In the United States, energy power mix shifting towards renew- atively impacted too, and declined The by global energy demand declined percent infell theby firstsix quarter of 2020, percent com-with the ables across all major regions in the nearly 5 percent in the by first3.8 demand power mix shifting towards renewables across all major regions in the world. world. quarter. However, the impact of the pared with Q1 2019. However, the the month of March was In April, IEA released the, ‘Global pandemic on global demand In April, IEA released the, gas ‘Global Energy decline Review in2020’ a comprehensive report that estimated the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on energy demand and CO2 emissions. notglobal only due to COVID-19 lockdown Energy Review 2020’ a comprewas more moderate, at around The 2report is based on data collected from 30but countries, representing more than two-thirds also because of milder weather. hensive report that estimated the percent, as gas-based economies of global energy demand. impact of the COVID-19 crisis on were not strongly affected in Q1 2020. In the European Union, energy demand fell demand by 5 percent global energy demand and COLooking The news, however, is that at agood full-year impact, IEA report estimates, energy will fall in by comsix percent – 2 parison crisis. with Q1 2019. emissions. The report is based on renewable the seven times the remained decline after thebright 2008 spot global financial data collected from 30 countries, representing more than two-thirds of global energy demand.

Looking at a full-year impact, IEA report estimates, energy demand will fall by six percent – seven times the decline after the 2008 global financial crisis.

‘In absolute terms, the decline is equivalent of losing the entire energy demand of India, the world’s third-largest energy consumer,’ IEA stated.

According to the IEA analysis, the demand for all major fuels plunged following the announcement of lockdown (partial or comAnnual energy demand seethe the worst decline plete) by countries around the Annual energy demanddrop drop could could see worst decline sincesince WorldWorld War II. War II. Source: 2020 world. The global demand for Source: IEAIEA 2020

T

| May-June 2020

‘In absolute terms, the decline is equivalent of losing the entire energy demand of India, the

49 “It is still too early to determine the longer-term impacts, but the energy industry that emerges from this crisis will be significantly different from the one that came before,” Dr Birol said.

Renewables demand in India

Electricity mix in India, January – May 2020 Source: based on POSOCO India Electricity mixIEA, in India, January – May 2020 Source: IEA, based on POSOCO India

As for India, the impact on in the electricity supply, as their Q1 2020 energy demand was output remains largely unaffected Since the lockdown, share of increasing coal in the electricity mix is consistently under 70 percent. modest, with the demand by demand.

The share of renewable, which was at 19 percent in late March, jumped to 28 percent by the by 0.3 relative to Q1 2019. India According to the report, renewend of May. implemented its first three-week ables experienced the largest In late May, withlockdown lockdown softening in many of the with country theshare levelsjumping of electricity complete on March 25, parts increase, their to demand recovered while the rising share of renewables in the mix reflected their seasonal therefore, major impact on weekly almost 13 percent, over half a peravailability. energy demand was only felt centage point above Q1 2019. The In India, the electricity dropped with closure of factories and confinement in the overall power sector towards the enddemand of March and quickly the change measures being stringently imposed. The demand drop was most in the second week of the impact is projected to be notable mix was even more marked, with nationwide lockdown, at around 25 percent. renewables increasing their share

by Q2 2020.

By the In endterms of May, electricity demand is starting show steadyinrecovery, fromto 26 percent Q1 2019this to can 27.5be of consumption levels, attributed to increased demand in summers and softening of lockdown stringency in some with the shutdown of the commer- percent in the first quarter of Q1 2020. parts of the country.

The report underscored that in cial and industrial operation, it has Conclusion resulted in a significant drop in elec- majority of the cases, renewables receive priority in demand the grid is and are notto tricity demand, but residential elecFor the full-year estimates for 2020, IEA predicts that renewables expected increase in comparison to other energy sources.asked This isto primarily of low adjust because their output tooperating match tricity demand showed an uptick, costs, andpatterns preferential to many powerdemand, systems. significantly Further, withinsulating recent growth themin with on access weekdays resemcapacity and some new projects coming online this year will boost RE demand. from the impacts of lower electricity bling that of a prolonged Sunday. demand. Resultantly, the share of renewables in the electricity generTrends in renewables energy demand ation mix has recorded an increase What is being observed almost with record-high hourly shares of variacross all regions of the world is able renewables in Belgium, Italy, that the demand depression has Germany, Hungary, and eastern parts lifted the share of renewables of the United States.

Source: IEA Global Energy Review 2020 Source: IEA Global Energy Review 2020

According to IEA’s latest weekly data, the gap between coal and renewables narrowed significantly in India.

Since the lockdown, the share of coal in the electricity mix is consistently under 70 percent. The share of renewable, which was at 19 percent in late March, jumped to 28 percent by the end of May. In late May, with lockdown softening in many parts of the country the levels of electricity demand recovered while the rising share of renewables in the mix reflected their seasonal availability.

In India, the electricity demand dropped quickly with closure of factories and confinement measures being stringently imposed.

The demand drop was most in the second week of the nationwide lockdown, at around 25 percent.

By the end of May, electricity demand is starting to show steady recovery, this can be attributed to increased demand in summers and softening of lockdown stringency in some parts of the country.

Conclusion

For the full-year estimates for 2020, IEA predicts that renewables demand is expected to increase in comparison to other energy sources. This is primarily because of low operating costs, and preferential access to many power systems. Further, with recent growth in capacity and some new projects coming online this year will boost RE demand.

The demand for other major sources of low-carbon electricity, such as nuclear power and biofuels, is expected to fall, too. In fact, nuclear power is set to drop by three percent in 2020 − from the all-time high it reached last year. The global demand for biofuels is expected to fall significantly as restrictions on transport and travel reduce road transport fuel demand, including that for blended fuels.

May-June 2020 |

The demand for other major source of low-carbon electricity, such as nuclear power and

50

POWER

Balancing the energy market in real time Real time electricity markets provide a mechanism for Discoms to access a larger market at competitive prices. At a national level they can help utilize surplus capacity, and effectively manage diversity in demand. In India, RTM was launched on June 1, 2020, by RK Singh minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy, making it one of the few nations that have such a market.

What is Real Time Market?

Real-time electricity markets (RTM) are non-discriminatory transaction platforms that can be used for balancing the energy market. In this the market-clearing price is very close to real-time operations of power systems. One of the main functions of RTMs in modern power systems is establishing an efficient and effective mechanism for maintaining the balance in market participation for Distributed Energy Sources, while handling their intermittent characteristics, facilitating asset utilization, and stimulating their active responses.

Consequently, RTMs are dedicated to maintaining the flexibility and reliability of power systems.

Delivery period for RTM will be a half-hourly market. Buyers/sellers would have the option of placing buy/sell bids for each fifteen-minute time block in the given half-hourly RTM block. And the price discovery mechanism would be double-sided, closed auction a uniform price, similar to existing mechanism in Day Ahead Market (DAM).

The Draft Regulations were issued on August 6, 2019. After public comments, the final notification became public on December 12, 2019. Other regulations amended to make it operational are: Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Indian Electricity Grid Code) (Sixth Amendment) Regulations, 2019; Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Open Access in inter-State Transmission) (Sixth Amendment) Regulations, 2019; and Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Power Market) (Second Amendment) Regulations,

2019. RTM was earlier going to start on April 1, 2020, but due to the COVID-19 situation, June 1, 2020 as decided as the new date for RTM to be operational.

Need of Real Time Market

India has the benefit of an abundance of RE and is also planning to add more of RE to its portfolio, making it difficult for utilities to manage. Therefore, by introducing real-time power market we can deal with the renewable interference and Discom / Generators can manage their power portfolio in a better manner. With more and more RE capacity being added, there will be sudden ramp up and down in the system. The consumers or the Discoms can plan their energy supplies in a better way and generators will be able to increase or decrease their output accordingly. Under the RTM, there will be 48 sessions of halfhour each in a day. It means that trading of electricity would be done

round the clock. After closing of the hour-on-hour session, the power delivery can be scheduled at an interval of one hour. Thus, if a consumer buys power in the 11.30 am-11:30 am to midnight session, the electricity supply can be scheduled as early as 1 pm on the same day.

Procedure

The RTM is designed based on Intra Day Market Mechanism as follows.

• The market is based on doublesided closed auctions with uniform market clearing price • The RTM is conducted once every hour for delivery in four fifteenminute blocks in each hour • RTM will work in given timelines (as shown in the Timelines table below) For operationalizing RTM, the schedules decided at the end of RTM clearing are both financially and physically binding. For this, the concept of Gate Closure is introduced. For each fifteen-minute block in one hour, those with

Timelines Communication with RLDC/ SLDC and Schedule Preparation

Delivery Period (Delivery on the Same Day, MCP and MCV will be discovered for each 15 minute block)

Auction Start RTM Auction Time End Time

RTM Clearing Interval

22:30 Hrs 23:00 Hrs (of the (of the previous day) previous day)

23:00 Hrs – 23:30 Hrs 23:30 Hrs – (of the previous 24:00 Hrs day)

00:00:00 – 01:00:00

23:30 Hrs 00:00 Hrs (of the (of the previous day) delivery day)

00:00 Hrs – 00:30 Hrs

00:30 Hrs – 01:00 Hrs

01:00:00 – 02:00:00

08:00 Hrs – 08:30 Hrs) 22:00 Hrs – 22:30 Hrs

08:30 Hrs – 09:00 Hrs 22:30 Hrs – 23:00 Hrs

07:30 Hrs

08:00 Hrs

21:30Hrs

22:00Hrs

| May-June 2020

09:00:00 – 10:00:00 23:00:00 – 00:00:00

21:30Hrs

22:00Hrs

…

22:00 Hrs –22:30 Hrs

Pictorially, the above schedule is reflected as:-

22:30 Hrs – 23:00 Hrs

23:00:00 – 00:00:00

Graphical representation of the Timelines

51

Benefits of RTM for the Discoms

In India all the states are tied up with long-term contracts for supply of power at higher rates. For fulfilling their peak load demand most states run their own plants during this period and for rest of the day these plants run at technical minimum because of which operation costs becomes high. But after the introduction of power exchange and DAM, these states are able to reduce this burden by replacing this costly generated power. It has been estimated that if each state were to replace its costly generation with cheaper Source: CERC Staff resources available (in Real Time) Figure 1 in other states, the total daily power Figure 1 purchase cost of the country would reduce substantially. It is expected demand for electricity or Discoms the gate for schedule revision for that liquidity in the proposed RTM or traders will assess in advance the hourly trade for 00.00 – 01.00 will increase because of the design what the demand will be. They’ll Hrs closes at 22.30 Hrs of the change in the form of auction and then place their bids in the RTM for previous day. The auction is gate closure.

W i t h i n t r o d u c t i o n o f RT M that volume of electricity. Similarly conducted for the delivery period generators/ traders will place 00.00 – 01.00 Hrs. This process market generators have now the their offers. To ensure firmness of is continued every hour thereafter. mechanism to participate and such bids and offers, the gate for The gap between gate closure share the net gains with Discoms schedule revision will close before and delivery period will be for their un-requisitioned capacity. the start of the auction, as depicted reduced gradually as automation On the other hand Discoms can in Figure 1. In this illustration, of the process improves. now plan their power purchase more r operationalizing RTM, the schedules decided at the end of RTM clearingeffectively are bothand close to the real time as they have ancially and physically binding. For this, the concept of Gate Closure is introduced.

For more competitive price available or in the market. ch fifteen-minute block in one hour, those with demand for electricity or Discoms Currently ders will assess in advance what the demand will be. They’ll then place their bids in the Discoms have the right to recall four time blocks ahead of actual TM for that volume of electricity. Similarly generators/ traders will place their offers. To dispatch. Once the RTM with gate sure firmness of such bids and offers, the gate for schedule revision will close closure before the is introduced, the flexibility art of the auction, as depicted in Figure 1. In this illustration, the gate for schedule to revision revise schedule will change. the hourly trade for 00.00 – 01.00 Hrs closes at 22.30 Hrs of the previousWhile day. the The gap between gate closure delivery period will be reduced ction is conducted for the delivery period 00.00 – 01.00 Hrs. This process is and continued with automation of the process. By ery hour thereafter. The gap between gate closure and delivery period will be reduced introduction of RTM, Discoms will adually as automation of the process improves. benefit on the following counts:i. The Discoms would have access to larger pool of generation resources to meet their contingent requirement in real time as against the existing bilateral resources (under the right to recall) to meet contingencies ii. Prices discovered in RTM are likely to be more efficient then bilateral arrangement under the right to recall iii. The Discoms themselves can sell the surplus power from their contracted generation sources in the real time market and earn the Source: CERC Staff revenue in full.

nefits of RTM for the Discoms

May-June 2020 |

52

POLICY

Roundtable for EV battery swapping roadmap

I

ndia Energy Storage Alliance on May 21 initiated a discussion on EV Battery Swapping Roadmap for India with industry and businesses operating in e-mobility, battery manufacturing and e-charging space.

The virtual roundtable, which began in May, will be held in four sessions over the course of three months. It is intended to create a policy advocacy paper on swapping which will be later submitted to the Department of Heavy Industries, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Ministry of Power, Department of Science and Technology and NITI Aayog.

The theme for discussion for Roundtable 1 was viability and ecosystem and business models.

It was attended by over 45 organizations from industries ranging from automobile manufacturing, e n e r g y, t r a n s p o r t a t i o n a n d distribution to consultancy, utilities, and government bodies.

The takeaway from Roundtable 1:

While discussing the way forward to proliferate electric car chargers, both fast and slow and centralized or decentralized, a few industry players vouched for battery swapping business model. The battery of an EV makes up for nearly 30-50 percent of the total cost of the EV and therefore separating the battery would reduce the upfront cost of

the vehicle, making it competitive with or below ICE counterparts.

Attendees deliberated that the battery swapping business model not only provides a price advantage but also reduces charging wait time and increases run-time.

Keeping in view the abovementioned encouraging aspects of battery swapping, the industry players deliberated on finding a viable customer segment and evolving business case.

As for customer segments, the majority industry players believe in starting with the 2Ws and 3Ws. The idea behind this is considering the fleets to be smaller in size, covering less distance per day, and having minimal operational complexity to swap batteries; swapping makes an economical choice, more so in shared mobility.

As a majority of EV sales in India come from 2W section, there is industry consensus on beginning the electrification of mobility through 2Ws and 3Ws. Bounce, Sun Mobility, Ola Electric, Hop Bike are already implementing this and a policy discussion can be initiated to encourage the industry’s growth.

As for e-4Ws, industry players believe the customer segment can utilize battery swapping services and it would require collaboration with OEMs and formulation of indigenous technical standards. Over time, this looks like a plausible segment but would warrant further interventions

| May-June 2020

for service providers to divulge their resources into it fully.

In terms of e-buses and commercial vehicles, it was discussed that the fixed packs are more suitable for a commercial vehicle since batteries are sophisticated, massive, and require liquid cooling. Further, among the competing technologies, fast charging and flash charging are much more market acceptable for commercial vehicles, and lastly for long-distance intercity buses, there are other technologies like hydrogen fuel cells. There is an alternative to hybrid swapping model, but it is a costly affair.

Therefore, it was discussed that battery swapping for buses and commercial vehicles at the moment seems to be not much of a commercially viable segment. The option of hybrid swapping was too expensive for now and hence this segment would require a few more years of technology advancement to make the battery swapping commercially possible with automated swapping technology.

On the business model, it was agreed that IESA may hold discussions with the financial institutions, both NBFCs and PSEs, to understand their apprehensions and design indices, which can quantify the salvage value/resale value of such vehicles. Such an activity would help in building confidence as well as a resale roadmap for the sector.

53

Roundtable schedule and the theme for discussion: 1st Roundtable: Need for Swapping and Business Models - May 21, 2020 2nd Roundtable: Technical Aspects & Role of Standards – June 3, 2020 3rd Roundtable: Policy Barriers and Drivers – June 18, 2020 4th Roundtable: Final Recommendations on Battery Swapping Roadmap for India – July 3, 2020 The takeaway from Roundtable 2:

The 2nd Roundtable was held on June 3 and covered technology and aspects of standardization and interoperability. Having deliberated the advantages of the battery swapping business model in Roundtable 1, the second session, industry players deliberated on finding a viable customer segment and evolving business case.

They also discussed various technical aspects that had to be addressed over time such as standardization, interoperability, and testing, manual vs automated swapping, cybersecurity, grid connection requirements, vehicleto-grid (V2G), centralized vs. decentralized charging, second-life and recycling.

As for standardization, interoperability, and testing, it was agreed upon that since battery swapping is at a very nascent stage, standards should be there only for safety purposes. For example, EVs having swappable batteries need to be tested as per AIS-038 for M&N category and AIS-156 for L-category vehicles as all these vehicles are tested along with the battery, irrespective of having swapping battery.

It was also agreed upon that standardizing the sliding mechanism and connector installation could be considered once there is mass adoption, as multiple players are experimenting with their own technologies. Since a growing market would eventually correct and

adopt an efficient technology, in due course standardization on the same can be done.

In terms of chemistry, size, and voltage, standardizing the battery packs would hamper the developing market. For different applications, different chemistry and size of batteries is required – portable applications focus on higher energy density, batteries for commercial EV focus on the higher number of miles per swap, while batteries for personal EVs focus on certain limited things. Hence, a one-size-fits-all approach would be a significant barrier in customizing batteries for different use-cases.

In the case of interoperability, some technical standards need to be devised specifying voltage and communication protocols for diverse categories. Also, it will give an OEM flexibility to switch services from one service provider to another.

Besides, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency may take upon the task of devising an energy rating system for battery swapping stations based on their operating efficiency, rating of chargers, or roundtrip efficiency of their charged battery packs.

On the point of manual vs automated swapping, as cost parameter becomes paramount for e-2Ws and e-3Ws, manual swapping becomes a favorable choice for consumers as long as the safety aspect is well addressed. However, automatic swapping is preferred for larger EVs like e-buses because of their heavy battery (650Kg) and needs robotic support.

Although the timing for overall operation for automatic swapping is two-and-a-half minutes with high system cost, it nevertheless makes a feasible case for a fleet of buses in comparison to a network of fast charging station.

For the grid-connection requirement, there are many challenges on the distributionfront like grid inter-connection upgradation, which is an additional cost for a service provider; every state has a different bifurcation for HT and LT lines which creates a problem for service providers.

Therefore, consistent frameworks need to be formulated for EV charging from LT and HT cables.

Due to nascent years of swapping industry, post 8 PM demand is very low and does not overlap with the evening peak. However, if the peak comes during the daytime, then the problem arises for the service providers. Clarification on the tariff for charging batteries at the swapping station needs to be examined.

For EVs, it was discussed that batteries get fully charged in 90 minutes at a swapping station, and therefore for feeding back to the grid, swapping station should have a specific inventory of charged batteries in the station. Although, it is too early to estimate a customer pattern of retrieving and submitting the in-use batteries. Also, to make V2G/SS2G feasible, Discoms should incentivize the swapping stations.

It was agreed upon that a centralized model is preferred over a distributed model due to safety concern and having lesser per battery charging cost.

As for second life and recycling, it was agreed that for second-life applications some projects in the field of energy storage application and RE development are undertaken. For recycling, although the government has laid down regulation that they would require robust recollecting infrastructure and incentive for end-users. Also, formulating a Scraping Value Index (SVI) for such batteries would provide a clearer picture of the approximate value of batteries.

May-June 2020 |

54

POLICY

IESA seeks clear policy framework for energy storage IESA has sought clear definition and policy framework for energy storage in its recommendation to the Ministry of Power on the draft Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2020. Below is the summary of IESA recommendation to the Ministry of Power.

T

he Ministry of Power on March 17 issued the draft Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2020, with the view to usher in major reforms in the power sector by addressing issues of contract enforcement, payment security mechanism, and other crucial issues. The ministry had invited comments, observations, and suggestion from stakeholders by June 5. IESA, being a leading industry body working in the space of energy storage, electric vehicle, renewable integration and microgrids, proposed the following amendments to the the Electricity Act 2003:

Defining energy storage

IESA has suggested for an appropriate definition of energy storage in the Electricity Act. The definition should factor in flexible nature and applications, and its categorization as generation, transmission and/or distribution asset.

Storage purchase obligation

Instead of a Hydro Purchase Obligation, which include significant environment and operational limitation, Storage Purchase Obligation (SPO) should be advocated. SPO can comprise various existing and emerging costeffective solutions that provide appropriate flexibility.

Discoms should be free to choose specific form of procurement, either hybrid RE + storage or RE and storage independently.

Inclusion of missing definitions in Electricity Act

The Electricity Act should explain terms which are used widely in the Act but remain undefined, such as: renewable energy, net metering, cogeneration, storage, energy banking, must-run status, renewable energy certificate, reliability, flexibility, grid balancing.

Control of transmission and use of electricity

The following may be added at the end of section 54 of Electricity Act. “There shall be automatic exemptions for allowed micro-grids, renewable generation, back-up power, energy storage, electric vehicles, as well as other allowed uses as added to this list from time to time [by the Central or State Electricity Regulatory Commission(s)].

Power quality

Smart grids

Allow the aggregation of open access electricity, and access to renewable energy

Defining energy storage

It should be the duty of every supply licensee to ensure power quality (covering voltage, harmonics, frequency, surges, etc.) as per norms prescribed by the relevant authority.

The licensee should be allowed to offer different qualities at different price points subject to regulatory approval as well as meeting a minimum power quality as mandated.

Power quality might require the creation of new services and markets, such as ancillary services, and these need to be enabled by the relevant authorities within two years.

Section 42 of the Electricity Act provides a minimum threshold on contract demand, this should be removed especially for EV charging when the aggregated contract demand is more than 1MW. Currently, the policy allows for open access to avail RE within the State only after paying the cost component to Discoms as fixed by State Electricity Regulatory Commission, this clause should be relaxed as market forces would then ensure competition and drive in systemic efficiency. | May-June 2020

New clause should be added to Section 61. Building upon the National Smart Grid Roadmap released by MoP, all States shall produce roadmaps to enable the following: consumer production participation, renewable energy integration (subsidies, feed-in-tariffs or generation-based incentives), future grid connectivity with microgrids, EV (V2G and charging infra integration with utilities), differentiated supply (time of use, guaranteed supply, power quality, demand response or dynamic load management).

The policy for energy storage sector has evolved over the past few years in India and there is expected to be significant performance improvement in energy storage technologies and cost reduction over the next decade. With MNRE releasing multiple tenders that include storage and with National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage looking to set up 50 GWh advanced energy storage manufacturing capacity, it is highly recommended to include direction from Electricity Act to frame policy framework required for adopting storage technologies in suitable areas.

INDIA ENERGY STORAGE WEEK

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION ON ENERGY STORAGE, EV & MICROGRIDS IN INDIA

IESA Annual Members Meeting & Networking Dinner

02 Nov – 06 Nov 2020

VIRTUAL CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION 2nd Nov | Monday Pre-Conference Workshop / Masterclass

3rd Nov | Tuesday Atmanirbhar Bharat – Energy Storage & EV Manufacturing Virtual Exhibition

4th Nov | Wednesday

5th Nov | Thursday

6th Nov | Friday Energy Storage & EV R&D Summit

e-Mobility (Electric Vehicle & Charging Infra)

Stationary Energy Storage India (SESI) Virtual Exhibition

Energy Storage & EV Investment Summit

Virtual Exhibition

CALL FOR ABSTRACT TOPICS ON ENERGY STORAGE & ELECTRIC VEHICLE Energy Storage Technologies (Lead Acid, Adv. Lead acid, Lithium Ion, Flow Battery, Metal- air, Sodium Based batteries, etc.)

Beyond Batteries (Fuel cell, Capacitor, thermal storage, mechanical storage etc.)

Energy Storage Applications Renewable Integration, Solar-Wind-Storage Hybrids, Rooftop Solar + Storage Ancillary services, Grid Applications, Energy Storage for Utilities Critical Infrastructure (Data center, IT Offices, Hospitals) C&I Applications (Hotels, Shopping Malls, SEZs, Townships) Telecom Towers, Railways, Defense

Emerging Applications (Drones, UAVs, satellites, Medical Devices, Portable and Wearable electronics)

Manufacturing, Innovation, cutting edge research & Development Safety – Standards – Testing and Certification Recycling – Reuse and Second life of Batteries Energy Storage Software, PCS, BMS, EMS, Thermal Management, Inverter Energy Storage & EV Components, Raw Materials, Equipment & Machineries Electric Mobility (EV 2W, 3W, e-rickshaws, electric cars, E-Bus, commercial & passenger vehicles) Hybrid Vehicle, Alternate Fuel based vehicle, Beyond Road transports & material handling equipment Charging Infrastructure, Swapping Models

Microgrid, Off-Grid Solutions and Rural Electrifications

EV Fleet Operators, EV Management Platforms

Smart Grid, Smart Cities, Smart Utilities

Investment & Financing in Energy Storage Projects & Early Stage companies

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56

FUEL CELLS

Future Fuel: hydrogen and fuel cell technologies Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies hold a promise of diverse applications from clean transportation to heat and clean energy. Dr V K Saraswat, Member of the NITI Aayog and former Secretary of the Department of Defense R&D, sheds light on hydrogen and fuel cell technologies and opportunities for India.

I

ndia is the world’s third largest energy consumer. The current demand for imported fuels is significantly outpacing domestic production and the country is being forced to spend valuable foreign capital to procure additional energy resources. Hydrogen is a concentrated primary source of energy which can be conveniently made available to the consumer. It is one of only a few potential near-zero emission energy carriers, alongside electricity and advanced biofuels.

Nonetheless, it is important to note that hydrogen is an energy carrier and not an energy source; although hydrogen as a molecular component is abundant in nature, energy needs to be used to generate pure hydrogen.

This abundantly available element can be converted through highefficiency conversion processes to various forms of energy. Hydrogen is an inexhaustible source, if it is

Dr V K Saraswat

obtained electrolytically from water.

It is easiest and cleanest fuel, which upon combustion is almost entirely devoid of pollutant emissions. In addition, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles use 40-60 percent of the fuel energy with a fuel consumption reduction of 50 percent.

The hydrogen economy

The talk about hydrogen economy has been going on since the 2000s.

Earlier efforts were made to produce hydrogen from nuclear cycles but now there is an emphasis on bio and bio-inspired production.

Hydrogen produced from bio or bioinspired sources will lead towards increased de-carbonization of hydrogen production making fuel cell a viable alternative for transport and distributed power generation applications by the year 2040.

Hydrogen finds various uses in automotive fuel cells, consumer electronics, and stationary electricity and in heat generation applications.

While the promise of hydrogen as a future fuel is well known, a major challenge remains its cost. In the last decade, the cost of fuel cell has come down to $50-60/ kW from $3000/ kW. It is projected that by 2050, 13 percent of total energy demand will be for hydrogen, resulting in an annual CO2 reduction of 7.5Gt in 2050, and annual sales of $4,000 billion for hydrogen and hydrogenrelated technologies. So we see that hydrogen not only benefits the energy system but also the environment and business. Depending on the generation, transmission, distribution and retail pathway, the carbon footprint of hydrogen can vary between almost 20 and more than 230 gCO2/MJ, as

| May-June 2020

per the reports from IEA. For all its simplicity, we have historically not been able to unlock hydrogen’s full energy potential.

Unlike other energy sources, hydrogen is tough to extract, store, transport and utilize. Therefore, so far, hydrogen remains merely a niche ‘energy carrier’ that is used for very specific and niche applications.

Hydrogen production

Hydrogen may be drawn from fossil fuels and wood, water, or a combination of both. Natural gas is currently the primary source of hydrogen production, accounting for roughly three quarters of around 70 million tons of global annual dedicated hydrogen production.

Hydrogen production accounts for about six percent of global natural gas utilization. Fuel costs are the biggest cost component, representing between 45 percent and 75 percent of the cost of production. Low gas prices in the Middle East, Russia and North America are triggering some of the lowest cost of hydrogen production.

Gas importers like India have to deal with higher gas import prices, resulting in higher production costs for hydrogen, as per IEA. According to IRENA, the bestcase supply of renewable hydrogen may be economical today, but other typical conditions require further cost reductions. The lowest-cost wind and solar projects can deliver hydrogen at a cost comparable to that of fossilfuel hydrogen. Figure 1 shows the costs of producing hydrogen from renewables and fossil fuels today. The data suggest that even today, though only in very specific situations, CO2 -free renewables could be among the cheapest sources of hydrogen.

57

Figure 1 Source: IRENA analysis

The futuristic and sustainable solution is green hydrogen generation from renewable. The competitiveness of hydrogen from renewables will continue to improve between now and next few decades, as per IRENA’s assessment. Lifecycle carbon emissions of hydrogen are determined by the primary energy source and the process used for hydrogen production, and need to be taken into account when quantifying climate benefits. While green hydrogen is currently priced between €2-3 /kg, but by the year 2030 prices will fall to €1 /kg.

Hydrogen has proved its mettle in Japan with 95 percent lower wheel emissions and twice the energy per kg compared to natural gas, and 160 times to that of Li-ion batteries. As per IRENA’s estimates, future costs of green hydrogen will be below those for blue hydrogen fossil fuels. By 2035, average-cost renewables also start to become competitive. Pricing of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels further improves the competitiveness of green hydrogen. In the best locations, renewable hydrogen is competitive in the next 3-5 years compared to fossil fuels.

Hydrogen storage

Hydrogen can be stored in various ways, such as gas at normal pressure or at high pressure, in the form of liquid hydrogen or that has a high gravimetric hydride. Hydrogen storage as a gas typically requires high-pressure tanks (tank pressure of 350–700 bar [5000–10,000 psi]).

Hydrogen storage as a liquid requires cryogenic temperatures. The liquid hydrogen is the most common form of storage, is hard and expensive to handle. Like Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Liquefied Hydrogen Gas (LHG) can be transported as a global commodity. The main drawback of liquefaction is its high power consumption, which accounts for about 20-40 percent of the hydrogen energy content in the liquefaction process, in addition to eventual loss of hydrogen due to boil-off.

Liquid hydrogen is stored at minus 253 degrees celsius in super insulated cryogenic storage tanks.

The high cost of liquid hydrogen storage makes it non-feasible.

In recent times, significant progress has been made in hydrogen storage using solid-state storing material, such as metal hydride, chemical

hydride and carbon nanotubes.

Through these processes, hydrogen can also be bottled and transported embedded in hydrides, liquid organic hydrogen carriers and nanotubes which are potentially cheap, safe and easy to manage. Hydrogen is typically saturated with other compounds in an exothermic process at high temperature and pressure.

It is then released in pure form by an endothermic dehydrogenation process at high temperature and atmospheric pressure. But, most of these systems store hydrogen with lesser volumetric energy density and there is need to develop a storage material that has a high gravimetric and volumetric density (9 wt percent), favorable thermodynamics, reversible and recyclable and cost effective.

Hydrogen supply chain

The unique chemical properties that make hydrogen challenging to store, also make it challenging to transport. Hydrogen is taken to market in tanker trucks or pipelines.

Tanker trucks carry the hydrogen in a compressed or liquefied state. During dispensation, the fuelling station has to use a pressurization system, which

May-June 2020 |

58 consumes even more of the remaining usable energy. Unlike, other forms of energy, storage and transport alone offset as much as 50 percent of all the inherent energy in the hydrogen.

Another, way to deliver hydrogen is via gas pipelines, which is the least expensive option for transporting large volumes of hydrogen, but when compared to pipelines for natural gas or oil, hydrogen pipelines are quite expensive.

Hydrogen has gained popularity in countries like Japan and the US, but in India, the costly infrastructure needed to support hydrogen is one of the reasons why it has not been widely adopted yet. India needs to work on refueling site compression, storage and dispensing and compressed gas tube trailers, liquid tankers and carriers, catalysts and regenerators for hydrogenation/ dehydrogenation to realize the hydrogen utilization in power and automotive sector.

Hydrogen utilization

Fuel cells are one of the key enabling technologies for a future hydrogen economy. They have the potential to replace the internal combustion engine in vehicles and to provide power in stationary and portable power applications. A comparative assessment of petrol-fueled vehicle, battery electric vehicle and fuel cell vehicle is well illustrated in the figure below:

Methanol, which is a key feedstock for petrochemical products as well as a fuel additive, can be used as a hydrogen carrier fuel in the future, either directly combusted or reformed on board fuel cell vehicles. India based Thermax Ltd. has already developed a methanol reformer for methanol driven e-mobility. A thorough study shows that a hybrid design with charging done via methanol (hydrogen) will settle many challenges of pure battery electric vehicle.

Fuel Cells

A fuel cell uses the hydrogen or other fuel to generate electricity in a safe and efficient manner. If hydrogen is fuel, then the only products are electricity, water, and heat. Fuel cells can be used in a wide range of applications, including applications for transport, material handling, stationary, portable and emergency backup power. Fuel cells can work more effectively than combustion engines and can transform the fuel's chemical energy into electrical energy with efficiencies of up to 60 percent.

The fuel cells are primarily classified according to the type of electrolyte they use. This classification specifies the type of electrochemical reactions that occur in the cell, the type of catalysts available, the range of temperature under which the cell operates, the appropriate fuel, and other factors.

| May-June 2020

Different types of fuel cells are currently being produced, each with its own advantages, limitations and potential applications. Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC), Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) and Alkaline Fuel Cell (AFC) are low operating temperature fuel cells, while Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) and Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC) are high operating temperature fuel cells. Despite global efforts to develop a fuel cell, some challenges need to be tackled, such as higher membrane ionic conductivity, impurity tolerance such as CO, S, Cl, and low temperature and affordable reformer catalyst.

Milestone for India

It is estimated that India’s hydrogen market set to cross $365 million mark by 2022, as per ASD reports.

To achieve such milestones, we must target on producing hydrogen at a price of $1-2/kg utilizing sustainable hydrogen production pathways. By 2030, India must focus on rolling fuel-cell vehicles on the road, highgrade heat and power, and blending hydrogen with natural gas for domestic supplies.

To realize the dream of Hydrogen based economy, we must focus on Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) as a primary consumer of hydrogen.

These FCEVs refuel rapidly, run quiet and far, and beat the greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, we must focus on large scale R&D to make hydrogen available as a source of clean energy at a price point that can compete with traditional and alternative fuels.

In general, a transition to a pollutionfree, hydrogen economy is possible but the obstacles are significant.

Companies such as NTPC, IOCL, etc. and intuitions like NISE, BHU, IIT, etc. has initiated the transition.

NTPC is targeting to produce green hydrogen at a price of $1/kg, BHEL is working on the process to convert 1cubic meter of hydrogen in 1kWe, and Tata Motors has developed and is currently testing seven fuel cell buses.

Nevertheless, the complete transition is still a long way off. In the meantime, it is important to work to reduce fossil fuel dependence through efficiency and substitution.

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60

INSIDE TECHNOLOGY

Can we generate our own fuel through a closed-loop cycle?

The search for clean fuel to maintain the skies at the new ‘COVID-blue’ is relentless. Although still in early stages of research, hydrogen is gaining ground fast.

W

e are used to depending upon coal and fossil fuel for most of our energy needs. Whether it is electric power generation for homes, offices and industry, for personal vehicles or for the entire transportation industry, we depend on these fuels. We also know that these fuels are obtained by mining and extracting from the earth. Now the question is, can we as a nation or as a species generate our own fuel? If so, which fuels?

One well-known example is that of biofuel which is generated from dead and decaying plants. These are combustible chemicals such as ethanol (alcohol) and methanol.

Another example in this list is hydrogen. Hydrogen is a fuel, which can be generated by us, without the need to mine for it. Besides, there is no hydrogen buried inside the earth.

to be used at a domestic or community level are small (1–100 kW) and those intended for industrial use are 1-20 MW capacity. There is plenty of scope for increase in the size and it is anticipated that 100 – 500 MW systems may be operational in the next 3-5 years.

This hydrogen can be used in cars, buses or in power generations plants as well as for many other industrial uses such as in fertilizer production. The fertilizer production to support all our agricultural needs is a very large consumer of hydrogen

Electrolyzers

The discussion on this topic always starts from hydrogen fuel-cell cars and leads to the question, where is the hydrogen? So let us start with the source of hydrogen and then explain what to do with it. Hydrogen can be generated via electrolyzers. These are large machines which run on MWs of electricity and can generate about 4500 kilogram of hydrogen per day at a continuous power consumption of 10 MW. That amounts to 240 MWh of energy per day. The hydrogen and oxygen are produced by the process of electrolysis, which generates these gases by breaking the water molecule H2O. Some of the companies which have developed and installed electrolyzers are Hydrogenics, Ballard Power Systems, Toshiba, NEL Hydrogen, Proton-OnSite and ITM Power. The size of the system varies depending on the intended application. Systems | May-June 2020

indeed and a source of substantial CO2 emissions.

Why should we generate hydrogen?

Why should we generate our own hydrogen when there is already so much fossil fuel easily available, is a valid question. The answer is because we can, and because hydrogen is a clean fuel if electrolyzers are run on renewable resources. The objective of the hydrogen ecosystem is to build a closed loop system. The hydrogen

61

should be generated via electrolysis of water and be subsequently used in all applications (transportation, industry, domestic uses including cooking), regenerating water in the process. The regenerated water will be pure water even if the hydrogen was generated from sea-water. This closed loop has no intersection with CO2 anywhere. In this loop, there is no generation or consumption of CO2. If one observes nature, all such cycles such as nitrogen cycle, carbon cycle, water cycle, are closed loop cycles.

On the other hand, in the current world situation, we have a completely open loop. Crude oil is mined from the ground, burnt for transportation and electric power generation. This process releases CO 2, NOx, SOx gases and large amounts of particulate matter (dust) into the atmosphere. Having done this, we hope that trees will be able to filter all of these out and retain the atmosphere’s original composition.

Will hydrogen be more expensive compared to fossil fuels?

Yes, it is true that at the current stage of the technology, the hydrogen is more expensive compared to conventional fuels. This has a lot to do with the scale of manufacturing of the electrolyzers and the cost of generating the required electricity from renewable resources. As the scale of manufacturing increases, a manifold reduction in cost can

be expected and this is true for any technology in its initial growth phase. The other point is that setting up of renewable resources itself is a huge up-gradation activity, which governments around the world are now doing due to the falling prices of these technologies. For now, establishing hydrogen production involves developing a new ecosystem and that is always expensive.

Storage of the energy carrier

Many countries of the world have invested in building large storage facilities for stocking up on fossil fuels. Although this involves huge costs, it insulates the nation from ill effects of fluctuating prices in the external market and has a stabilizing effect on the economy.

Similar to fossil fuels, it is also possible to store excess generated hydrogen with the same objective.

However, the storage of hydrogen would involve increased costs as it is a gas and needs to be stored in specialized high pressure tanks.

Technologically, there is no barrier to this but it certainly would be an expensive affair.

and distributed via railways and through road based transport to fueling stations. This entire industry of fossil fuel mining, refining and distribution is resource intensive and has its own non-trivial CO2 footprint.

This is where localized hydrogen generation and consumption could be a game-changer. The hydrogen fuel to be used in Delhi can be produced in Delhi, and that required in Mizoram may be produced there locally. It is understood that the energy independence from having the ability to produce one’s own fuel is the next crucial milestone after food independence for any country.

Overall, the possibilities offered by using hydrogen as a fuel are enormous. However, it involves a complete ecosystem change in the way we produce and use the fuel. Technologically, all the organs of this new ecosystem are ready.

Some of them, such as renewable generation technologies have already attained economies of scale and are being widely deployed.

However others, such as PEM fuel cells, hydrogen storage technologies and electrolyzers are in the initial growth stage.

Local generation and consumption

Fossil fuels are mined in certain specific locations in the world and are transported from there all across the world via sea based transport vessels. They are then refined and processed in domestic facilities May-June 2020 |

Dr. Satyajit Phadke Manager - R&D Customized Energy Solutions

62

BATTERY STORAGE

Back to the future of lead acid batteries Disruption is the name of the game and enhanced, superior but low-priced is the goal. On such a playing field, sustainable, low-cost battery solutions and gigascale storage are show stoppers.

In a conversation with John Barton, CEO – Gridtential Energy, Ashok Thakur, Chief Editor – ETN, elicits information on the workings of the Silicon Joule technology.

How does Gridtential’s capitallight licensing model work, and how has your success been so far globally?

As a technology innovator, we believe in segmenting different areas of value creation. With over 600 GWh of global lead-battery manufacturing capacity and mature channels, we believe that global energy storage needs can be met more efficiently. This can be done by working with existing manufacturers with modest factory upgrades, varying based on existing process controls, plus experience and capability for VRLA (valve regulated lead acid) production.

As for the Silicon Joule technology supply chain, there are already over 25 billion solar wafers produced annually in highly efficient factories. Our role is that of value added enabler - helping the existing market players apply their tremendous capability to produce

John Barton

low-cost, high-energy storage devices, which expand market opportunities into our high growth and stable industry. So, the model allows for each partner to grow their markets and we participate in that success.

We have had the good fortune to work with true leaders in the lead battery industry. Our first three licensee partners, East Penn Manufacturing, Leoch Battery and Crown Battery have also become investors. We are equally excited about the engagements with Hoppecke and now Amara Raja, and the potential they represent as they join five other undisclosed companies as part of the next wave of Silicon Joule bipolar development. Our global reach now spans EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), North and South America, China and India.

We started the company on the premise of working with a mature, incumbent, low-cost, safe, recyclable technology and increasing the performance.

You speak of silicon wafer manufacture using solar manufacturing equipment and integrating it into the Silicon Joule technology, could you elaborate on this?

Silicon Joule is an enabling technology that allows battery manufacturers to assemble a lead battery in a more efficient architecture, eliminating traditional failure modes and utilizing active material more completely and more uniformly. The result is a battery that exhibits improved cycle life performance at deep depth of discharge (3X-5X), superior charge acceptance (10X) and improved power density (4X). For deep-cycle

| May-June 2020

batteries, Silicon Joule bipolar batteries are much less expensive than lithium batteries, with cycle life that in many applications spans the useful life of the device.

Although our batteries are generally 30-40 percent lighter than traditional lead batteries, they are still heavier than lithium batteries for a given level of energy delivery. This isn’t much of an issue for stationary storage applications, low-speed EVs (LSEV), or industrial uses. However, lithium makes more sense for a main propulsion battery of a full EV where the energy requirements are extremely high and the application is extremely sensitive to weight.

Would you enumerate the advantages of bipolar batteries over lithium batteries, both from the cost and performance perspective?

Lead batteries deliver consistent, expected performance over a range of environmental conditions and under significant cycling abuse.

The bipolar architecture further improves the abuse tolerance of the batteries, making them an attractive alternative to lithium that does not require heavy BMS.

“While the energy sector has shown excitement around a gigafactory for battery storage, Gridtential’s lead battery has a 600GW hour capacity that is 50x the size of a single gigafactory.”

63

“The fully recyclable Silicon Joule battery yields vastly increased cycle life, improved power and energy densities, and excellent thermal properties.”

In power applications, lead already performs quite well, in many cases better than lithium, and even better in our Silicon Joule platform.

Our internal results already surpass most traditional lead batteries in terms of charge acceptance/ re-chargeability and are on track to perform with the best of lithium.

We believe this platform will become the standard for better performing start-stop SLI (scalable link interface), critical power backup, and the default choice for attractively priced 48V mild hybrid applications - all at much lower cost than lithium, especially when you consider the additional system and safety accommodations required.

Many people aren’t aware that lead batteries today offer only a fraction of their theoretical energy delivery potential and we plan to change that perception in the near future.

Beyond cost and performance are the very important issues of safety and recycling. Regulations for

lithium backup power installations are progressing to significant and expensive levels due to fires and difficulty in dealing with them, and transport and landfill incidents are other issues. Recycling developments are overdue for lithium. Many have been announced, yet they will be expensive and result in end of life costs for lithium batteries due to the complex and varied material combinations of lithium batteries. This is a notable contrast to the end of life credits, possible with lead batteries with the 99 percentplus recovery rate yielding the perfect example for a circular economy.

And Silicon Joule’s construct adds silicon, which is handled easily within existing lead recycling streams and technology.

Kindly elaborate on the possibility of 100 percent recycling in the advanced lead acid battery.

Out bipolar batteries are 100 percent compatible with the lead battery recycling supply chain. In the US market that recycling number is currently at 99.3 percent.

India’s recycling system is a bit more complicated, due to the competing formal and informal recycling streams.

We believe that our Silicon Joule technology will promote a greener approach due to the technology’s longer life - requiring less recycling, and less lead per battery (5kg on average), which reduces the incentive for informal recycling.

How do you foresee the Indian market?

The Indian market is extremely competitive from a cost-performance perspective, while driving demanding environmental operating requirements (e.g. temperature). We believe the opportunity for energy storage in India is also enormous, both as a complimentary enabling technology to renewable energy generation and home backup storage, as well as transportation applications such as e-rickshaws.

Lead batteries are already ahead on cost and have the advantage of operating well in challenging environments, as the construction and silicon wafers prove helpful in heat dissipation. Silicon Joule builds on these advantages and increases performance, creating a faster path to greater electrification.

What would be your policies on offering the Silicon Joule technology to other Indian companies?

Our technology is available on a non-exclusive licensing basis.

However, we do want to make sure that our partners have a healthy business. As we selectively consider adding partners to a region, we intend to ensure that they add complimentary skill-set, technical prowess, market access or scale.

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BATTERY STORAGE

64

Second-life lithium-ion battery scenario The excessive use of lithium-ion batteries to cut vehicular emission will certainly create pollution of a different sort. To pre-empt the problem, second-use battery options need to be promoted, both from an environmental and financial aspect.

W

ith an increasing use of battery for different applications, the concerns associated with the disposal or reuse of used batteries is gaining importance. In the absence of efficient recycling technology, many of the modern battery technologies such as lithium-ion battery (LIB) end up in landfills. In such a scenario, dealing with the huge amount of retired batteries for a second useful life is gaining considerable interest among researchers as well as industries. These batteries are generally known as secondlife battery (SLB) and the primary source of these batteries is the electric vehicle. This is because of a huge penetration of EVs in the market, which will become a major source of a large number of

retired batteries once their use in the vehicles is over.

Second-life battery projects globally

Currently the deployment of SLBs is limited to commercial use. Although some notable projects are undertaken globally to validate real-life applications, most of them are research rather commercial projects such as: • The University of California, Davis employed a second-life energy storage system for their RMI Winery Microgrid Project and these batteries were sourced from Nissan Leaf EVs. • In Hamburg, Germany, BMW, Vattenfall and Bosch together constructed a 2 MW, 2800 kWh second-life battery energy

storage system (SLBESS) for grid support • In 2013, ABB and General Motors used second-life EV batteries to build a 25 kW, 25 kWh energy storage system in San Francisco, US and the used batteries were from the Chevrolet Volt, an electric hybrid.

• Toyota built a stand-alone 85 kWh SLBESS to support 40 kW photovoltaic system using 208 nickel metal hybrid (NiMH) batteries at the Lamar Buffalo Ranch at the Yellowstone National Park, USA. In 2015, Nissan switched to commercial production of SLBESS. There are other notable SLB projects around the world and these are listed in Table 1.

Table 1: Important second-life battery projects Sr. No.

Joint Ventures

Description

Location

1.

Daimler/ GETEC/The Mobility House/ Remondis/EnBW

Battery storage unit with a total capacity of 13 MWh using degraded EV batteries from Daimler EV models

Luenen, Germany

2.

BMW/PG&E

18-month pilot project to demonstrate EV smart charging and optimization of grid efficiency with participation of 100 BMW i3 owners

San Francisco, USA

3.

4R energy (JV between Nissan and Sumitomo) / Green Charge Network

System (600 kWh/400 kWh): 16 Nissan Leaf LIBs regulate energy from a solar plant

Osaka, Japan

4.

BMW/Vattenfall/Bosch

2,600 battery modules from 100 electric cars, and provides 2 MW of output and 2.8 MWh of capacity

Hamburg, Germany

5.

Renault/Connected Energy Ltd.

E-STOR system: on-grid, providing energy storage that prevents power grid overload and balances supply and demand

UK

6.

Mitsubishi/PSA/EDF/ Forsee Power/MMC

Bi-directional battery energy consumption optimization from retired batteries

Paris, France

7.

General Motors/ABB

Five Chevrolet Volt LIBs, 74 kW solar array and two 2 kW wind turbines to power a General Motors office building site

USA

| May-June 2020

65

Demand of second-use lithium-ion battery in India

We at IESA have estimated the cumulative capacity for second-life lithium-ion battery for India at 11 GWh by 2030. The study considered the life of second-life of lithium-ion battery

for different applications as follows: would be the biggest contributor rooftop solar: 4 years; inverter: 4 for second-life lithium-ion battery at years; UPS: 5 years; telecom: 4 years; around 2.5 GWh. Figure 2 shows the rural electrification: 3 years; railway: yearly installation of second-use of 3Figure years.1:Figure 1 shows cumulativebattery lithium-ion battery.

We can expect in Second-use of lithium-ion in stationary storage applications capacity second use of lithium-ion around 3 GWh of additional secondIndia by of 2030 battery for different sectors. Among use lithium-ion battery in India by the different sectors, the telecom sector year of 2030.

Cumulative capacity of installed second life LIB (GWh)

12.0 10.0 8.0 6.0 4.0 2.0 0.0

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2029

2030

Year Yearly installation of second life…

Figure 1: Second-use of lithium-ion battery in stationary storage applications in India by 2030

Recommendations

To use lithium-ion battery in large scale applications, the total investment cost increases due to the high price of the battery. Thus, retired EV batteries can be a practical and inexpensive solution for many stationary applications. However, economic uncertainty and liability concerns are associated with second life batteries which limit market penetration.

The following steps are required to increase the market share of secondlife batteries: Life cycle stage

Initiative

Battery/vehicle production

Material selection Design for EOL

Use phase Collection Transport Reuse application

Figure 2: Cumulative capacity of second-use of lithium-ion battery in India

Figure 2: Cumulative capacity of second-use of lithium-ion battery in India

Recommendations To use lithium-ion battery in large scale applications, the total • repurposed battery companies • investment specific policies strategiesdue to to costand increases the high price of the battery. with and EV battery manensureretired development of a market Thus, EV batteries can becan a tie-up practical inexpensive ufacturers to get information of for these batteries solution for many stationary applications. However, economic battery function history; this can • federal and state tax credits, uncertainty andother liability concerns are second life helpassociated in estimationwith of degradation rebates, and financial batteries limit the market penetration. following steps are of retiredThe EV battery. support towhich encourage use of required to increase the market share of second-life batteries: second-life batteries • proper andpolicies collection mech reuse specific and strategies to ensure development of a anism of used EV batteries need market for these batteries to be specified Dr. Tanmay Sarkar  federal and state tax credits, rebates, and other financial • development of standards for Senior Consultant to and encourage batteries testing,support evaluation selectionthe use of second-life R&D, Customized  proper reuse and collection mechanism of used EV of cells suitable for second life from Energy Solutions a battery pack batteries need to be specified Recommendations Chemistry standardization at the beginning of battery production would help in mixing and matching of retired EV batteries A standard design guideline of battery pack making process will ease disassembly and refurbishment Labelling of chemistry, capacity, voltage information of LIB materials will help in sorting and remanufacturing. For this bar codes or RFID chips can be used.

A guideline about the battery repair/maintenance can be introduced to extend LIB life after use in EV.

Labelling or identification Repair or maintenance Extended producer Proper regulations to specify transfer of collection responsibility in case of reuse responsibility Shipping Specific guidelines for large size end-of-life EV batteries are required for the guidelines second-life battery industry A standard battery testing guideline for second-use battery is very crucial in absence of its functions and history, specifically for safety reasons Reuse provision Need to prioritize second applications based on techno-economic analysis Economic incentives for reuse of LIB May-June 2020 |

66

CLEANTECH

Looking at India’s next sunrise sector The Indian innovation ecosystem has passionately taken up the cleantech challenge with breakthrough in energy management systems, advanced metering, and grid optimization software on the RE-front. The same goes for innovations in battery swapping, EV battery management systems, and hybrid vehicle retrofit kits on the e-mobility side, writes Sidharth Choudhary, Assistant Vice President - Invest India.

I

n these unprecedented times of a global pandemic, cleantech remains one of the few bright spots, especially renewable energy, electric vehicles, and energy storage.

In fact, one of the unintended aftereffects of the lockdown has been a resurgence of nature. A lot of people are now starting to question: why can’t these conditions continue to persist in a post lockdown world?

A big part of the reason is our power system dependent on coal and conventional transport system − together accounting for more than 60 percent of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Hence, the government’s push towards the greening of the grid and the transport sector is timely and puts India at the cusp of a great energy storage opportunity.

Additionally, there have been various measures to accelerate the EV market, estimated to be worth more

Sidharth Choudhary

than $2 billion by 2023. The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India – Phase II program aims to bring more than 150,000 EVs (primarily e-2W, e-3W, and e-buses) on the road by 2022. It is further augmented by a reduction in GST, Income Tax deduction up to `1,50,000 and interest subvention up to `2,50,000 on purchase of EVs. Finally, there are concerted efforts being made by the government and private entities to establish charging infrastructure all over the country.

Furthermore, India is already Asia’s largest market for various off-grid products such as solar pumps, solar streetlights, solar study lamps, and solar homes.

Our experience in the Accelerating Growth of New India’s Innovations (AGNIi) program shows the Indian innovation ecosystem has passionately taken up the cleantech challenge. On the RE-front, we are seeing products and services in solar energy, energy management systems, advanced metering, and grid optimization software. While on the e-mobility-front, innovators have approached us with a variety of innovations in charging infrastructure including swapping, EVs such as bikes, e-3Ws, autonomous cargo-carrying robots, battery management systems, and hybrid vehicle retrofit kits.

However, there still remain applications with tremendous scope for innovation and enterprise including stationary energy storage for grid or off-grid as well as commercial and industrial applications, various parts of the battery value chain such as packaging and thermal management, battery electronics, and even cell

| May-June 2020

manufacturing. Another area which will gain significance in the coming years is the treatment of batteries at the end of their use, either via second-life applications or recycling for critical metals.

As we all know, we are already creating value in areas of our traditional prowess including software and systems integration. India could potentially target up to 80 percent of the battery value by fostering innovations in cell and battery pack manufacturing – this could start for alternative applications such as drones, delivery bots, and consumer electronics. In fact, a robust public R&D network of various government labs such as the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology R&D societies and Indian Space Research Organisation could serve as technology partners/ providers for startups and established Indian companies, since they have considerable resources on the development of such technologies.

With the determined efforts of organizations such as India Energy Storage Alliance, MeitY and Invest India, the ecosystem supporting energy storage research and startups is fast maturing.

In fact, it will not be wrong to say that the future is indeed bright for EVs and energy storage in India.

We could be looking at our next sunrise sector.

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68

EARTH DAY REVIEW

Image for representation only

Earth Day 2020: IESA unites clean energy and transportation leaders on one platform

A

s countries haul through lockdown in the wake of COVID19 pandemic, a positive after effect is seen in the form of the nature reclaiming its space. This more than ever has forced us to rethink about how we can sustain the environmental gains and reduce climate impact in a post-lockdown world.

India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) in an international collaboration with the Earth Day Network (EDN) commemorated the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, 2020, by bringing together leaders, policymakers and top industry voices on Clean Energy and Clean Transportation: Key to Fight Climate Change.

“The concept of conserving Earth is not new in the Indian tradition. India has historically witnessed various people’s movements like the ‘Chipko’ movement, which emerged from the same vein of thought. We must take suo moto action towards environmental protection wherever possible.

We should take effective steps towards a cleaner environment, it could be as simple as taking cycle to work, walking, spending an evening without power under the moon or any other means that could reduce emissions. We should also take the time to think of ways we can promote fewer polluting startups and innovations in the industry.”

Arjun Ram Meghwal MoS Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises | May-June 2020

The speakers discussed the progress that has been made so far, immediate and longterm impact of the pandemic on renewables and clean transportation industry, and the challenges and opportunities ‘new normal’ offers to industries and individuals.

“In India, the penetration of renewables is going to lead the way in the next decade with the target of 450GW. Our endeavor is to not only bring in plain vanilla (business) models of wind and solar but also bring in those business models that will now supply 24x7 renewable power. We are also doing innovative modelling.

We are looking at uniformity of policies and combining RE power with thermal power, so that asset utilization is brought to its maximum. The amendment brought in through the latest draft Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2020, is encouraging for the power sector and we want stakeholders to give comments on the same.”

Dayanand Jagdale Joint Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)

69 “Earth day is not about action on one day but every day.

COVID-19 has shown us how the world is one. Earlier environment was not visible to all, therefore, many found it difficult to relate with the idea of ‘one world’ but now I hope they can relate to it better.

Earth Day Network actively creates awareness about policies at the grassroots level, and finds effective means of implementing them by engaging the community. EDN has been encouraging people to switch to a low-carbon lifestyle along with other efforts that help check climate impact. There is also a need to create awareness about policies and lend support in implementing them.”

Karuna Singh Director - Asia Pacific, Earth Day Network

“How can we sustain the environmental benefits after the public health crisis resolves, is something we need to think about. We do not want one crisis to be a solution for another. The crisis has forced us to accelerate our efforts towards greater sustainability in many aspects.

But life and sustainability will have to go together. We cannot have environmental gains at the cost of economic loss and the loss of people’s livelihoods.

Globally, 2020 was a great year for RE until COVID-19 outbreak. For the first time in decades, electricity generation

by RE increased than the demand of RE, whereas demand for fossil fell. This could be an important opportunity to truly accelerate the EV sector. This is the time for the EV industry to truly entrench itself in the next 24 months. With strong hybrid vehicle penetration, we can cut down tailpipe emission significantly and minimize pain during the transition period (to EVs).”

Dr. Arunabha Ghosh CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)

“India is now among the top five solar countries in the world, and we have witnessed impressive growth in the solar sector over the last few years. Rooftop solar will be a game changer in the solar space in India.

While there is impressive growth, NITI Aayog estimates that we will have 40-50 percent of electricity powered by coal, so we must work on reducing this proportion. In the long term, however, manufacturing will have to be strengthened. This will take time and may impact cost; the power cost of solar may go up slightly. Solar plus storage will be the game changer, and also Hydrogen in RE will help in a big way.”

Pranav Mehta Chairman, National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI)

“We have breached planetary carrying capacity as far as biodiversity and climate change is concerned. There’s a need to look at new technological processes that help reduce the carbon footprint.

All the money coming into India from various banks and international agencies a certain sum must be denominated for greener technologies. We must identify financial instruments that will help financial flows. These instruments become crucial if we want to increase investments in renewables. Investments in RE and storage will not be possible if the capital costs remains too high, which is why financial instruments have become critical.”

Dr. Ajay Mathur Director General The Energy and Resources Institute of India (TERI)

“It is important to not talk of clean transportation from the technology perspective alone, but also from the demand management perspective. There is a need to break away from the thinking that clean transportation is about EVs and clean forms of fuels. It is also about ‘clean forms of transport.’ For instance, anything that helps us avoid a trip is clean transport. If you can reduce the range of a trip, even that is clean transport.

However, today the biggest conversation in the context of clean transportation is around EVs. How do we get different government agencies to come together and take e-mobility forward remains the biggest challenge. There is economic interest in fleets, but the challenge is the high capital cost.

Therefore, unless the government develops a fund to enable transportation departments to overcome significant capital costs, its adoption will remain slow.”

O.P. Agarwal CEO, World Resources Institute (WRI) India

“India has made tremendous progress in the adoption of clean energy and renewable energy, so much so that RE can now compete with fossil fuel sources without any subsidies. Energy storage has gained more importance as RE installed capacity increases worldwide. Hybrid projects combining wind and solar with energy storage have successfully started to replace polluting power plants. Solar plus storage is becoming crucial and they can be integrated in a cost-effective way.

There’s scope for India to become a global R&D and manufacturing hub for storage. In solar manufacturing, India is lagging 10 years behind, in storage we are just 2-3 years behind.

Therefore, with the right policy support and backing by industry we can make this a reality.”

Dr. Rahul Walawalkar President, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) May-June 2020 |

70 “To sustain transportation challenges, we need to be fuel agnostic. From that point of view, ARAI has worked extensively on biodiesel, ethanol, methanol, and several other blends. It is heartening to see the recent BS-VI notification is also fuel agnostic. It not only addresses this fuel agnostic view but also permits and encourages use of hydrogen.

With technological advancement, e-mobility has brought in a huge amount of data complexity onto the vehicular controls. That brings need for regulation and standardization of products and need to ensure conformity of product. This also goes into product lifecycle and duty cycles.

Efficiency of transportation very largely depends on duty cycles, what they are designed for and how efficiently they are being utilized. All the EVs that we see today in the market are derived from their base petrol or diesel-based vehicle. It is essential, therefore, to see that they are all redesigned. Appropriate R&D work needs to be done.”

Rashmi Urdhwareshe Director, Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI)

“One of the critical initiatives that the government can take for accelerating adoption of EVs in the country is to create awareness among Indians by creating strong campaigns; something like Desh ke liye acchi, jeb ke liye acchi (good for the country, good for the pocket).

The widespread adoption of EVs also hinges on seeing a critical mass of vehicles on the streets. This must be brought in through efforts of industry and the government.

Administrative push to polluting businesses to switch to EV and directive to e-commerce companies to convert their fleet into electric can be a major change point. If the public sector banks can pitch in with market rates and give priority to financing EVs, these can do wonders in the short term.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created several challenges but also shown that cleaner air and environment is worth investing in, and transportation is a significant pillar in achieving a cleaner environment.”

Sohinder Gill Director General, Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV)

“A few critical things the government did in 2018 were: First, it clarified that charging is not ‘sale/resale of power’ but a ‘service’ and encouraged a special tariff for e-mobility, which was not 10-15 percent more than the average cost of supply. Second, it issued standards for public charging stations (PCS). Push has been given for EV by reducing GST to 12 percent, however, for hybrid vehicles the duties remain.

EESL's primary role is aggregating demand; it has created an innovative business model which was liked by most government agencies to enable public sector to migrate to EVs. The major challenge in adoption of EVs in India is that people are not fully aware of the benefits of EVs, or that the life cycle cost of EV ownership is one-fifth of owning ICE vehicles. Further, there are still not enough PCS to overcome range anxiety.

Also, several State policies on EVs are still evolving.”

Saurabh Kumar Managing Director, Energy Efficiency Services Ltd

“The way forward for accelerating adoption of solar energy globally is by bringing down the cost of capital and technologies. This can be done by aggregating the demand. ISA is working on several new initiatives, one of the most important has been that NTPC and SECI recently committed to provide member countries 40,000MW solar power over the next three years.

The impact of COVID-19 outbreak on solar installation has been tremendous. It is at the level of capital (banks having peculiar problems), land (country under lockdown) and technology flow (import and export curtailed). This crisis has serious cost implications as current projects are hamstrung. It will require retrenchment and policy measures by the government. In the next five years, ISA would like to achieve mainly four things: One, to see a world without energy access issues. Two, install 50,000 MW solar parts. Three, bring a mass tender for a 100 billion home lighting system and four, focus more efforts on storage, EVs and other sectors.”

Upendra Tripathy Director General International Solar Alliance (ISA)

“We have currently 15 percent of energy generation from renewable; as it grows, we will need new technology to balance the energy. There is also a need to shift from manufacturing conventional vehicles to low-emission vehicles.

So far, EVs have been slow to pick up for personal use in India primarily because of the high cost of ownership.

However, with government subsidy and increasing environmental consciousness among users we may see higher adoption rates by the year 2022-23. Among batteries, lead-acid and Li-ion remain the two popular battery chemistries, while efforts are being made to look into other battery chemistries and technology. Safety of EVs is another space where more efforts need to be made, all OEMs, manufacturing companies should follow BIS and international standards to ensure robust safety. Recycling and reuse of batteries too, needs more attention. Beyond vehicles, we must think of vehicle-grid concepts. With so many EVs expected to be on streets we will have to ensure grid balancing. There is a need to adopt pilot projects to study how these vehicles can be used to store energy.”

Debi Prasad Dash Executive Director, IESA | May-June 2020

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COMPANY & ADVERTISER INDEX / IMPRINT

4R Energy 64 ABB 64 Accelerating Growth of New India’s Innovations 66 AIMO 23 Amara Raja 20 Ather Energy 19,26 Ballard Power Systems 60 Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) 39 BMW 64 Bosch 64 Bounce 52 CERC 14, 50 CII 23 Clean Energy Access Network (CLEAN) 47 Connected Energy 64 Crown Battery 62 Customized Energy Solutions (CES) 47 Daimler 64 Department of Science and Technology 52 Department of Heavy Industries, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways 52 East Penn Manufacturing 62 EESL 34 Exicom Tele-Systems Ltd 25 FICCI 23 Fluence 20 Form Energy 20 Forsee Power 64 General Motors 64 Greencharge Network 64 Gridtential Energy 62 Gujarat Energy Transmission Corp Ltd (GETCO) 44 Hop Bike 52 Hoppecke 62 India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) 52,54,66,24 Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) 66 International Energy Agency 48

Invest India 66 ITM Power 60 Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) JBM Group 26 Kinetic Green 37 Leoch Battery 62 Lithium 27 Mahindra & Mahindra 37 Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology 32, 66 Ministry of Power (MoP) 43 Mitsubishi 64 MNRE 15, 16, 42,50 NEL Hydrogen 60 Neoen 21 NITI Aayog 32, 52, 56 NTPC 16 Ola Electric 52 ONGC 16 Piaggio 37 POSOCO 44 Prasanna Purple Mobility Solutions 28 Proton-OnSite 60 Renault 64 ReNew Power 14 SECI 14,15,42 SLDC 44,50 Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) 36 State Electricity Regulation Commission (SERC) 54 Sterling & Wilson 21 Sun Mobility 52 Tata Power 18 The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) 56 Toshiba 60 Trontek Group 25 Vattenfall 64 Waaree Energy Storage Systems 27 World Bank 21

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Chief Editor and General Manager Publications: Ashok Thakur Consulting Editor: Nishtha Gupta-Vaghela Assistant Editor: Shraddha Kakade

Printed and Published by Netra Rahul Walawalkar on behalf of Customized Energy Solutions India Private Limited. Printed at Unique Offset, Plot No. 1523, Anand Shilpa, Sadashiv Peth, Pune, Maharashtra, 411030, India and Published at Office No. 501, Fifth Floor, S. No. 249/50, G-O square building, Kaspatewasti, Wakad, Pune - 411 057.

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