E-Mobility+ December Issue 2020

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D E C E M B E R

POWERING

SMART,

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I S S U E 6

MOBILITY

INSIGHTS

E-MOBILITY TO REALIZATION: Views On The Increased Importance Of Powertrain Integration In Electric Vehicle Development. TRENDING

HOW ADVANCED BATTERIES ARE MAKING FLYING CARS A REALITY?

EMPOWERING COMPANIES FOR INDIAN MANUFACTURED EV CHARGERS

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CONT PERSPECTIVE

19 26 34

NEED OF A SOUND POLICY TO CATER TO OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES FOR DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT OF EV COMPONENTS

HOW CAN THE SUPPLY OF BATTERY RAW MATERIALS KEEP UP WITH THE RISING EV DEMAND?

INDIA’S EV COMPONENT MARKET PROJECTED TO GROW OVER 20% CAGR TILL 2030

INSIGHTS

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ACCELERATING E-MOBILITY TO REALIZATION: Views On The Increased Importance Of Powertrain Integration In Electric Vehicle Development?

EMPOWERING COMPANIES FOR INDIAN MANUFACTURED EV CHARGERS

HOW ADVANCED BATTERIES ARE MAKING FLYING CARS A REALITY?

OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMOBILITY IN INDIA


TENT POLICY DEBEIEF

INDIA NEWS

06

07

IN CONVERSATION

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17 GAURAV ARORA

NARAYAN SUBRAMANIAM

Director, KPMG

Director & CEO, Ultraviolette Automotive

"Across the world, electricity distribution companies and oil and gas players are developing solutions and entering into partnerships in the EV charging infrastructure space."

"it is important to build and develop vehicles that are desirable and come with a certain pride of ownership."

INSIGHTS

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EMERGING ENVIRONMENTALLY COMPATIBLE LITHIUMION BATTERY TECHNOLOGIES AND TRENDS FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES

PRODUCT FEATURE

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COMPANY FEATURE

VERDEMOBILITY

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LITHIUM-ION BATTERY CHEMISTRY THE FRONT RUNNER FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES

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E-Mobility+ December 2020

POLICYDEBRIEF

GOVERNMENT: CENTRAL

SECI Extends EOI Submission Deadline for Agencies for Development of Electric / Transformative Mobility Space

NITI Aayog and The World Bank Are Planning To Offer Better Financing Solutions To EV Businesses

SECI Extended Deadline in EOI Submission for identification and empanelment of agencies for development of Electric / Transformative Mobility Space. Scope of work of successful agencies includes in demand creation, demand aggregation, setting up charging infrastructure, introduction of new and innovative products, market development, capacity building etc for three years. Last Date for Submission of response to the EOI was extended till 23.12.2020.

NITI Aayog, the policy think-tank of the Indian Government , in collaboration with The World Bank, is working on a number of policy measures to make financing more easily available for the growing electric vehicle (EV) industry that too at an affordable rate. The focus will be on the availability of finance for projects related to the development and manufacturing of zero-emission vehicles. NITI Aayog believes that the unavailability of finance is considered a key hurdle for sale and other aspects of the EV industry. With easy and affordable financing solutions in place, EVs are likely to become more affordable for the end users.

GOVERNMENT: STATE

EESL Signs MOU With Haryana’s New Renewable Energy Department For Installation of 2 EV Chargers At Panchkula Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) has recently announced that Panchkula will have its first EV charging station soon. Energy service company signed an agreement with New Renewable Energy Department ,Haryana for the supply & installation of 2 EV chargers in their premises at Panchkula. This will enable rapid adoption of e mobility in the state. In August, EESL, a joint venture of PSUs under the Ministry of Power, Government of India had announced that it has signed an MOU with CEO Smart City Bhopal for the implementation of EV charging infrastructure at 50 locations in Bhopal.

Delhi Govt Launches Forum for Successful Implementation of EV Policy The Delhi government launched a forum to engage with stakeholders for the successful implementation of its recently launched electric vehicles policy. The DDC will host the Delhi EV Forum with the support of independent think tank, RMI India, working in the field of clean energy and mobility. Considering that the EV ecosystem is relatively new and still in the initial stages of development, consultations and stakeholder discussions are expected to prove crucial in the early

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

Karnataka Government Approves Over $3 billion To Establish EV Manufacturing Base Initiatives were announced at the state’s high-level clearance committee meeting chaired by Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa. The government has approved ₹ 224.19 billion (~$3.03 billion) to establish an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing base in the state. It also approved ₹ 42.40 billion (~$574 million) for two wind-solar hybrid projects. The EV manufacturing base is expected to generate 4,881 jobs in the state, while the hybrid wind-solar projects could create 8,480 jobs. The meeting approved the following two projects floated by Bengaluru-based Elest Private Limited: An EV manufacturing unit at an investment of ₹ 142.55 billion (~$1.92 billion) on 85 acres of land in Hubli and Dharwad. The project is expected to generate 867 jobs. A lithium-ion cell and battery manufacturing unit at an investment of ₹ 63.39 billion (~$858.22 million) on 88 acres of land in Hubli and Dharwad. The project is expected to generate 1,804 jobs. Also, Bengaluru-based Hyunet Private Limited’s project to manufacture lithium batteries and EV manufacturing unit with an investment of ₹ 18.25 billion (~$247.01 million) on 300 acres of land in Bagepalli taluk of Chikkaballapura district was approved in the meeting. The project is expected to generate 2,210 jobs.

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E-Mobility+ December 2020

INDIANEWS

PARTNERSHIPS

MG Motor Launches ‘DAKSHATA’ In Partnership With ASDC And AUTOBOT India

Fortum Partners With Finnfund To Speed Up Charging Infrastructure Development And Growth In India

MG Motor India signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Automotive Skill Development Council (ASDC) and Autobot India to extend its global tech prowess and expertise to students. Reinforcing its commitment to creating an ecosystem of innovation in the country, the carmaker has introduced an Automotive Skill Development programme for Indian youths known as ‘Dakshata’ (synonym for efficiency) in partnership with ASDC and Autobot India. The move comes as part of MG’s vision of CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric) mobility which the automaker has augmented in its product portfolio in India. As part of the Skill India Mission, Dakshata will comprise an eight-module training programme specializing in Artificial Intelligence and Electric Vehicles. It will focus on skill enhancement thereby improving employability in the automotive sector while creating skilled manpower to cater to the automotive industry’s future requirements.

To bolster growth for electric vehicles (EV) charging infrastructure in India, Fortum signed an agreement whereby Finnfund, a Finnish development financier and professional impact investor, will invest in a minority share of Fortum’s public charging point operator (CPO), Fortum Charge and Drive India Private Limited (FCDIPL). FCDIPL is a fast-growing e-mobility infrastructure provider, owning more than 70 public charging points at close to 40 locations in India, and partnerships with marquee business groups across the country. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020. The partnership will create a shared ownership structure and Finn Funds investment will accelerate FCDIPL’s growth plans in the charging infrastructure business and reaffirm its market leading position. FCDIPL will further continue to offer software as a service (SaaS) for operating electric vehicles (EV) charging infrastructure networks and customer interfaces to other CPOs.

World’s First Sigfox Enabled Electric Vehicle Chargers To Be Manufactured In India VerdeMobility, a unit of System level Solutions, a pioneer in the EV charging ecosystem, has joined hands with one of the largest operators of Sigfox, iWire Technologies, to develop the world’s first Sigfox enabled, Electric Vehicle Charging Stations. It is the first of its kind low-cost EV charging solutions manufactured in India. The different product variants can be used for personal or commercial purposes, drawing power from the grid or solar. With a mobile app that allows the vehicle owner to find the nearest available charging station, many payments based on charge and on-line, this unique machine is the ‘thing’ every Government, Company with fleets, Mall owners, petrol pumps, need to implement. Both companies aim to manufacture chargers in India and supply solutions across the globe.

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 7


E-Mobility+ December 2020

INSIGHTS:

Hitachi ABB Power Grids Teams Up With Ashok Leyland For E-Bus Pilot At IIT Madras Campus While India’s government is striving to scale up EV adoption to 30 percent by 2030, the mass public transport segment is largely untouched. For bus operators, the switch to electric has previously presented challenges. That is because with battery-operated buses it is difficult to maximize passenger load carrying capacity and running time while making the whole operation economically viable. An e-bus with flash-charging technology can solve that problem while improving the quality of life through reducing pollution in densely populated urban areas. Hitachi ABB Power Grids’ innovative flash-charging system quickly tops up the battery while passengers get on and off the bus. On arterial roads, an e-bus with this solution can reduce the need to take the vehicle out of service for recharging every few hours or having a replacement bus ready. The technology can save as much as 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide on a line covering 600,000 kilometers per year and offer operating cost savings of 30 percent versus an equivalent diesel-transit system.

Microsoft Azure Partners With Sun Mobility To Create EV batteries That Connect To The Cloud Microsoft said that electric vehicles solutions firm SUN Mobility is using its Azure Cloud as well as other solutions in developing Cloud-connected swappable batteries to put the country on the road to the future. The batteries as well as the swap stations are connected to the Cloud using Microsoft Azure and numerous built-in solutions like Azure IoT Hub, Azure Data Factory, CosmosDB, Azure Databricks, among others, that transmit battery performance telemetrics back to SUN Mobility. Customers also have the option of using an app, which connects with their EV’s battery and gives them real-time information of their battery’s performance and the nearest swap station in case the battery is running low. With that data, SUN Mobility understands battery utilization, most frequented routes, and peak hours. Using AI and machine learning algorithms, it can predict the potential demand. It can not only optimize its existing network of battery swapping stations, but also plan the location and feasibility of future stations. So far, SUN Mobility has inked over 10 OEM partnerships that will enable automobile makers to use its battery tech.

MG Motor India Ties Up With TESAMM India For Responsible Recycling Of EV Batteries Building a robust EV infrastructure to facilitate India’s transition to green mobility, MG Motor India has now joined hands with TES-AMM, a global e-waste recycling and endto-end service provider. The partnership will ensure environmentally-sustainable and secure recycling of MG ZS EV batteries, thus ensuring greater peace of mind to the ZS EV owners about their ecological footprint. TES-AMM has Asia’s only Li-ion battery recycling plant and is one of the few companies certified in multiple management systems including 18001:2007/R2 (Responsible Recycling) alongside others. It uses a unique mechanicalhydrometallurgical process for enhanced asset recovery that is environmentally superior and safer. MG launched ZS EV in early-2020 and has retailed more than 1,000 units to date in India despite national and regional lockdowns. The powerful EV comes with overwhelming looks and a 0 to 100 kmph time of 8.5 seconds. It can also charge from 0% to 80% in 50 minutes approximately.

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

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E-Mobility+ December 2020

INSIGHTS:

Ashok Leyland’s Sequential Quarter Revenues Jumps 3.4 Times. Net Debt In Q2 Reduces From Rs. 4284 Cr To Rs. 3076 Cr. Posts A Positive EBITDA of 2.8% Ashok Leyland, flagship of the Hinduja Group reported a 3.4 time increase in sequential quarter revenues in Q2 FY21. The revenues for the quarter stood at Rs. 2837 crores as against Rs. 651 crores in Q1 FY21 and Rs. 3929 crores in Q2 FY20. The Company reported a positive EBITDA of 2.8% for Q2 FY21 against an EBITDA of -51.2% in Q1 FY21. The company also generated Rs 1208 Crores of cash from operations after capital expenditure and investments, which has helped the company bring down net debt to Rs 3076 Crores from Rs 4,284 Crores in Q1 FY21 further strengthening the balance sheet of the company. Debt equity has reduced from 0.6 times at the end of June ’20 to 0.5 times as of end of Sep ’20. Following the successful launch of its Modular Platform AVTR, the company continued its planned product launches of the Bada Dost in the Phoenix Platform in the LCV segment and Boss LE and LX in the ICV segment. All these products were launched with the innovative I-gen6 (Mid-NOx) technology powertrain. They have been very well received by customers and have helped the company increase its market presence. Going forward we expect Q3 and Q4 to be much better quarters.

India Could Save Over INR 1 Lakh Crore Annually In Crude Oil Imports With Increased EV Penetration India could save on crude oil imports worth over INR 1 lakh crore (USD 14 billion) annually if electric vehicles (EVs) were to garner 30 per cent share of India’s new vehicle sales by 2030, according to an independent study released today by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). The increase in electric vehicles penetration could also increase the combined market size of powertrain, battery and public chargers to over INR 2 lakh crore (USD 28 billion), in addition to creating 120,000 new jobs in this sector. The CEEW study, supported by the Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, also found that meeting the 30 per cent EV penetration target in 2030 could lead to several environmental benefits including a 17 per cent decrease each in primary particulate matter and nitrogen oxide and dioxide (NOx) emissions, 18 per cent reduction in carbon monoxide emissions, and a 4 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions relative to the business as usual scenario (BAU).

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

Okaya Won EESL’s Order ; To Install 1020 EV Charging Stations Across India Okaya has won the order to deploy 1020 multi strand EV charging stations across India. The EV charging stations that will be installed would be CCS, CHAdeMO, and Bharat specification Protocol. As one of the largest manufacturers of lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries and a leading supplier of EV charging stations in India, Okaya Power has already deployed more than 500 EV charging stations in the past six months and 250 MWh battery energy storage systems (BESS) solution across the country. The company stated in their official statement that “All these efforts of Okaya are intended towards contributing its bit in making ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ mission a success”.

Magenta Launches The Associate Program For Deploying Nationwide Low Cost EV Charging Platform Magenta, a pioneer in the business of clean mobility and clean electricity has launched its nationwide business associate outreach program starting December 2020. Under this initiative, Magenta will identify associates across India to deploy low cost electric vehicle charging platforms. The 3-stage program will commence with partner training in EV technology, EV charging and supporting IT infrastructure. In further stages, Magenta will create a sales, deployment and support backend for 2W, 3W and 4W charging across India. Under the ChargeGrid brand, Magenta has already done EV charger installation and deployment for various private and government organizations across 19 states and union territories in India. With this outreach program, Magenta is targeting to increase its EV charging support network across 300 districts in India.

PG 9


E-Mobility+ December 2020

BUZZ

Motor Vehicle Aggregators Guidelines 2020 Conducive For Long-Term Shared Mobility Growth In India Following the news that the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways in India has issued Motor Vehicle Aggregators Guidelines 2020 to regulate cab aggregators in the country; Animesh Kumar, Director of Automotive and Travel & Tourism Consulting at GlobalData, a leading research and consulting company, offers his view: “The guidelines present benefits to all stakeholders, including customers, drivers as well as the cab aggregators. Customers would be benefited through the cap on surge pricing, which has been set at maximum 1.5 times of the base fare. Drivers would be required to undergo medical tests, verifications and training in addition to several other requirements that are aimed at ensuring safety of the customers, especially women riders. Key pain points for customers are surge pricing and the cancellations by drivers. Both these have been tackled by the guidelines. Data security would improve as the data would have to be stored in India and must be made available to the state governments as per due process of the law. The guidelines exempt electric vehicles from the fare regulations. It is a positive move as it would encourage aggregators to increase the share of electric vehicles in their network.

November Vehicle Sales In India Maintain Positive Trend Riding On Healthy Festive Demand Following the news that automaker Maruti Suzuki reported 1.7% year-on-year (yoy) growth in November 2020 vehicle sales; Bakar Sadik Agwan, Senior Automotive Consulting Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view: “India’s auto OEMs are on the path of recovery to the pre-COVID-19 levels as they have been witnessing positive growth in volume sales on yoy and month-on-month basis starting from August 2020, following the easing of the nationwide lockdown restrictions. November, which was the highly awaited festive season, turned out to be a boon to the majority of the OEMs with substantial new sales and the existing pentup demand. The upward sales trend can be primarily attributed to the several attractive promotions and offers introduced by the OEMs during the festive season. In addition, the existing pent-up demand and continued healthy demand of the recently launched models including Thar, Creta, Innova Crysta and Kia Sonet contributed to the new vehicle sales. Furthermore, the need for affordable personal mobility, new vehicle launches, attractive finance interest rates and offers towards the year end will continue to boost vehicle sales in December as well.”

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

Make High Quality EVs Visible On Road, Nudge Consumers, Create Ecosystem For Transition “Electric vehicles are already cheaper to run than ICE vehicles and they are expected to be cheaper to buy within the next few years. India has a great foundation, strong commitment, and suitable environment to develop its EV ecosystem further”, said Mr Ken O’Flaherty, Regional Ambassador for Asia-Pacific and South Asia for COP26. The COP26 Ambassador was speaking at the webinar on ‘Future of E-Mobility in India: Strategies to Drive Demand’ – part of COP26 Webinar Series. Addressing the audience through his video message, Mr Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, said, “The world is at the cusp of a mobility revolution. The (EV) future is shared, connected and zero emissions. India does not have legacy issues of high-car ownership, so we can build the future of transportation on buses and shared mobility.The focus should be on moving people and not moving vehicles, which can be achieved through public transport and its electrification.”

Daimler Bets Big On India Following the news that commercial vehicle manufacturer Daimler India plans to have 350 dealerships across the country over next two years; Bakar Sadik Agwan, Senior Automotive Consulting Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:“India is a key market for Daimler, both in terms of sales and production. India accounts for significant volume sales for medium & heavyduty trucks and buses, and is a production hub for the company, exporting to nearly 50 overseas markets. Despite the fact that the medium & heavy-duty trucks and bus market has witnessed massive decline in demand earlier due to weak economy in 2019 and later due to COVID-19 in 2020, DICV has managed to remain a strong brand in India. The company accounted for 5.8% market share in 2019. In addition, DICV’s January-November 2020 year-on-year sales decline was relatively lesser when compared to the overall M&HCV industry. With the rebounding economic activities, the medium & heavy-duty truck and buses market is anticipated to follow a trend similar to that of passenger cars and witness an increase in sales volumes. In turn, laying a positive outlook for DICV.”

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E-Mobility+ December 2020

TERI: Focus On Electrification Of 3Wheeler More As Compared To 4W; Need State And City-Level Action Plans For Electrification Of Urban Freight The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), with the support of Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF), released a report on the Roadmap for Electrification of Urban Freight in India. The key recommendations of the study are as follows: Countrywide national programme for electrification of urban freight sector Electric freight procurement schemes for government sectors Integration with other government programmes Nationwide scrapping policy programme, with a focus on EV replacement (incentives for retrofitted vehicles as well) State and City-level action plans for electrification of urban freight segments Financial credibility framework for the manufacturers and drivers Favorable terms of finance for electric freight vehicle by the lending institutions Risk sharing mechanisms – Government, large banks and small financial institutions More EV variants/options for the customers (3W & 4W) Encourage private–public partnership by city/government agencies for plying electric urban freight vehicles Demarcation of EV zones, and registration, time-of-day operation and parking preferences for EVs EV feasibility studies required in the city-specific freight sector Increased awareness programmes focusing the commercial segment (include UF segment in the national/state awareness programmes)

Electric Two Wheelers Witness Tepid Growth Despite Govt’s Subsidy, Near-Term Outlook Largely Remains Unchanged: ICRA Survey The demand and volumes of electric two wheelers (e-2W)s have witnessed a very lackadaisical growth in recent years and despite the government’s thrust on adoption of electric vehicles (EV).As per the findings of a nationwide survey of 16 e-2W dealerships in November, the stringent eligibility criteria set for claiming the subsidy under the second phase of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME-II), GoI’s flagship scheme, have been a deterrent – mainly due to a minimum localisation requirement and exclusion of lead-acid based e-2W for subsidy. In addition, lack of consumer awareness (regarding Government subsidy), low acceptability led by lack of product knowledge and after-sales service concerns have been dominant reasons for the scheme’s lacklustre performance. However, ICRA expects 15-17% Yo-Y contraction in domestic 2W volumes in FY2021, amid an evolving pandemic situation, persisting health concerns and economic uncertainties. In H1 FY2021, the actual 2W wholesale sales volumes were 38% lower on a Y-o-Y basis. Nonetheless, the Government’s thrust on adoption of EVs, increasing awareness towards public health and clean energy continue to favour EV adoption in the long run.

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 11


E-Mobility+ December 2020

BUZZ

Ashok Leyland Subsidiary Optare Recognised As OEM Of The Year At EVIEs Awards Ashok Leyland, flagship of the Hinduja Group, announced another significant milestone by its subsidiary Optare PLC. Optare’s MetroDecker EV has won OEM of the Year (Bus/Commercial Vehicle) at the prestigious 2020 EVIEs Awards. The Electric Vehicle Innovation & Excellence (EVIE) Awards are designed to shine a light on innovation and excellence in the emerging EV sector. The Metrodecker EVs are the first new vehicles that have entered service with First UK Bus since it announced its commitment to achieve an entirely zero-emission fleet by 2035. The first Optare battery-electric buses – Versa EVs – entered service on the York park-and-ride network in 2014. More recently, 21 MetroDecker EVs were launched with First York in July this year. This followed the successful launch of the EV Double Decker in London with Metroline, this Metrodecker is a part of the 107 Metrodecker EV order Optare has received since the product was launched 20 months ago.

ABB Launches New Series Of HighOutput Motors In India Expanding its portfolio with high-output series motors, ABB has launched a new range of M3BP motors for its industrial customers in India. Offered in 280 – 355 frame size and output ranging from 75kW to 560kW, these reliable and tough made-in-India process performance motors deliver higher output than the defined standard of the same frame size standard motors.Designed and built in line with the M3BP motors that are currently available at ABB’s global factories, these process performance motors are used to power heavy duty applications in tough environments and to operate critical processes with minimum downtime. Available in a wide range of variants and accessory options, the M3BP motors are fit for purpose to provide the most cost efficient and sustainable solution based on customers’ needs.

Tata Nexon EV Crosses 2000 Sales Milestone India’s most preferred electric car, the Tata Nexon EV, has surpassed the 2000 sales milestone. In over 10 months, since launch, the sales of the Nexon EV reached 2200 units as of November 2020, indicating the rapid demand for the EVs in the personal car segment. After rolling out its 1000th Nexon EV in August this year, the car clocked in another 1000 sales units in a record time of 3 months (Sept-Nov 2020). With its compelling value-proposition, Nexon EV has emerged as the best-selling electric car in India. Currently, Tata Motors is leading the EV segment with a 74% market share. This accomplishment is a testament to the strong response from customers for India’s own electric SUV, the Tata Nexon EV.

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

MG Inaugurates Agra’s First Superfast 60 KW EV Charging Station MG Motor India has now launched Agra’s first 60 kW Superfast EV charging station in partnership with Tata Power. The public charging station was inaugurated at MG Agra Showroom as a part of #NHforEV2020 tech trial run flagged off in Delhi. The public charger will be available 24×7 for customers and comes with CCS/CHAdeMO fastcharging standards.The inauguration came as an extension of the Tech Trial Run conducted from Delhi to Agra, which was flagged off by senior government dignitaries at India Gate. The convoy of vehicles completed its journey at the MG showroom in Agra on the same day with the ZS EV covering the Delhi-Agra journey in a single charge.

ABB Launches New Series Of HighOutput Motors In India Expanding its portfolio with high-output series motors, ABB has launched a new range of M3BP motors for its industrial customers in India. Offered in 280 – 355 frame size and output ranging from 75kW to 560kW, these reliable and tough made-in-India process performance motors deliver higher output than the defined standard of the same frame size standard motors.Designed and built in line with the M3BP motors that are currently available at ABB’s global factories, these process performance motors are used to power heavy duty applications in tough environments and to operate critical processes with minimum downtime. Available in a wide range of variants and accessory options, the M3BP motors are fit for purpose to provide the most cost efficient and sustainable solution based on customers’ needs.

Electric Vehicle Assembly At India Gate To Perform TECH-Trial Run Of E-Highway Tech piloting company for Ease of Doing Business of emerging technologies ASSAR (Advance Services for Social and Administrative Reforms) organized assembly of Electric vehicles at India Gate for The Tech-Trial Run on Yamuna Expressway between Delhi – Agra under National Highway for Electric Vehicle (NHEV) project to make it India’s first and world’s longest 210 km E-Highway. The NHEV TECH-Trial Run assembly successfully demonstrated all its components to deliver its groundbreaking deliveries for people who will travel from Delhi to Agra in Electric vehicles on this new E-Highway.30 Minutes, 30% Percent and 3 years are three vital takeaways of NHEV project. Because every electric vehicle will get automated technical back up on this e-highway in 30 minutes if breakdown, fleet operators will get vehicles in 30% lesser price due to battery subscription and within 3 years CAPEX spent on civil and electric infra of charging stations will reach its breakeven with their 30% utilization.

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E-Mobility+ December 2020

BUZZ

Mahindra Auto Sector Sells 42,731 Vehicles In November Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M Ltd.), a part of the USD 19.4 billion Mahindra Group, announced that its overall auto sales (passenger vehicles + commercial vehicles + exports) for the month of November 2020 stood at 42,731 vehicles, compared to 41,235 in November 2019, a growth of 4%. In the Utility Vehicles segment, Mahindra sold 17,971 vehicles in November 2020, compared to 14,161 vehicles in November 2019, registering a growth of 27%. The Passenger Vehicles segment (which includes UVs, Cars and Vans) sold 18,212 vehicles in November 2020, a growth of 24% over the same period last year.

Ashok Leyland Unveils Smart Transport Solutions in KSA – Launches Falcon Super & Gazl Ashok Leyland, unveiled two smart passenger buses in Saudi Arabia at a virtual launch. Ashok Leyland, a company which has over seven decades of experience in manufacturing passenger transport vehicles, showcased two products – Falcon Super and Gazl – which will join the fleet of its 3500 buses already on the roads of KSA, reinforcing expanding market share of its products. The launch of Falcon Super and Gazl was done in partnership with Ashok Leyland’s exclusive dealer in KSA, Western Auto of Al Ghurair Group which has a two decade long presence in the Kingdom.

Tata Motors Delivers 26 Electric Buses for Mass Mobility in Mumbai Tata Motors strengthened its relation with Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) and delivered 26 state-of-the-art electric buses. The delivery marks the commencement of the first ever Gross Cost Contract (GCC) electric bus service to BEST. The buses are delivered as a part of the larger order of 340 electric buses from BEST under the government of India’s FAME II initiative, with the rest lined up to be delivered in a phased manner as per schedule. The electric buses are indigenously developed by Tata Motors using the latest manufacturing technology to offer the best comfort for the passengers and low cost of operations for BEST.The 25-seater Tata Ultra Urban AC electric buses are equipped with advanced features for the comfort of the driver and the passengers like: ‘Lift Mechanism’ that extends an automated ramp for easy ingress and egress of specially abled passengers, along with ergonomic seats, roomy interiors, utility provisions like charging ports, WiFi hotspot for on-the-go connectivity and wide entry and exit passages. The full-electric buses come with Intelligent Transport System (ITS), telematics system, regenerative braking system, amongst other features for efficient and smooth operations.

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

Student Team From The Delhi Technological University Wins Shell’s Global Pitch The Future Competition Shell announced that a team of students from the Delhi Technological University has been crowned champion of Shell’s Pitch the Future competition, a series of competitions that bring together student teams from all over the world to tackle real-world energy challenges. The student team, which includes students from a range of disciplines, won the ‘Decarbonising Road Freight Transport’ challenge, supported by Shell Lubricants. For the challenge, the team had to develop an innovative concept that helps decarbonise road freight transport without compromising customer expectations of timely distribution and delivery. The team presented its ideas live to a panel of industry experts, which effectively focused on three key areas of improvement: logistics and supply chain; onboard carbon capturing and utilisation; and vehicle efficiency. These solutions stood out owing to their practical applicability, namely – cost and time effectiveness, positive impact on the social benefit for companies active in this sector, and compliance with industrial and public interest.

Relux Electric Inaugurated Its 23rd Charging Point In India, And 10th DC Fast Charging Outlet In Tamil Nadu At Rameshwaram Outlet inaugurated by Mr. Karthik, MD of relux electric, in the presence of subitchanan district incharge along with businessmen and EV enthusiasts and EV owners. Relux electric aims to open 500 DC fast charging Points within Dec 2022 and plans to open up another 5 DC charging outlets on NH44 in Tamil Nadu by January 2022.

Commercial Vehicle Aggregator App "GARRUD" Launched By 2 Delhi Engineers To Tap USD 215 bn Logistics Market Two Delhi based engineers Rohit Kumar and Uttam Yadav recently launched GARRUD, an aggregator app for commercial vehicles which enables customers to directly get in touch with transporters for their logistic needs; in turn servicing both ends of the spectrum, the truck drivers who are in need of business, and the small business owners who need to transport material.The app in its first phase was launched for intra city movement in Delhi NCR. Developed in the lockdown period, it attempts to address the problems faced by the transporters as well as the small business houses, by bringing the highly unorganized transport sector in India under the digital India umbrella. Via a single interface, the app allows anyone who owns or operates commercial vehicles to join the platform; and individuals and businesses who are in need of transport services to hire them through it. PG 13


INCONVERSATION

GAURAV ARORA DIRECTOR, KPMG

E Mo b i l i t y + i n t e r v i e we d Mr . Ga u r a v Ar o r a - Di r e c t o r , K P MG a n d g o t s o me g r e a t i n s i g h t s o n the different EV policies, key role of charging infrastructure in accelerating the EV sector and how the sector is going to evolve in the next few years.

Please tell us what have been the effects of Covid on the Auto and EV sector in India and how the sector has coped? COVI D- 1 9 r e p r e s e n t s a n inflection point in the evolution o f I n d i a ’ s mo b i l i t y s y s t e ms . Th e p a n d e mi c h a s c a u s e d s i g n i f i c a n t disruption to businesses across s e c t o r s . I n d i a ’ s a u t o mo t i v e a n d mo b i l i t y s e c t o r s , a l r e a d y r e e l i n g f r o m a s l o wd o wn b e f o r e t h e p a n d e mi c t o o k h o l d , h a v e b e e n a mo n g t h e wo r s t h i t a s l o c k d o wn s a n d o t h e r r e s t r i c t i o n s have curbed travel and c o n s t r a i n e d c o n s u me r s p e n d i n g . Wh i l e t h e r o a d a h e a d ma y b e rocky, the current crisis has a c c e l e r a t e d c h a n g e s t h a t wi l l r e s h a p e t h e a u t o mo t i v e a n d mo b i l i t y l a n d s c a p e g o i n g f o r wa r d . The need for social distancing, safety and personal hygiene, for i n s t a n c e , wi l l l i k e l y d r i v e d e ma n d f o r p e r s o n a l mo b i l i t y s o l u t i o n s . Co n s u me r s a r e e x p e c t e d t o prefer private vehicles purchases i n t h e s h o r t a n d me d i u m t e r ms . T h i s t r e n d wa s o b s e r v e d i n Ch i n a , t h e i n i t i a l e p i c e n t e r o f COV I D- 1 9 , wh e r e t h e a t t i t u d e s t o wa r d s v e h i c l e p u r c h a s e s t u r n e d mo r e p o s i t i v e o wi n g t o a lack of trust in public transportation and other safety c o n c e r n s . Au t o s a l e s s u r g e d 1 4 . 5 | DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

"ACROSS THE WORLD, ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES AND OIL AND GAS PLAYERS ARE DEVELOPING SOLUTIONS AND ENTERING INTO PARTNERSHIPS IN THE EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE SPACE." p e r c e n t y e a r - o n - y e a r i n Ma y 2 0 2 0 t o 2 . 1 9 mi l l i o n v e h i c l e s . A s i mi l a r pattern is expected to play out in t h e I n d i a n ma r k e t . I n d i v i d u a l c a r buying is likely to go up as c o n s u me r s mi g h t n o t b e c o mf o r t a b l e u s i n g s h a r e d c a b s and public transport. In the long t e r m, h o we v e r , t h e g r o wt h i s l i k e l y to plateau given the adoption of o t h e r mo b i l i t y mo d e l s . Cl e a r t h e me s a r e l i k e l y t o e me r g e i n Au t o a n d E V s p a c e a s p e r s o n a l mo b i l i t y s o l u t i o n s ma k e a c o me b a c k Th e r e wi l l l i k e l y b e a s h i f t t o wa r d s a f f o r d a b l e p e r s o n a l mo b i l i t y s o l u t i o n s s u c h a s e n t r y - l e v e l c a r s , t wo - wh e e l e r s , a n d r i d e h a i l i n g . S ma l l - f o r ma t mo b i l i t y , wh i c h i n c l u d e s t wo wh e e l e r s a n d t h r e e wh e e l e r s , has bounced back in recent mo n t h s . Ri s i n g d e ma n d f o r l a s t - mi l e d e l i v e r y c o u l d a l s o e me r g e a s a d r i v e r f o r s ma l l f o r ma t mo b i l i t y , e s p e c i a l l y t wo wh e e l e r s . T h e o r g a n i z e d u s e d c a r ma r k e t is likely to be given a fillip as c u s t o me r a c c e p t a n c e g r o ws . T h e u s e d c a r ma r k e t , wh i c h i s a b o u t 1 . 2 t i me s t h e n e w c a r

market in India, has notched consistent growth over the years. Used vehicles offer a compelling price-value proposition, as consumers are often unable or unwilling to pay high upfront costs associated with the purchase of new cars. Customers are likely to prefer online purchases, as comfort with contactless purchases increases. According to a recent survey, around 25 per cent of customers are now willing to use digital channels to buy vehicles. MaaS has been gaining popularity in India, owing to its appealing cost economics and convenience. Before the pandemic, mobility as-a-service model was expected to grow significantly vis-à-vis the traditional mobility model.

What is your take on the recent EV policies which have been introduced by the different states? Do you think with these policies we are moving ahead in the right direction?

PG 14


Th e c e n t r a l g o v e r n me n t h a s r o l l e d o u t t h e F a s t e r Ad o p t i o n a n d Ma n u f a c t u r i n g o f Hy b r i d a n d E l e c t r i c Ve h i c l e s ( F AME - I I ) p o l i c y , wh i l e s t a t e g o v e r n me n t s h a v e a l s o i n t r o d u c e d a h o s t o f E V- s p e c i f i c p o l i c i e s . Ba s e d o n t h e t y p e o f i n c e n t i v e s o f f e r e d f o r E V p r o mo t i o n , p o l i c y i n i t i a t i v e s f a l l i n t o t wo b r o a d c a t e g o r i e s , d e ma n d s i d e a n d s u p p l y s i d e . Th e c e n t r a l g o v e r n me n t ’ s F AME p o l i c y a n d t h e De l h i g o v e r n me n t ’ s E V p o l i c y o f f e r mo n e t a r y i n c e n t i v e s t o c u s t o me r s wh i c h h e l p r e d u c e t h e p u r c h a s e p r i c e o f E Vs a n d b r i d g e t h e p r i c e d i f f e r e n t i a l b e t we e n E V s a n d I CE v e h i c l e s . A n u mb e r o f s t a t e g o v e r n me n t s , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , h a v e p r i ma r i l y f o c u s e d o n s u p p l y s i d e i n c e n t i v e s t o a t t r a c t i n v e s t me n t i n t h e E V s e c t o r in their respective states to help generate e mp l o y me n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s . Th e c o mb i n a t i o n o f d e ma n d i n c e n t i v e s f r o m t h e c e n t r a l F AME - I I s u b s i d y a n d s t a t e me a s u r e s s h o u l d h e l p b r i n g d o wn t h e upfront cost differential substantially for EVs. Wh i l e e x i s t i n g p o l i c y me a s u r e s r e p r e s e n t a s t e p i n t h e r i g h t d i r e c t i o n , t h e r e i s s c o p e f o r i mp r o v e me n t i f I n d i a i s t o c r e a t e a c o n d u c i v e e n v i r o n me n t f o r E V a d o p t i o n . Ou r r e c o mme n d a t i o n s a r e a s b e l o w: F o c u s o n d e ma n d i n c e n t i v e s : S t a t e E V p o l i c i e s c o u l d l a y a g r e a t e r f o c u s o n d e ma n d i n c e n t i v e s t h a t s h a l l b r i n g d o wn t h e u p f r o n t c o s t d i f f e r e n t i a l . Ot h e r s t a t e s c o u l d i n t r o d u c e d e ma n d - s i d e f i n a n c i a l i n c e n t i v e s o n t h e l i n e s o f De l h i , Gu j a r a t a n d Bi h a r . F u r t h e r , t h e q u a n t u m o f i n c e n t i v e s s h o u l d b e me a n i n g f u l e n o u g h t o d r i v e E V adoption Targets for EV conversion: State EV policies could h a v e c e r t a i n t a r g e t s f o r c o n v e r s i o n o f E Vs , a t a s e g me n t l e v e l o r f o r a p a r t i c u l a r i n d u s t r y / u s e c a s e . S t a t e s s u c h a s De l h i , Ut t a r a k h a n d , Ta mi l Na d u h a v e a l r e a d y s e t t a r g e t s

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

The combination of demand incentives from the central FAME-II subsidy and state measures should help bring down the upfront cost differential substantially for EVs." for EV conversion; other states could follow suit. The Delhi EV policy mandates conversion of fleet of delivery service providers to 50 per cent by FY23 and 100 per cent by FY25. Uttarakhand targets 100 per cent electrification of public transport (e-buses) by 2030. Setting up of adequate charging infrastructure is key to encourage users to consider EVs. Most EV sales take place in lighter mobility categories, creating demand for charging infrastructure at homes/ residences, parking lots, workplaces or commercial establishments. The state-level EV policies should focus on promoting these models of charging infrastructure. This could include incentivizing the installation of home chargers and charging infrastructure at workplaces, changes in building by-laws to enable charging, as well as mandating installation of charging infrastructure in government offices. Promote EV over ICE: EVs could be promoted by encouraging users to purchase/use EVs over ICE vehicles with measures such as increasing road tax/ registration fees on ICE vehicles, levying cess on the sale of petrol/ diesel or surcharge on parking, providing incentives on scrapping and deregistering of ICE vehicles, are some of the measures that could be implemented. Most state EV policies, with the exception of Delhi, do not focus on promoting EVs through these reforms. Incentivization of customers and manufacturers through both supply-side and demand-side incentives will be critical in addressing EV adoption barriers and expediting the transition to EVs.

PG 15


Charging infrastructure plays a key role in the development of the EV sector. How do you think we can accelerate the development of Charging infrastructure? Ac r o s s t h e wo r l d , e l e c t r i c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n c o mp a n i e s a n d o i l a n d gas players are developing solutions and entering into partnerships in the EV charging infrastructure space. Gl o b a l l y , t h e n u mb e r o f p r i v a t e c h a r g e r s ( s l o w) we r e ~ 6 . 5 mi l l i o n i n 2 0 1 9 , a n d p u b l i c c h a r g e r s we r e 0 . 6 mi l l i o n ( s l o w) a n d 0 . 2 6 mi l l i o n ( f a s t ) r e s p e c t i v e l y . Wh i l e p r i v a t e c h a r g e r s f o r m a ma j o r s h a r e i n t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y of charging infrastructure, public fast charging is picking up In order to enable faster adoption of E Vs , t h e g o v e r n me n t h a s i s s u e d guidelines and standards for public c h a r g i n g i n f r a s t r u c t u r e wh e r e i n i t phased out plans for rollout of public charging infrastructure. Ba s e d o n p r o p o s a l s r e c e i v e d , t h e I n d i a n g o v e r n me n t r e c e n t l y sanctioned 2636 (public) charging stations in 62 cities across 24 states/ UTs t o b e i n s t a l l e d b y 1 9 p u b l i c e n t i t i e s . Ou t o f t h e s e , 1 6 3 3 c h a r g i n g stations are expected to be fast charging stations, and 1003 slow c h a r g i n g s t a t i o n s . Wi t h t h i s , ~ 2 0 , 0 0 0 charging points are expected to be installed across selected cities. T o s u mma r i z e , i n o r d e r t o a d d r e s s t h e issues of range anxiety and a lack of c h a r g i n g s t a t i o n s , g o v e r n me n t s a n d u t i l i t y c o mp a n i e s a c r o s s t h e wo r l d have taken the lead in setting up charging infrastructure. In India, h o we v e r , u t i l i t y c o mp a n i e s a r e y e t t o e n t e r t h i s s p a c e i n a ma j o r wa y . Ecosystem creation is the first and mo s t i mp o r t a n t s t e p i n a d d r e s s i n g t h e i s s u e o f r a n g e a n x i e t y . Wh i l e a h o s t o f players have set up energy operatorc u m- b a t t e r y s wa p p i n g o p e r a t i o n s , t h e s e h a v e s o f a r b e e n mo s t l y l i mi t e d to captive needs of a particular use c a s e . A wi d e s p r e a d n e t wo r k o f charging stations is vital for ensuring t h e f a s t a d o p t i o n o f E Vs . | DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

Are there any specific untapped opportunities in the EV sector which if focused upon can lead to significant improvements? TCO p a r i t y h a s n o t p r o v i d e d t h e e x p e c t e d p u s h t o wa r d s ma s s a d o p t i o n o f E Vs . Gl o b a l l y , s e v e r a l i n n o v a t i v e b u s i n e s s mo d e l s h a v e e me r g e d i n o r d e r t o a d d r e s s t h e c h a l l e n g e s t h a t a r e i n h i b i t i n g wi d e scale adoption, including range anxiety, upfront cost differential, r e l i a b i l i t y o f b a t t e r y , a n d t i me r e q u i r e d for battery charging. Ve h i c l e s u b s c r i p t i o n / l e a s i n g mo d e l Ba t t e r y s u b s c r i p t i o n / l e a s i n g mo d e l ( i n c l u d e s S a l e o f v e h i c l e wi t h o u t t h e b a t t e r y ) Ba t t e r y s wa p p i n g mo d e l Ch a r g i n g a s – a – s e r v i c e ( Ca a S ) Wh i l e t h e s e i n n o v a t i v e mo d e l s a r e f o c u s e d o n d r i v i n g ma s s a d o p t i o n o f E Vs , mo s t o f t h e s e mo d e l s a r e s t i l l a t a n a s c e n t s t a g e . As t h e s i z e o f t h e ma r k e t g r o ws , t h e s e mo d e l s a r e expected to take shape in the context o f e v o l v i n g c u s t o me r r e q u i r e me n t s a n d ma r k e t d y n a mi c s .

How do you see India's EV sector evolving in the next 5 years? E Vs a r e o n c o u r s e t o f u l f i l t h e i r p r o mi s e a s a g a me c h a n g e r f o r t h e a u t o mo b i l e i n d u s t r y 2 W a n d 3 W a u t o s e g me n t s l i k e l y to lead the adoption curve f o l l o we d b y e - b u s e s a n d passenger taxis

We e x p e c t 4 W p a s s e n g e r v e h i c l e s t o r e ma i n a l a g g a r d i n E V a d o p t i o n . Th e r e a r e l i k e l y t o b e l i mi t e d n u mb e r o f l a u n c h e s b y ma i n s t r e a m p l a y e r s i n t h i s s e g me n t , a s t h e f o c u s wi l l r e ma i n o n I CE c a r s f o r t h e n e x t f e w y e a r s . Th i s i s e x p e c t e d t o d e l a y t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n p o i n t f o r 4 Ws E-buses could see a reasonable n u mb e r o n t h e b a c k o f g o v e r n me n t - l e d b u y i n g . Th e i n t r a - c i t y S TU s e g me n t , wh i c h n e e d s l i mi t e d c h a r g i n g infrastructure, also offers an attractive use-case for EV a d o p t i o n o wi n g t o t h e g o v e r n me n t p u s h , f a v o u r a b l e e c o n o mi c s , a n d h i g h e r r o u t e predictability S i n c e t h e r u n n i n g c o s t o f E Vs i s mu c h l o we r t h a n I CE v e h i c l e s ( o n e - t e n t h f o r 2 W a n d 3 W) , a s t r o n g c a s e e me r g e s f o r a s h i f t t o E Vs i n B2 B. Ma n y l a r g e B2 B p l a y e r s i n e - c o mme r c e , g r o c e r y , food, courier delivery have been p i l o t i n g E Vs a n d s o me h a v e mo v e d i n t o a d v a n c e d s t a g e s o f d e p l o y me n t Ba s e d o n a n a n a l y s i s o f k e y enablers for consideration and i n f l e c t i o n p o i n t s , K P MG i n I n d i a has arrived at EV penetration e s t i ma t e s ( a s a p e r c e n t a g e o f I CE sales) for different vehicle s e g me n t s i n 2 0 2 5 a n d 2 0 3 0

PG 16


INCONVERSATION

NARAYAN SUBRAMANIAM DIRECTOR & CEO, ULTRAVIOLETTE AUTOMOTIVE

E Mo b i l i t y + i n t e r v i e we d Mr . Na r a y a n S u b r a ma n i a m - Di r e c t o r & CE O, Ul t r a v i o l e t t e Au t o mo t i v e wh e r e i n h e s h a r e d d e t a i l s a b o u t t h e c o mp a n y ’ s E V j o u r n e y . He also talked about the salient features of their F77 electric bike wh i c h i s a g r e a t c o mb i n a t i o n o f style, technology and speed and t h e i r l o n g t e r m g r o wt h p l a n s .

Please help our readers understand about Ultraviolette Automotive's history and how its EV journey began? At Ul t r a v i o l e t t e Au t o mo t i v e , we h a v e a l wa y s b e l i e v e d t h a t f o r e l e c t r i c mo b i l i t y t o b e c o me ma i n s t r e a m i n I n d i a , i t i s i mp o r t a n t t o b u i l d a n d d e v e l o p vehicles that are desirable and c o me wi t h a c e r t a i n p r i d e o f o wn e r s h i p . T h e g e n e s i s o f t h e F 7 7 wa s r o o t e d wi t h t h i s s i n g l e i n s i g h t . Ov e r t h e l a s t 3 y e a r s we have been on an extensive journey of researching, innovating and developing various prototypes, and the F77 i s a t e s t i mo n y o f o u r v i s i o n o f building an entirely new e c o s y s t e m o f e l e c t r i c mo b i l i t y i n I n d i a . No w i n i t s 7 t h g e n e r a t i o n , the F77 has undergone design r e f i n e me n t a n d s e v e r a l t h o u s a n d k i l o me t e r s o f t e s t i n g a n d we a r e c o n f i d e n t t h a t F 7 7 wi l l b e a n attractive and evocative a l t e r n a t i v e t o t h o s e wh o a r e wi l l i n g t o s e e k o u t n e w s o l u t i o n s a n d e x p e r i e n c e s . We a l s o b e l i e v e that the F77 is the perfect opportunity to further our a mb i t i o n o f b u i l d i n g s u p e r i o r a n d f u t u r i s t i c mo b i l i t y s o l u t i o n s i n India.

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

"IT IS IMPORTANT TO BUILD AND DEVELOP VEHICLES THAT ARE DESIRABLE AND COME WITH A CERTAIN PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP."

Everyone is eagerly awaiting the launch of F77 electric bike which combines style, technology and the need for speed. Tell us more about its salient and distinguishing features. Th e F 7 7 b u s t s e v e r y s i n g l e negative notion and perception a s s o c i a t e d wi t h e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s . It has been designed keeping the a s p i r a t i o n s o f I n d i a n c o n s u me r s i n mi n d wh i l e b e i n g t e s t e d f o r t h e t o u g h e s t a n d mo s t e x t r e me t e r r a i n a n d c l i ma t i c c o n d i t i o n s i n t h e country. Th e R i d i n g E x p e r i e n c e c o n s i s t s o f different contributing factors like Th e F 7 7 t o u c h e s 0 t o 6 0 k mp h i n 2 . 9 s e c o n d s a n d 0 - 1 0 0 k mp h in 7.5 seconds. Provides a range for 130 to 150 km in the city on standard driving conditions. Re g e n e r a t i v e b r a k i n g wi t h a p o we r r e g e n e r a t i o n mo d e De s i g n e d t o d e l i v e r n i mb l e , agile handling for confident control on urban streets and a

thrilling ride on curving backroads. The center of gravity has been optimized to enhance traction, braking, and cornering performance.

Mo d u l a r Ba t t e r y Te c h n o l o g y i n c o r p o r a t e s p r o p r i e t a r y t h e r ma l ma n a g e me n t t e c h n o l o g y t o i mp r o v e h e a t d i s s i p a t i o n a n d r e d u c e t e mp e r a t u r e g r a d i e n t s wi t h i n c e l l s l e a d i n g t o h i g h e r c y c l e l i f e . Me c h a n i c a l p r o t e c t i o n includes structural crush zones t o t a k e f i r s t i mp a c t o v e r t h e c e l l s and structural support to prevent vibration-induced long-term d a ma g e . I t s F a s t Ch a r g e r a c c e s s o r y provides a 0-80% of battery c h a r g e i n 5 0 mi n u t e s o r 0 - 1 0 0 % c h a r g e i n 9 0 mi n u t e s . Th e v e h i c l e i n c l u d e s a CCS Ty p e - 2 Ch a r g e P o r t t o s u p p o r t b o t h AC a n d DC c h a r g i n g I n t e r ms o f t e c h n o l o g y , It has a 5-inch highb r i g h t n e s s c o l o r TF T t o u c h s c r e e n ( t h i n - f i l mtransistor) located on the handlebar,

PG 17


3 d i f f e r e n t r i d e mo d e s ( E c o , S p o r t s a n d Insane), 9 DOF ( 9 De g r e e s o f F r e e d o m) I n e r t i a l Me a s u r e me n t Un i t ( I MU) wh i c h c a p t u r e s n i n e d i s t i n c t t y p e s o f mo t i o n / o r i e n t a t i o n data: 3 degrees each of acceleration, ma g n e t i c o r i e n t a t i o n , a n d a n g u l a r v e l o c i t y . S e n s o r d a t a c o mb i n e d wi t h s e n s o r f u s i o n technology provides the exact lean angle, accident and fall detection, rate of acceleration and position of the mo t o r c y c l e , Ul t r a v i o l e t t e An d r o i d a n d i OS Ap p s l i n k s a F 7 7 o wn e r wi t h t h e i r mo t o r c y c l e Co n n e c t e d F e a t u r e s a n d P r e v e n t i v e Ma i n t e n a n c e : I t s a s ma r t v e h i c l e wi t h L TE c o n n e c t i v i t y a n d GP S p o s i t i o n i n g e n a b l i n g t h e F i n d My Bi k e f e a t u r e t o l o c a t e , a n d e v e n l o c k - d o wn t h e v e h i c l e i n r e a l - t i me . Co n n e c t i v i t y a l s o e n a b l e s P r e v e n t i v e Ma i n t e n a n c e , a f i r s t f o r mo t o r c y c l e s , wh e r e p r o b l e ms a r e i d e n t i f i e d f r o m collected data before the rider notices any me a s u r a b l e d e g r a d a t i o n i n p e r f o r ma n c e .

t o p u r c h a s i n g a b i k e o r a c a r . S h a r e d mo b i l i t y a s we l l , i s t r a n s i t i o n i n g t o E Vs i n c e r t a i n c i t i e s i n I n d i a . We h o p e t h e wo r l d c a n mo v e p a s t t h i s p a n d e mi c s o o n a n d a r e e x t r e me l y p o s i t i v e a b o u t t h e o u t l o o k f o r E Vs .

What are your long term plans? Where do you see your company 10 years from now? We a r e a n i n n o v a t o r i n t h e mo b i l i t y s p a c e . Ou r i n t e n t t o b e g i n wi t h , h a s b e e n t o t r y a n d i n f l u e n c e t h e E V i n d u s t r y t o wa r d s h i g h q u a l i t y , t e c h n o l o g y c e n t r i c p r o d u c t s . Wi t h o u r f i r s t o f f e r i n g , t h e F 7 7 , we h a v e e n g i n e e r e d a p r e mi u m, n o c o mp r o mi s e p r o d u c t . We h a v e wo r k e d t o wa r d s i n n o v a t i o n o n t h e e n e r g y s i d e a s we l l . We b e l i e v e t h i s i s e q u a l l y i mp o r t a n t t o wa r d s ma k i n g e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s ma i n s t r e a m. Wi t h r e g a r d t o t h e f u t u r e , we a i m t o b e ma r k e t l e a d e r s i n t h e e l e c t r i c 2 wh e e l e r s p a c e b y 2 0 2 5 . De s i g n , t e c h n o l o g y a n d Us e r e x p e r i e n c e wi l l r e ma i n t h e c o r e o f a l l o f o u r p r o d u c t s mo v i n g f o r wa r d .

How do you think the EV sector is going to shape up in 2021 especially after facing the year 2020 which has been tough overall? No d o u b t , t h e p a n d e mi c h a s b e e n v e r y h a r d f o r a l o t o f i n d u s t r i e s t o d e a l wi t h , e s p e c i a l l y t h e a u t o mo b i l e a n d t r a n s p o r t a t i o n i n d u s t r i e s . We h o we v e r b e l i e v e t h a t wh e n i t c o me s t o t h e E V i n d u s t r y , we a r e we l l p o s i t i o n e d mo v i n g i n t o t h e f u t u r e . P e o p l e h a v e s t a r t e d t o b e c o me mo r e c o n s c i o u s a b o u t t h e i r i mp a c t o n t h e e n v i r o n me n t a n d s u s t a i n a b i l i t y . T o d a y , mo r e a n d mo r e people have started evaluating electric v e h i c l e s a s a ma i n s t r e a m o p t i o n wh e n i t c o me s

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 18


PERSPECTIVE NEED OF A SOUND POLICY TO CATER TO OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES FOR DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT OF EV COMPONENTS

There is a transition observed globally, where countries are shifting to electric vehicles. These high sales of EVs are driven primarily due to financial incentives offered by the government on purchase of EVs and setting up of public charging infrastructure. There is a global rise in the level of investment in electric vehicles as well. As the demand is increasing, OEMs are expanding their manufacturing capabilities and dedicating specific plants to EV production. China has increased its lead in EV production, followed by Europe and the USA. It is, in particular, driven by the involvement of the government and its policies, pushing ahead to develop its EV market and the industry. As far as the Indian government is concerned when it comes to EVs, it has announced the EV Policy, which has created a lot of curiosity in the market. Lets understand from our experts the need of a sound policy to cater to opportunities and challenges for design and development of EV components and their views. . . | DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

PG 19


AKSHAY KASHYAP MANAGING DIRECTOR, GREENFUEL ENERGY SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD

I n d i a h a d r e v e a l e d t h e ' Na t i o n a l E l e c t r i c Mo b i l i t y Mi s s i o n P l a n 2 0 2 0 ' i n 2 0 1 3 t o a d d r e s s t h e i s s u e s o f national energy security, vehicular pollution, and g r o wt h o f d o me s t i c ma n u f a c t u r i n g c a p a b i l i t i e s . Re i t e r a t i n g i t s c o mmi t me n t t o t h e P a r i s Ag r e e me n t , GOI h a s ma j o r p l a n s t o s h i f t t o e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s b y 2 0 3 0 . B u t a r e t h e e x i s t i n g E V p o l i c i e s s o u n d e n o u g h t o wa r d s e n s u r i n g t h a t I n d i a b e c o me s t h e ma n u f a c t u r i n g h u b o f E V c o mp o n e n t s ? Ar e we a s a c o u n t r y r e a d y f o r t h i s ? CHALLENGES I N DESI GNI NG GOOD BATTERY PACKS

Th e c o s t o f t h e b a t t e r y p a c k a mo u n t s t o 5 0 % o f t h e v e h i c l e c o s t b u t i s a l mo s t 9 0 % o f t h e b r a n d v a l u e o f t h e vehicle. On e o f t h e b i g g e s t c h a l l e n g e s f a c e d i n I n d i a i s c h e a p i mp o r t s f r o m Ti e r - 3 ma n u f a c t u r e r s f r o m s o me c o u n t r i e s . Th e y s e l l s u b s t a n d a r d E V c o mp o n e n t s t o t h e I n d i a n ma r k e t a t t h r o wa wa y p r i c e s . Th e s e c o mp o n e n t s , o n c e f i t t e d i n E V b a s e d v e h i c l e s , a r e l i k e a t i c k i n g t i me b o mb wh i c h c a n h a v e a s e r i o u s s a f e t y i s s u e t o t h e c o n s u me r a n d t o t h e s u r r o u n d i n g s . Th i s c a n d e r a i l t h e I n d i a n E V s t o r y a n d s u c h i n c i d e n t s c a n d i s c o u r a g e u s e r s f r o m a d o p t i n g E Vs . SAFETY CONCERNS AND HOW GOI SHOUL D ADDRESS THEM

The battery is like any other power source which packs in a lot of energy, and there are chances of it heating up. The present standard for EV batteries is based on lithium-ion. A s ma r t BMS e n s u r e s t h e o p t i ma l u s e o f t h e r e s i d u a l energy present in a battery and to avoid loading the batteries. Th e a u t o ma k e r s s h o u l d u s e c e l l i s o l a t i o n a n d d i v i s i o n of battery packs into arrays to reduce the risk in case o f a n y ma l f u n c t i o n . B MS c o n t i n u o u s l y mo n i t o r s t h e h e a l t h a n d t e mp e r a t u r e o f t h e b a t t e r y . I t ’ s c a p a b l e e n o u g h t o t a k e n e c e s s a r y me a s u r e s i n c a s e o f a t h e r ma l r u n a wa y . ( b) A c o o l i n g me c h a n i s m i s t o b e i n c l u d e d t o k e e p t h e t e mp e r a t u r e o f t h e b a t t e r y p a c k s l o w wh i l e t h e E V s a r e i n mo t i o n . ( c ) E x t e r n a l pa c k a gi n g o f t h e Ba t t e r y p a c k s h o u l d b e I P r a t e d ( I P 6 5 t o 6 8 ) f o r d u s t a n d wa t e r p r o t e c t i o n . ( d) Av a i l a bi l i t y o f Ba t t e r y Th e r ma l Ma n a g e me n t S y s t e ms ( BTMS ) ( e ) E Vs s h o u l d h a v e a f a i l s a f e me c h a n i s m t o c u t p o we r i n c a s e o f a n a c c i d e n t o r s h o r t c i r c u i t a n d r e mo v e a n y r i s k o f e l e c t r o c u t i o n . SOUND GOVERNMENT POLI CY.

Th e b a t t e r y i s l i k e a n y o t h e r p o we r s o u r c e wh i c h p a c k s in a lot of energy, and there are chances of it heating u p . Th e p r e s e n t s t a n d a r d f o r E V b a t t e r i e s i s b a s e d o n l i t h i u m- i o n . I n t h e c a s e o f u s i n g s u b s t a n d a r d c o mp o n e n t s o r c o mp r o mi s i n g wi t h t h e t e c h n o l o g y , t h e r e c a n b e a r i s k of accidents due to the battery packs. To p u t i n t h e s a f e t y p e r s p e c t i v e a n d p r e c a u t i o n s , h e r e a r e a f e w o f t h e s a f e t y me a s u r e s t h a t GOI s h o u l d ma n d a t o r i l y i n c l u d e i n ma n u f a c t u r i n g a n d a p p r o v a l o f EV battery Packs: ( a ) Av a i l a bi l i t y o f S ma r t Ba t t e r y Ma n a ge me n t s y s t e m ( BMS ) A s ma r t BMS i s a c o n t r o l c i r c u i t t h a t i s r e q u i r e d t o mo n i t o r a n d r e g u l a t e t h e c h a r g i n g a n d d i s c h a r g e c y c l e of the battery pack protecting the batteries from deep discharge or over-voltage.

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

As a c o u n t r y , we n e e d t o p r o mu l g a t e s t r i n g e n t q u a l i t y checks and standards for the acceptance and d e v e l o p me n t o f e v e r y c o mp o n e n t r e q u i r e d i n E V s . GOI s h o u l d d i s c o u r a g e i mp o r t s o f s u b s t a n d a r d t e c h n o l o g i e s o r f i n i s h e d p r o d u c t s f r o m Ti e r - 3 ma n u f a c t u r e r s i n t h e s e c o u n t r i e s b y i mp l e me n t i n g policy directives and high taxation for their acceptance. Th e b a s i c c h e c k s l i k e s a f e t y c u t o f f , t e mp e r a t u r e s e n s i n g , c o o l i n g r e q u i r e me n t s , a v a i l a b i l i t y o f t e s t e d BMS s y s t e m i s c r u c i a l f o r a s a f e l y d e s i g n e d E V . Ho we v e r , t h e s e c o n c e p t s a r e mi s s i n g f r o m t h e b a t t e r i e s o r c o mp o n e n t s i mp o r t e d f r o m T i e r - 3 ma n u f a c t u r e r s . Th i s h a s l e d t o v a r i o u s s a f e t y i n c i d e n t s i n t h e p a s t . Th e r e f o r e a s o u n d p o l i c y a n d s a f e t y s t a n d a r d f o r a c c e p t a n c e o f b a t t e r i e s f o r E V ’ s mu s t b e enforced.

PG 20


BISWA MANDAL CTO, SCHAEFFLER INDIA

Z e r o t a i l p i p e e mi s s i o n v e h i c l e s a r e r i s i n g i n I n d i a a l b e i t wi t h t h e s u p p o r t o f s c h e me s l i k e F AME I I . E f f o r t s a r e being undertaken to reduce vehicular pollution through t h e p r o mo t i o n o f a l t e r n a t e f u e l t e c h n o l o g i e s a s we l l a s t h r o u g h o p t i mi s a t i o n o f e x i s t i n g t e c h n o l o g i e s . An e x a mp l e o f o p t i mi z a t i o n o f e x i s t i n g t e c h n o l o g i e s i s t h e i mp l e me n t a t i o n o f BS 6 e mi s s i o n r e g u l a t i o n s . No t s t o p p i n g a t t h a t , n e w r e g u l a t i o n s a r e e x p e c t e d t o c o me i n f o r c e i n t h e f o r m o f CAF E n o r ms a mo n g o t h e r s i n t h e n e x t t wo t o t h r e e y e a r s . Th e d i r e c t i o n o f c u r b i n g v e h i c u l a r e mi s s i o n h e n c e f o r t h i s e x p e c t e d t o b e i n t h e d i r e c t i o n o f CO2 r e d u c t i o n . I n d i a i s o n e o f t h e 1 7 9 s i g n a t o r y c o u n t r i e s o f t h e P a r i s c l i ma t e a g r e e me n t o f 2 0 1 5 , wh i c h i s a b o u t k e e p i n g t h e g l o b a l t e mp e r a t u r e i n c r e a s e we l l b e l o w t wo - d e g r e e Ce l s i u s a n d i f p o s s i b l e , b e l o w 1 . 5 - d e g r e e Ce l s i u s , t h r o u g h a s i g n i f i c a n t r e d u c t i o n i n t h e e mi s s i o n o f g r e e n h o u s e g a s e s . I n v i e w o f t h e e f f o r t s b e i n g ma d e t o d e v e l o p n e w t e c h n o l o g i e s a n d o p t i mi s e e x i s t i n g t e c h n o l o g i e s t o me e t e mi s s i o n r e g u l a t i o n s , t h e I n d i a n a u t o i n d u s t r y i s looking like it is fast approaching a crossroad. The e mp h a s i s wi l l h a v e t o b e o n d i s r u p t i o n f r o m a technology point of view rather than regulation. The l a n d s c a p e f o r t e c h n o l o g y c o mp a n i e s i s b e c o mi n g mo r e c h a l l e n g i n g , a s d e v e l o p me n t o f n e w t e c h n o l o g i e s i s b e c o mi n g e s s e n t i a l t o s t a y a h e a d o f c o mp e t i t i o n . I n t h e wa k e o f t h i s , i t i s a l l t h e mo r e e s s e n t i a l t h a t t h e Go v e r n me n t a n d i n d u s t r i e s wo r k t o g e t h e r t o a c h i e v e t h e e n v i s a g e d e mi s s i o n r e d u c t i o n . As t h e r a t e o f c r e a t i v e d i s r u p t i o n g r o ws , a c l e a r l o n g - t e r m p o l i c y ma n d a t e wo u l d a i d t h e r i g h t t e c h n o l o g i c a l d i r e c t i o n t o s a t i s f y t h e l o c a l r e q u i r e me n t s . Th i s , i r r e s p e c t i v e o f wh e t h e r i t i s e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e t e c h n o l o g y , o p t i mi s a t i o n of existing technology, fuel cell technology, hybrid t e c h n o l o g y o r a n y o t h e r t e c h n o l o g y f o r t h a t ma t t e r . A c l e a r p o l i c y ma n d a t e wo u l d n o t o n l y ma k e i t e a s i e r b u t wi s e r t o i n v e s t i n t h e r i g h t t e c h n o l o g y o r a d o p t t h e r i g h t p a t h , b u t a l s o mo v e a t a f a s t e r p a c e i n t h e d i r e c t i o n o f CO2 r e d u c t i o n . F o r e x a mp l e , a n i n v e s t me n t i n h y b r i d t e c h n o l o g y t o c u t d o wn CO2 e mi s s i o n wo u l d e n t a i l a c o mp l e x c o mb i n a t i o n o f e x i s t i n g I C e n g i n e t e c h n o l o g y a n d n e wa g e e l e c t r i c t e c h n o l o g y . I t wo u l d a l s o e n t a i l t h e c h o o s i n g o f a r i g h t p a t h . Wh e t h e r i t wo u l d b e a mi c r o h y b r i d o r a f u l l - h y b r i d . S i mi l a r l y , t h e s a me n a t u r e o f c o mp l e x i t y wo u l d s u r r o u n d o t h e r t e c h n o l o g i e s t o o . Wi t h i n t e n t i o n t o r e d u c e t h e c a r b o n f o o t p r i n t e f f e c t i v e l y , t h e r e c o u l d b e mo r e wa y s t h a n o n e t o e n s u r e t h e r i g h t l o c a l a p p r o a c h a n d a l s o me e t t h e e x p e c t a t i o n s o f t h e l o c a l c u s t o me r s . Co n s i d e r i n g t h e | DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

p s y c h o l o g y o f t h e I n d i a n c u s t o me r a n d t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n p e r c a p i t a i n c o me c o mp a r e d t o o t h e r ma r k e t s , a n d the level of aspiration, it is clear that technology c a n n o t j u s t b e b o r r o we d a n d i mp l e me n t e d f r o m a d v a n c e d ma r k e t s . T h e l o w p e r c a p i t a i n c o me o f a n I n d i a n c u s t o me r ma k e s i t t o u g h t o a c h i e v e a f i n e c o n d i t i o n o f me e t i n g t h e a s p i r a t i o n s . To d o t h i s , c a l l s f o r a c r e a t i v e u s e o r d e v e l o p me n t o f t e c h n o l o g y s u c h that it results in the right local product at the right local price. Th e a b s e n c e o f a r o b u s t l o n g - t e r m r o a d ma p ma k e s i t d i f f i c u l t n o t o n l y t o i n v e s t i n t h e r i g h t t e c h n o l o g y wi t h the right local approach, but also in infrastructure e n h a n c e me n t . F o r e x a mp l e , t h e p r o l i f e r a t i o n o f e f f i c i e n t e l e c t r i c mo b i l i t y wo u l d c a l l f o r f a s t c h a r g i n g a n d s ma r t g r i d s . L i k e wi s e , t h e p r o l i f e r a t i o n o f h y d r o g e n o r L NG t e c h n o l o g y wo u l d c a l l f o r a d e d i c a t e d i n f r a s t r u c t u r e f o r t h e i r s t o r a g e a n d t r a n s p o r t a t i o n . An e f f i c i e n t i n f r a s t r u c t u r e wo u l d a i d me e t i n g t h e e x p e c t a t i o n s o f t h e l o c a l c o n s u me r s t o o . I t wo u l d a l s o a i d t o a c h i e v e e c o n o mi e s o f s c a l e a p a r t f r o m e n a b l i n g the offering of sustainable energy solutions at the right cost. Th e e x i s t e n c e o f a p p r o x i ma t e l y 2 mi l l i o n e - r i c k s h a ws from unorganised players provides a rare insight into t h e a s p i r a t i o n s a n d n e e d s o f l o c a l c o n s u me r s a t o n e end, and the need to develop sustainable technologies a t t h e o t h e r . S u c h t e c h n o l o g i e s wo u l d h a v e t h e ms e l v e s a c c o u n t e d f o r t h e i r c o s t t o t h e e n v i r o n me n t . A r o b u s t l o n g - t e r m p o l i c y ma n d a t e therefore has to look beyond technologies and at me a n s t o e n c o u r a g e t h e u s e o f t e c h n o l o g i c a l me a n s t h a t a r e l e s s d e ma n d i n g o f t h e e n v i r o n me n t . A s c r a p p a g e p o l i c y f o r e x a mp l e , l i n k e d t o a g o o d i n c e n t i v e s t r u c t u r e , wo u l d r e d u c e t h e n u mb e r o f p o l l u t i n g v e h i c l e s o n t h e r o a d . Wi t h t h e r i s i n g u s e o f plastics to address the ever rising need to reduce c a r b o n f o o t p r i n t , t h e l o n g - t e r m p o l i c y ma n d a t e h a s t o l o o k a t s t r u c t u r e t h a t i s a n o u t c o me o f c l o s e c o n s u l t a t i o n b e t we e n t h e i n d u s t r y s t a k e h o l d e r s a n d t h e Go v e r n me n t . Wi t h r i s i n g u s e o f e l e c t r o n i c s , t h e l o n g - t e r m p o l i c y ma n d a t e s h o u l d a l s o l o o k a t t h e c o s t o f t h e e n v i r o n me n t t o wa r d s e - wa s t e d i s p o s a l . T h e s c a l e f o r e - wa s t e i s o n l y s e t t o r i s e a s n e w r e g u l a t i o n s a n d d i s r u p t i o n s f i n d t h e i r wa y i n t o t h e a u t o i n d u s t r y .

Although India has limited reserves of some of the most important lithium-ion components, global supplies of minerals for current battery chemistries are not considered to be resourceconstrained.

PG 21


P BALA CEO , SODION ENERGY PTE LTD

E v e r y d a y a t l e a s t o n e p e r s o n a s k s me , Ho w c a n we ma t c h Ch i n e s e E V p r o d u c t p r i c e s ? ( As t h e Ch i n e s e a r e t h e d e f a u l t wo r l d l e a d e r s i n a l l p r o d u c t s Ca t e g o r i e s & K e y c o mp o n e n t s u s e d i n E Vs o r i n o v e r a l l E V b u s i n e s s e s ) . I t i s t r u e , i t i s b i t d i f f i c u l t t o me e t t h e Ch i n e s e E V p r o d u c t p r i c e b y a l o c a l I n d i a n Ma n u f a c t u r e r b e c a u s e o f t h e f o l l o wi n g k e y r e a s o n s 1 . Ch i n e s e a r e P i o n e e r s i n t h e E V b u s i n e s s a n d ma n u f a c t u r i n g f o r a l mo s t t h r e e d e c a d e , b e c a u s e o f wh i c h t h e i r t o o l i n g , j i g , p r o d u c t i o n e q u i p me n t wo u l d have been fully depreciated 2 . Ch i n e s e g e t e x p o r t i n c e n t i v e o f 1 3 % t o 1 7 % o f t h e product value they export 3 . Ch i n e s e ’ s l o we r c u r r e n c y v a l u e 4 . E c o n o my o f s c a l e t h e y h a v e ( Th e y a r e t h e l e a d e r s i n a n y c a t e g o r y o f E V p r o d u c t i o n i n t h e wo r l d , wa y a h e a d o f r e s t o f t h e wo r l d ) a y e a r i n p r o d u c t i o n 5 . Ch i n e s e P r o d u c t i v i t y 6 . L o we r Ma t e r i a l c o s t I r r e s p e c t i v e o f t h e a b o v e , we wi l l h a v e t o s t a r t wo r k i n g o n o u r o wn s t r a t e g y t o a d d r e s s t h i s c o s t i s s u e o f l o c a l ma n u f a c t u r i n g i n a h o l i s t i c ma n n e r . Go v e r n me n t P o l i c y s u p p o r t a n d I n d u s t r y a c t i o n s c a n e l i mi n a t e t h i s i n t h e long run. GOVERNMENT POLI CY SUPPORT

f o r E l e c t r i c Ve h i c l e ma n u f a c t u r e r s a n d As s e mb l e r s i n I n d i a . Th i s P o l i c y ma k e s t h e s e i mp o r t e d K e y p a r t s s u c h a s Mo t o r , c o n t r o l l e r , Ba t t e r y , DC- DC c o n v e r t e r a n d Ch a r g e r s mu c h c h e a p e r . I mp o r t d u t y f o r c o mp o n e n t s u s e d i n t h e ma k i n g o f BL DC Mo t o r s u c h a s ma g n e t s ( Th e s e c o mp o n e n t s a r e n o t p o s s i b l e t o ma k e i n I n d i a a s Ch i n a h o l d s ma j o r Ra r e E a r t h Ma t e r i a l R e s e r v e s ) a n d o t h e r E l e c t r o n i c P a r t s f o r t h e ma n u f a c t u r i n g o f AC/ DC Mo t o r a n d AC/ DC Co n t r o l l e r s a r e f a l l i n g u n d e r h i g h e r I mp o r t d u t y category. In addition all other parts needed for ma n u f a c t u r i n g Mo t o r s & Co n t r o l l e r s f o r E V l o c a l l y a r e a t a h i g h e r GS T r a t e . Be c a u s e o f t h e s e a b o v e s a i d r e a s o n s , h o we v e r h a r d t h e l o c a l ma n u f a c t u r e r s wo r k t h e y c a n n e v e r c o me c l o s e r t o t h e s e i mpo r t e d pr o du c t s pr i c e wi s e . HOW THE POLI CY CHANGE CAN HELP:

L o we r i n g o r Wa i v i n g t h e c u s t o ms & i mp o r t d u t y f o r p a r t s wh i c h c a n n o t b e ma d e i n I n d i a l i k e Ne o d y mi u m Ma g n e t , L i t h i u m o r S o d i u m I o n Ba t t e r y c e l l s , E l e c t r o n i c & S e mi c o n d u c t o r Co mp o n e n t s f o r E V & E V E l e c t r o n i c p a r t s ma k i n g f o r t h e I n d i a n 2 / 3 - wh e e l e r E - v e h i c l e , BL DC h u b mo t o r a n d c o n t r o l l e r ma n u f a c t u r i n g I n d u s t r y in India. L o we r i n g o r Wa i v i n g t h e i mp o r t d u t y n e e d e d f o r t h e ma c h i n e r y i n ma k i n g p a r t s f o r t h e s e I n d u s t r i e s s u c h a s Wi n d i n g Ma c h i n e s , T e s t i n g E q u i p me n t , Hi g h E n d Co mp u t e r c o n t r o l l e d Ma n u f a c t u r i n g E q u i p me n t wh i c h a r e n o t ma d e i n I n d i a , t h i s wi l l h e l p u s u p g r a d e o u r ma n u f a c t u r i n g s e t u p i n I n d i a t o b e s t a t e o f Ar t . Re mo v i n g t h e c o n c e s s i o n a l c u s t o ms d u t y f o r Mo t o r s , c o n t r o l l e r s , c h a r g e r s a n d Ba t t e r y p a c k i n t h e I mp o r t o f E l e c t r i c Ve h i c l e K i t s .

Th e r e a r e a l o t o f p o l i c y g a p s wh i c h e x i s t i n t h e s y s t e m wh i c h p u t s t h e n e w T e c h n o l o g y Ma n u f a c t u r i n g a n d t h e old players too in a disadvantageous position in ma n u f a c t u r i n g l o c a l l y . L e t me e x p l a i n o n e s u c h s i t u a t i o n f o r t h e E V l o c a l Mo t o r & c o n t r o l l e r Ma n u f a c t u r e r .

Ma n u f a c t u r e r s ( T2 o r L o we r l e v e l ) wi l l f i n d i t v e r y d i f f i c u l t t o r a i s e h u g e f u n d s f o r i n v e s t i n g i n t o Ne w & l a t e s t e x p e n s i v e E q u i p me n t a n d t o o l i n g n e e d e d t o p r o d u c e t h e E me r g i n g Te c h n o l o g y P r o d u c t s o r Co mp o n e n t s , Go v e r n me n t s u p p o r t i n r e n t i n g o r Hi r e p u r c h a s i n g t h e s e wi l l h e l p s u b s t a n t i a l l y t i l l t h e I n d u s t r y r e a c h e s s c a l e o f E c o n o my o r c a s h f l o w P o s i t i v e l e v e l o f Op e r a t i o n .

As p e r Cu s t o ms No t i f i c a t i o n No : 5 0 / 2 0 1 7 - d a t e d Ne w De l h i 3 0 t h J u n e 2 0 1 7 , h a s g i v e n NI L d u t y f o r i mp o r t i n g AC/ DC Mo t o r s a n d AC/ DC Co n t r o l l e r s a s CK D f o r e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e a s s e mb l e r s a n d Ma n u f a c t u r e r s .

S u b s i d i s e d De s i g n & To o l i n g s u p p o r t t o t h e Ma n u f a c t u r e r s t o u p g r a d e a n d e n h a n c e t h e i r P r o d u c t i v i t y l e v e l , wh i c h a l s o c o n t r i b u t e t o l o we r i n g the cost of the Products.

Du e t o t h e a b o v e f a c t o r s I n d i a n E V ma n u f a c t u r e r s a n d As s e mb l e r s a r e b u y i n g l o w- c o s t mo t o r a n d c o n t r o l l e r s f r o m Ch i n a . He n c e t h e E V k e y p a r t s c o mi n g t o I n d i a a r e a l r e a d y a t s u b s i d i s e d p r i c e a n d a l s o NO c u s t o ms d u t y

NEEDED I NDUSTRY ACTI ONS

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

F o l l o wi n g a r e k e y a c t i o n s a n d p r a c t i c e s n e e d e d f r o m t h e I n d i a n I n d u s t r y t o b e c o mp e t i t i v e a g a i n s t t h e i mp o r t e d p r o d u c t s .

PG 22


Productivity – Our Indian productivity needs lots of improvement to meet that of Chinese. The better way is to Automate as much as possible which will match our Productivity to that of the Chinese. Material waste – changing the design and Production processes so that the material waste is the least. Design Modification & Optimization to get the best performance, efficient and cost optimized Manufacturing Highly productive setup with lowest possible Capital Investment Optimizing the resource to maximum utilization

M NATISH REDDY JOINT MANAGING DIRECTOR, NDS ECO MOTORS PVT, LTD

Wh i l e t h e e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e ma r k e t i s s t i l l a t a relatively early stage and is gaining mo me n t u m i n I n d i a , we a r e l i k e l y t o e n t e r t h e p h a s e o f f a s t e s t g r o wt h i n t h e n e a r f u t u r e . I n d i a h a s t h e p o t e n t i a l t o b e c o me t h e l a r g e s t E V ma r k e t i n t h e wo r l d . To u n d e r s t a n d wh e r e t h e n e x t p h a s e o f d e v e l o p me n t wi l l h a p p e n , o n e h a s t o l o o k a t t h e c u r r e n t p r o b l e ms f o r e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e adoption in India. Th e b i g g e s t c h a l l e n g e t h a t i s l i mi t i n g i s t h e l a c k o f n a t i v e c o mp o n e n t ma n u f a c t u r e r s . I t i s g o i n g t o b e d i f f i c u l t t o ma k e a g o o d v a l u e p r o p o s i t i o n i mme d i a t e l y u n l e s s t h e c o s t c o me s d o wn s u b s t a n t i a l l y a n d t h e infrastructure and related technology is not c o n v e n i e n t l y a v a i l a b l e l o c a l l y . Al s o , t h e p r a c t i c a l l y n o n - e x i s t e n t h a r d wa r e ma n u f a c t u r i n g b a s e i n I n d i a i s f o r c i n g OE Ms a n d Ti e r - 1 s u p p l i e r s t o i mp o r t . Cu r r e n t l y we a s a n OE M h a r d l y s e e a n y a g g r e s s i v e mo v e t o wa r d s E V c o mp o n e n t s d e v e l o p me n t s h a p p e n i n g l o c a l l y wi t h t h e a l r e a d y e x i s t i n g c o mp o n e n t ma n u f a c t u r e r s o f t h e I CE s . He n c e , we a t NDS E c o Mo t o r s P v t L t d . De v e l o p e d t h e ma j o r i t y o f t h e k e y c o mp o n e n t s i n h o u s e d u e t o t h e l a c k o f t h e right availability of the products. Even t h o u g h o u r R&D h a d b e g u n wa y b a c k , i t i s c o n s u mi n g t i me a n d t h u s n e w mo d e l s launches are getting delayed. | DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

Companies should focus on continued design improvement, upgrading setup , collaborating with the supplier to improve, rather than looking at trading route or mindset, which is the only way to Innovate, Optimize and enhance Above stated few changes will put both importer and local manufactures in the same level of cost structure to compete with the Chinese products in Motor and controller making. Similar actions needed in the entire Product Manufacturing value Chain. This is a necessary step which will help the local component making Industry to grow and give confidence and encouragement for people to come forward to Invest in parts making for the EV industry in India.

Ho we v e r , t h e s u p p o r t mu s t b e p r o v i d e d f r o m t h e Go v e r n me n t s i d e t o o b y me a n s o f R&D i n c e n t i v e s , f i n a n c i a l s u p p o r t , e t c . As t h e v o l u me s b e i n g l e s s a n d n o t mu c h t u r n o v e r i n i t i a l l y , s p e c i a l l o a n s c a n b e o f f e r e d f o r R&D, To o l d e s i g n s , t e s t i n g & v a l i d a t i o n e q u i p me n t e t c wh e r e b y s u c h i n c e n t i v e s a n d p o l i c i e s c a n d r i v e t o r e s h a p e ma n y i n d u s t r i e s a n d institutions especially at these early d e v e l o p me n t s t a g e s i t s e l f . Wh i l e c e n t r a l , s t a t e g o v e r n me n t s a n d p r i v a t e s e c t o r s h a v e b e e n l o o k i n g f o r wa r d t o b o o s t t h e u s e o f e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s i n I n d i a , s wi t c h o v e r s i n p o l i c y - ma k i n g a n d a l a c k o f c l a r i t y a b o u t t h e s e c t o r mi g h t b e a r e a s o n o f c o n c e r n a mo n g t h e p l a y e r s . We j u s t n e e d a s t a b l e p o l i c y f r a me wo r k a n d s o me a mo u n t o f risk-taking, even by the industry players to c o me f o r wa r d . S o , i t i s r e q u i r e d b y t h e Go v e r n me n t t o t a c k l e t h e s l o wd o wn a n d g i v e them positive opportunities to invest in future-ready technology. He n c e , t h e mo s t i mp o r t a n t t h i n g wi l l b e t o p r o mo t e l o c a l d e ma n d g e n e r a t i o n a n d l o c a l ma n u f a c t u r i n g a t t h e v e h i c l e a s we l l a s c o mp o n e n t l e v e l . Al t h o u g h t h e ma r k e t f a c e s s e v e r a l h u r d l e s a t t h i s s t a g e o f d e v e l o p me n t , c o mb i n e d e f f o r t s b y k e y s t a k e h o l d e r s a n d Go v e r n me n t policies and initiatives shall be helpful. It is n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e E Vs t o b e c o me a s e l f s u s t a i n i n g ma r k e t g o i n g f o r wa r d . Wh e n t h e r e i s a l a r g e - s c a l e i mp r o v e me n t i n t h e c o mp o n e n t s s u p p l y , i t c a n b r i n g i n a p o s i t i v e i mp a c t t o t h e E V OE Ms t o b r i n g i n t h e b e s t p r o d u c t s n o t o n l y t o t h e I n d i a n ma r k e t b u t also globally through the right focus and by p r o mo t i n g l o c a l t e c h n o l o g y , I n d i a c a n b e c o me a g l o b a l h u b .

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B. SRINIVAS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGY & PRODUCT PLANNING AND BUS BUSINESS, VOLVO EICHER COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

Th e E V a d o p t i o n h a s l o n g b e e n s e e n a s a g a me c h a n g e r f o r t h e a u t o mo t i v e s e c t o r i n I n d i a . E - Mo b i l i t y h a s t h e p o t e n t i a l t o d r i v e t h e e c o n o my f o r wa r d a n d p o s i t i v e l y i mp a c t t h e l i v e s o f c i t i z e n s , b o t h i n u r b a n a n d r u r a l a r e a s . S h a r e d , c o n n e c t e d a n d c l e a n mo b i l i t y s o l u t i o n s a r e i n c r e a s i n g l y b e c o mi n g t h e k e y p r i n c i p l e s o f e f f e c t i v e mo b i l i t y s o l u t i o n s a c r o s s t h e wo r l d . De s p i t e t h e c o mp e l l i n g c a s e f o r a d o p t i o n , t h e s u c c e s s o f E Vs s o f a r h a s b e e n c o n s t r a i n e d b y we a k c u s t o me r a p p e t i t e a n d i n f r a s t r u c t u r a l r o a d b l o c k s . Ma n y E V s i n t r o d u c e d i n I n d i a h a v e f a l l e n s h o r t o f c u s t o me r e x p e c t a t i o n s , wi t h c o n c e r n s l i n g e r i n g o n u p f r o n t c o s t s , range, speed and technology understanding. L o c a l Ma n u f a c t u r i n g o f E V c o mp o n e n t s a n d i t s i n d i g e n o u s d e v e l o p me n t i s o n e o f t h e k e y f a c t o r s o f s u c c e s s f o r E l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s , t o b e c o mme r c i a l l y c o mp e t i t i v e v i s - a - v i s I CE v e h i c l e s . I n l i n e wi t h Ma k e - i n I n d i a i n i t i a t i v e s a n d g l o b a l s u p p l y c h a i n r e a l i g n me n t s , t h e g o v e r n me n t i s s t r o n g l y p u s h i n g t h e l o c a l i z a t i o n o f E V c o mp o n e n t s t o a c h i e v e t h e t wi n o b j e c t i v e s o f s e l f r e l i a n c e a n d j o b c r e a t i o n . Th e r e i s a n e e d o f ma k i n g significant progress on all frontiers such as s t r e n g t h e n i n g t e c h n o l o g i c a l c o mp e t e n c e , f r a mi n g l o c a l i z a t i o n c o n d u c i v e p o l i c i e s , a u g me n t i n g t h e u s e o f i n d i g e n i z e d r a w ma t e r i a l s a n d p r u d e n t p o l i c i e s f o r f i s c a l incentives. To d a y , we h a v e a s t a n d a r d f r a me wo r k o n f i s c a l i n c e n t i v e s a n d g o o d wo r k h a s b e e n d o n e i n ma n y r e g i o n s . Ma n y s t a t e g o v e r n me n t s a r e p r o v i d i n g t h e i n c e n t i v e s f o r s e t t i n g u p E V ma n u f a c t u r i n g p a r k s , a i d f o r R &D, p a r t i a l o r f u l l r e i mb u r s e me n t s o n l a n d c o s t s f o r i n s t a n c e , E V p o l i c i e s b y De l h i , Gu j a r a t a n d T e l a n g a n a s t a t e g o v e r n me n t s . Ho we v e r d u e t o t h e l a c k o f u n i f o r mi t y , n o mi n a l g r o wt h h a s b e e n s e e n i n 2 W, 3 W a n d t o s o me e x t e n t i n t h e c a r s e g me n t wh e r e a s c o mme r c i a l v e h i c l e s , b u s e s a n d t r u c k s E V g r o wt h a r e ma j o r l y d e p e n d e n t o n i n s t i t u t i o n a l b u y i n g . I f l o c a l i z a t i o n i s t o b e p u s h e d wi t h f u l l t h r o t t l e , i n c e n t i v i z a t i o n mu s t b e p r o mo t e d a c r o s s t h e e c o s y s t e m, b o t h i n t h e s u p p l y s i d e a n d d e ma n d s i d e . F r o m t h e c o mme r c i a l v e h i c l e p o i n t o f v i e w, t h e Go v e r n me n t h a s p r i ma r i l y f o c u s e d o n s u p p l y - s i d e i n c e n t i v e s t o a t t r a c t i n v e s t me n t s i n t h e E V s e c t o r , i n

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e s t a t e s t o h e l p g e n e r a t e e mp l o y me n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s . Ho we v e r , E V p o l i c y ma y b e f r a me d f o r mo n e t a r y i n c e n t i v e s t o r e t a i l c u s t o me r s a l s o , wh i c h wi l l h e l p r e d u c e t h e p u r c h a s e p r i c e o f E Vs a n d b r i d g e t h e p r i c e d i f f e r e n t i a l b e t we e n E V a n d I CE v e h i c l e s . P o l i c y ma k e r s wi l l h a v e t o s t r i k e a b a l a n c e i n p r o mo t i n g E Vs wh i l e ma k i n g t h e m e c o n o mi c a l t h r o u g h e c o n o mi e s o f s c a l e a n d p r o mo t i n g l o c a l i z a t i o n . F i n a l l y , t h e r e a r e t h e s e f o l l o wi n g s u g g e s t i o n s t o p u t localization on the front burner: Wh i l e t h e n e e d f o r l o c a l i z a t i o n h a s b e e n t a l k e d a b o u t a n d t h e P h a s e d Ma n u f a c t u r i n g P l a n ( P MP ) p r o v i d e s g u i d a n c e o n wh a t i s t o b e l o c a l i z e d , t h e r e i s a n e e d f o r p u t t i n g t o g e t h e r a n a mb i t i o u s r o a d ma p that can help address the barriers for localization in a d i s r u p t i v e ma n n e r . E c o s y s t e m p l a y e r s n e e d t o c o me t o g e t h e r a n d i d e n t i f y t h e c r i t i c a l b a r r i e r s a n d s p e c i f i c s o l u t i o n s , t o ma x i mi z e l o c a l i z a t i o n wi t h t h e h i g h e s t q u a l i t y wi t h i n a d e f i n e d t i me f r a me . Th e E V c o mp o n e n t s s p a c e i s l i k e l y t o wi t n e s s s i g n i f i c a n t me r g e r s a n d a c q u i s i t i o n s . Th e i n d u s t r y wi l l ma k e i n v e s t me n t s i n t e c h n o l o g y a n d c o mp o n e n t s . Gi v e n t h e n a s c e n c y o f t h e i n d u s t r y , i t wo u l d b e c r i t i c a l t o s u p p o r t i t wi t h a p o l i c y a n d e n v i r o n me n t t h a t wi l l e n a b l e e a s e o f d o i n g b u s i n e s s on a fast track. Ta r g e t c o s t - c o mp e t i t i v e n e s s o f I n d i a n E V s u p p l y c h a i n t o b e f r a me d . S u p p o r t i v e p o l i c y f r a me wo r k s c a n u n l o c k a s i g n i f i c a n t d o me s t i c E V ma r k e t i n s e g me n t s l i k e e l e c t r i c b u s e s , t h r e e a n d t wo wh e e l e r s , t a x i s a n d d e l i v e r y v e h i c l e s . Th e r e i s a n e e d f o r a c o n s i s t e n t f r a me wo r k t o e n s u r e scalability. I n d i a wi l l h a v e t o e n s u r e q u a l i t y a n d p e r f o r ma n c e a s t h e u l t i ma t e g o a l s a n d e s t a b l i s h t h e c r e d i b i l i t y o f Ma d e i n I n d i a p r o d u c t s t h a t o u t c o mp e t e t h e g l o b a l products. The opportunity to build Indian brands wo u l d b e a n i mp e r a t i v e a n d i t s t i me l y i mp l e me n t a t i o n i s s i g n i f i c a n t .

Policymakers will have to strike a balance in promoting EVs while making them economical through economies of scale and promoting localization.

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PREETESH SINGH SENIOR CONSULTANT, NOMURA RESEARCH INSTITUTE

RAHUL GOPE DEPUTY SENIOR CONSULTANT, NOMURA RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Auto sector is a major contributor to India’s Economic growth and has been a key medium to accelerate Make in India program. Even the Indian Auto Components Industry has been expanding with rapid strides (7.9% CAGR from FY09 to FY19) to reach US$ 42 Bn. In spite of localization efforts by OEMs, there is still a dependency on imports for automotive manufacturing. India imported $17.7 Bn (31% of total Auto-Component Industry turnover) in FY 19 with growth rate of 14.4%. 27% of total component import in FY 19 was from China alone. According to an estimate, India imports 10X more auto components from China than it exports. Even in case of EVs, the current supply chain readiness levels of critical EV Components indicate a strong dependency on import. Battery- Only Battery Packaging capability currently exists in India. Motor- Local manufacturing capability is limited to small motors. Motor Controller/Inverters- Completely dependent on import. Even for AC applications 100% imported despite huge volumes

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

The domestic Electric Vehicle manufacturing sector suffers disability on account of lack of adequate infrastructure, domestic supply chain; high cost of finance; inadequate availability of quality power; limited design capabilities and focus on R&D by the industry; and inadequacies in skill development. Thus, there is a need for policy that encourages and drives capabilities in the country for developing core EV components and creating an enabling environment for the EV industry to compete globally.

On May 12, 2020, Prime Minister Modi announced his dream of “Atma Nirbhar Bharat” with a vision to reduce import dependency and position India as a Global Manufacturing Hub. Following the announcement, a host of key policy measures have been incorporated to boost local manufacturing, promote exports and improve ease of doing business in India. Corporate Tax rates have been slashed to 25% making them at par with the best in the world; MSME definition has been revised, raising investment limits upwards, enabling MSMEs to get more incentives. This is going to benefit a lot of Automotive and xEV Component Makers. Besides these, under Atma Nirbhar Bharat, India is also promoting local xEV manufacturing through a three pillar strategy. The overall idea is to achieve max level of localization of components for which India has or can develop the capability These three pillars are- 1) FAME II Localization Criteria; 2) High Import Duty through Phased Manufacturing Program; 3) Fiscal Incentives (for ex. PLI Scheme).

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PERSPECTIVE

HOW CAN THE SUPPLY OF BATTERY RAW MATERIALS KEEP UP WITH THE RISING EV DEMAND? In every electric vehicle (EV) battery, there’ s a complex chemistry of metals – cobalt, lithium, nickel and more. Reserves of the raw materials for car batteries are concentrated among a few countries. Nearly 50% of world cobalt reserves are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), 58% of lithium reserves are in Chile, 80% of natural graphite reserves are in China, Brazil and Turkey, while 75% of manganese reserves are in Australia, Brazil, South Africa and Ukraine. The electrification of transport is transforming the demand and supply of these battery raw materials. It has only taken a few years for the battery sector to become the largest demand driver for these metals. In fact, lithium’ s use in every lithium-ion battery type means it will have double-digit annual growth, making up over 80% of total lithium demand by 2030. But, the highly concentrated production, susceptible to disruption by political instability and adverse environmental impacts, raises concerns about the security of the supply of the raw materials to battery manufacturers. So, what does the longterm outlook for battery raw materials look like for electric vehicle penetration? Read on to find out what our experts have to say. . .

MANOJ KUMAR UPADHYAY SENIOR RESEARCH OFFICER, NITI AAYOG

Re s e r v e s o f t h e r a w ma t e r i a l s f o r b a t t e r i e s a r e c o n c e n t r a t e d a mo n g a f e w c o u n t r i e s . Ne a r l y 5 0 % o f wo r l d c o b a l t r e s e r v e s a r e i n t h e De mo c r a t i c R e p u b l i c o f t h e Co n g o ( DRC) , 5 8 % o f l i t h i u m r e s e r v e s a r e i n Ch i l e , 8 0 % o f n a t u r a l g r a p h i t e r e s e r v e s a r e i n Ch i n a , B r a z i l a n d Tu r k e y , wh i l e 7 5 % o f ma n g a n e s e r e s e r v e s a r e i n Au s t r a l i a , Br a z i l , S o u t h Af r i c a a n d Uk r a i n e . Th e h i g h l y c o n c e n t r a t e d p r o d u c t i o n , s u s c e p t i b l e t o disruption by political instability and adverse e n v i r o n me n t a l i mp a c t s , r a i s e s c o n c e r n s a b o u t t h e s e c u r i t y o f t h e s u p p l y o f t h e r a w ma t e r i a l s t o b a t t e r y ma n u f a c t u r e r s . As p e r s t u d y b y Bl o o mb e r g NE F , d e ma n d f o r n i c k e l f r o m l i t h i u m- i o n b a t t e r i e s i s f o r e c a s t t o s u r g e a b o u t 1 6 t i me s t o 1 . 8 mi l l i o n t o n s o f c o n t a i n e d me t a l b y 2030.

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

DRI VER OF DEMAND FOR RAW MATERI AL :

To t a l p a s s e n g e r e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e ( E V) c a r s a l e s , i n c l u d i n g h y b r i d e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s ( HE V) , we r e u p b y over 24% last year Gl o b a l e l e c t r i c c a r s a l e s ( wi t h a p l u g ) wi l l a c c o u n t for 7% of all passenger car sales by 2025, 14% by 2030 and 38% by 2040 Ba t t e r y p a c k s i z e s c o n t i n u e t o t r e n d l a r g e r t h r o u g h t h e me d i u m t e r m NMC 8 1 1 c e l l s a r e b e i n g p r o d u c e d o n a g r e a t e r s c a l e r e s u l t i n g i n i n c r e a s e d n i c k e l d e ma n d a t t h e expense of cobalt and lithium Mo s t a u t o mo t i v e ma n u f a c t u r e r s p l a n t o g o c o mp l e t e l y e l e c t r i c b y 2 0 5 0 Although India has limited reserves of some of the most important lithium-ion components, global supplies of minerals for current battery chemistries are not considered to be resource-constrained. A recent study led by researchers at MIT, UC Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory concluded that supplies of most of the key constituent elements of the

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c u r r e n t g e n e r a t i o n o f l i t h i u m- i o n b a t t e r i e s , i n c l u d i n g ma n g a n e s e , n i c k e l , a n d n a t u r a l g r a p h i t e , a r e s u f f i c i e n t t o me e t t h e a n t i c i p a t e d i n c r e a s e i n d e ma n d wo r l d wi d e . Wi t h r e s p e c t t o l i t h i u m, mo s t s t u d i e s i n d i c a t e t h a t s u p p l y c a n o u t p a c e d e ma n d b a s e d o n s i g n i f i c a n t r e s e r v e s and a diversity of extraction technologies. Me e t i n g a l l e x p e c t e d g l o b a l b a t t e r y n e e d s t h r o u g h 2 0 3 0 , wo u l d r e q u i r e j u s t 2 % o f t h e c u r r e n t l y r e c o v e r a b l e l i t h i u m r e s e r v e s . Co b a l t ma y p o s e t h e mo s t s i g n i f i c a n t ma t e r i a l s r i s k i n t h e s h o r t t e r m f o r l i t h i u m- i o n b a t t e r y p r o d u c t i o n , given its geographic concentration in a few areas and the associated geopolitical risks. India can thus develop external supply chains in b o t h t h e n e a r a n d l o n g t e r ms , a s we l l a s i n v e s t in battery recycling, to ensure that its access to t h e s e c r i t i c a l r a w ma t e r i a l s r e ma i n s s t r o n g . T o mi t i g a t e t h e r a w ma t e r i a l r i s k , ma n u f a c t u r e r s should consider developing alternative battery c h e mi s t r i e s u s i n g l e s s r e s o u r c e - c o n s t r a i n e d ma t e r i a l s . Ma n y ma n u f a c t u r e r s a r e e x p l o r i n g l o w a n d n o c o b a l t b a t t e r y a r c h i t e c t u r e s t h a t wi l l h e l p r e d u c e costs and address supply chain constraints a s s o c i a t e d wi t h l i mi t e d c o b a l t r e s e r v e s . F o r a c q u i r i n g t h e n e c e s s a r y r a w ma t e r i a l ( p a r t i c u l a r l y l i t h i u m) n e e d e d t o k i c k - s t a r t b a t t e r y ma n u f a c t u r i n g f r o m t h e i n i t i a l s t a g e o f p r o c u r e me n t , I n d i a s h o u l d c o n s i d e r s i g n i n g Mo U wi t h a p p r o p r i a t e c o u n t r i e s s u c h a s Ch i l e , Au s t r a l i a , a n d Co n g o f o r a s t a b l e , u n i n t e r r u p t e d s u p p l y o f p r o c e s s e d r a w ma t e r i a l , p a r t i c u l a r l y for nickel and cobalt. India has already signed o n e s u c h Mo U wi t h B o l i v i a . Ba t t e r y r e c y c l i n g a l mo s t b e c o me s i n d i s p e n s a b l e wh e n t h e r e i s lack of in-house availability of dedicated raw ma t e r i a l . R&D r e l a t e d t o r e c o v e r y o f p r e c i o u s me t a l s s u c h a s l i t h i u m a n d c o b a l t c a n a s s i s t i n b r i n g i n g d o wn t h e c o s t o f b a t t e r i e s . Ad d i t i o n a l l y , e n s u r i n g l e s s e r wa s t e o f r a w ma t e r i a l wi l l h e l p i n r e d u c i n g d e p e n d e n c e o n i mp o r t s . Dr a f t i n g regulations and standards pertaining to battery r e c y c l i n g wi l l b e n e c e s s a r y t o c e me n t g r o wt h o f this sector.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE TO SUPPORT BATTERY STORAGE: Wi t h a t a r g e t o f 5 0 GWh , t h e NI TI Aa y o g p l a n wo u l d s u p p o r t t h e e s t a b l i s h me n t o f a n y wh e r e b e t we e n t h r e e t o t e n g i g a - f a c t o r i e s o f 2 0 GWh t o 5 GWh c a p a c i t y e a c h i n t h e c o u n t r y . I n a d d i t i o n t o NI TI Aa y o g ’ s o u t p u t - b a s e d i n c e n t i v e p r o p o s a l , mu l t i p l e s t a t e g o v e r n me n t s i n I n d i a a r e r e a d y t o j u mp o n t h e b a n d wa g o n a n d a r e o f f e r i n g c a p i t a l s u b s i d i e s t o ma t c h t h o s e o f t h e c e n t r a l g o v e r n me n t . Ad d i t i o n a l l y , t h e y a r e wi l l i n g t o d e l i v e r t h e i n f r a s t r u c t u r a l n e e d f o r such giga-factories. | DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

Gujarat, which has already seen large-scale investments for Li-ion battery manufacturing, is offering additional support in the form of subsidized utilities under the state’s electronics policies. Telangana has announced the availability of 200 acres of land plus power and water for the manufacturing unit at a concessional rate. Andhra Pradesh, as early as 2017, announced the allocation of 200-400 acres for development of the electric mobility-focused industrial park. The state also plans to provide capital subsidies of 50 per cent of fixed capital investments in building and common infrastructure. On the other hand, Karnataka has kept its focus on R&D and plans to encourage EV manufacturers to provide in-plant training, by offering a stipend of up to 50 per cent of the cost of training subj ect to a limit of INR 10, 000 ($ 140) per month per trainee. Additionally, the state is already providing incentives such as interest-free loans on the net SGST for EV manufacturing enterprises. Another autocomponent giant angling for India’ s first five giga-factories in Maharashtra. In addition to the capital subsidies on fixed capital investments, the state government shall be an equity partner up to nine per cent in large, mega, and ultramega proj ects, with FCI greater than INR 500 crores. Tamil Nadu, another auto-giant, would be offering SIPCOT land at a subsidized rate in addition to other incentives. But these are mere snapshots of only a few states in India. Other states such as Haryana, Punj ab, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh are also actively working to provide the ecosystem required for the industry to ensure India’ s development in this sunrise sector.

ALTHOUGH INDIA HAS LIMITED RESERVES OF SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT LITHIUM-ION COMPONENTS, GLOBAL SUPPLIES OF MINERALS FOR CURRENT BATTERY CHEMISTRIES ARE NOT CONSIDERED TO BE RESOURCE-CONSTRAINED. "

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PREETESH SINGH SENIOR CONSULTANTAUTOMOTIVE, NOMURA RESEARCH INSTITUTE

constituents have sufficient supply to meet the anticipated increase in demand, the actual risk lies with the geopolitical concentrations of these elements. INDIA'S SUPPLY POSITION

PRAKHAR SINGH DEPUTY SENIOR CONSULTANT, NOMURA RESEARCH INSTITUTE

The transition to EVs appears increasingly inevitable. All major players have either included or plan to include electric vehicles in their product offering. However, the transition is still expected to be long drawn with its own set of challenges. The price of EVs continues to be higher than ICE vehicles of comparable specifications. The charging infrastructure is inadequate, leading to performance and range anxiety among customers. Another key concern is establishing a robust supply chain, especially ensuring the supply of battery raw materials. Any strategy to address this challenge would require an assessment of the raw materials required for battery, their global and domestic supply position. RAW MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR BATTERY

An electrochemical battery in its essential form is a combination of anode and cathode in an electrolyte separated by a separator. For most of the EV batteries, while graphite acts as an anode, lithium/nickel is used as an electrolyte and the cathode composition changes with the battery type. Some of the popular choices of battery chemistries for EV batteries are Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), Nickel Manganese Cobalt (LiNiMnCoO2), Lithium manganese oxide (LiMn2O4), etc. Depending upon the cathode type, the metals required are lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, aluminium, iron, manganese, etc. GLOBAL SUPPLY POSITION Studies done on the global position for EV battery supply have broadly concluded that scarcity of reserves is not a significant challenge. A research paper titled ‘Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Considerations: Analysis of Potential Bottlenecks in Critical Metals finds that while most of the key

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India’s supply position on the other hand is not as rosy as the global position. A report, published jointly by NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute, titled ‘India’s Energy Storage Mission’ writes that “India has smallreserves of key minerals required for lithium-ion batteries. However, it does not have reserves of some of the most important components including lithium, cobalt, nickel, nor, for that matter, of the copper used in conductors, cables, and busbars.” ENSURING A ROBUST SUPPLY CHAIN

For the supply chain to be robust it has to be predictable, resilient and price-efficient. The imperative is clear – to secure raw materials from other countries with rich mineral reserves and then ensure efficient use and reuse of the same within India. To secure raw materials, an effective strategy is to control stakes in reserves abroad. To this effect, a joint venture called Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL) has been formed between three PSUs to acquire lithium and cobalt mines overseas. The objective of setting up KABIL clearly states for it “to ensure a consistent supply of critical and strategic minerals to the Indian domestic market.” The industry needs to work along the same lines to set up entities with the specific purpose of acquiring raw material assets. To ensure efficient use and reuse, it would be useful to focus on recycling raw materials. ‘India’s Energy Storage Mission’ notes that “battery recycling is a critical technology area for India due to the domestic shortage of certain scarce materials. To ensure a level of resilience, India must be capable of reusing the majority of its scarce battery materials and limiting imports of costly, volatileprice ingredients.” Further, setting up recycling accrues other incidental benefits such as reduced cost and low environmental wastage. Conclusion While the supply of battery raw materials can keep up with the rising EV demand, the geopolitical concentration of cobalt and inadequate domestic reserves for lithium and nickel pose a challenge. It is important to control mineral reserves abroad and to establish the domestic recycling industry. India’s globally competitive ICE automotive industry is expected to navigate this transition smoothly.

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DR. PARVEEN KUMAR SENIOR MANAGER, WRI INDIA

BACKGROUND

E-mobility is emerging as a potential solution to reduce emissions from the transport sector to support climate change mitigation efforts, and to improve the air quality of urban environments. Globally, the total share of xEVs has increased from 0.1% in 2011 to 2.5% in 2019, in the first quarter of 2020, the penetration of xEVs has increased to 2.8%. Under EV30@30 scenario, global EV sales are expected to reach around 27 million by 2030. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are emerging as the most suitable candidate for both stationary and e-mobility applications. This is mainly due to their relatively high power and energy density along with the low selfdischarge rate compared to existing alternative battery options. The emerging Electric Vehicles (EVs) market is expected to contribute significantly to the expanding market of Li-ion batteries (LIBs), which in turn may lead to a shortage of raw materials and price volatility. To meet the growing demand for LIBs, manufacturers require an assured and uninterrupted supply of strategic or critical raw battery materials, which include lithium, cobalt, and graphite. EV BATTERY RAW MATERIAL REQUIREMENT To meet the demand for energy storage technologies under a 2-degree scenario, the production of battery materials like lithium, cobalt, and graphite will need to increase by more than 450 % by 2050 compared to 2018 levels. Another research suggests that the demand for cobalt, lithium, manganese, and nickel is expected to increase by 39.6, 19.6, 5.2, and 4.7 times in 2030 compared to the 2015 level, respectively. The International Energy Agency (IEA) analysis suggests that under Sustainable Development Scenario, the annual demand for cobalt and lithium is expected to be around 375,000 and 365,000 tonnes respectively in 2030 from approximately 140,000 and 77,000 tonnes respectively in 2019. The total production of LIBs is expected to increase from 103 GWh (11,400 metric tons) in 2017 to 13,000 GWh (145,000 metric tons) in 2030. Note that the actual demand for LIBs and raw materials will depend on the market penetration of EVs, battery life, technological innovation, multiple ends use, and recycling capacity. STRATEGIES FOR BATTERY RAW MATERIALS

Battery Materials are finite resources, and their mining and processing is highly concentrated in a few countries and are prone to supply risk. Government and Industry players require robust supply risk

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mitigation strategies for these critical materials. The following 3 strategies will help in addressing issues related to the supply chain vulnerability and price volatility along with sustainable use of global resources. Diversification of Raw Material Supply: The supply chain risk is among key concern related to the EV sector, and this is due to the geographic mismatch between EV manufacturing, which is centered in Asia, Europe, and to some extent in the USA, and raw material mining, which is dominated by Australia, the Americas, and Africa. In 2016, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) accounted for ~54% of total global cobalt production, China accounted for ~65% of total graphite production followed by India (~14%), Australia accounted for ~41% of lithium extraction followed by Chile (~34%). The Asiatic area accounts for more than 79% of the total Li-ion cells and battery production, where the share of China, South Korea, and Japan is 41.8%, 20.6%, and 16.7%, respectively. Diversifying the source of raw materials will help to secure an uninterrupted supply of raw materials for battery manufacturing. Innovation and diversification of Technology: The share of EVs in the LIB market is expected to increase from 57% in 2017 to 75% by 2030. Among LIBs variants, the market share of NMC-type (Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt oxide) batteries is projected to increase from 33% in 2017 to 70% by 2030, the market share of LFP (Lithium iron phosphate) batteries is expected to decrease from 38% in 2017 to 15% by 2030. To reduce the criticality of battery raw materials, it is important to reduce or eliminate the usage of critical materials like cobalt in the existing commercial LIBs. The development and commercialization of nextgeneration rechargeable Li and Li-ion batteries will also help in addressing the issue of material criticality. Further, the diversification of battery technologies for e-mobility and stationary applications can help in reducing reliance on critical battery materials. For example, alternative battery technology like Sodiumion batteries (SIBs) can further help in reducing the dependence on critical materials like lithium. Circular Economy Strategies: As the battery raw materials are finite resources, it is important to reduce the reliance on mineral extraction. Circular economy strategies for EV batteries, which include reuse and recycling, can help in reducing both the negative environmental impact of batteries and the reliance on raw material extraction. Recycling can also help to alleviate toxicity, safety, and contamination risks due to the landfill dumping of EOL (End-of-Life) LIBs. Some studies estimate that at least 30-50% of life-cycle GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions from EVs are associated with battery manufacturing and mineral extraction. As the raw material accounts for approximately 50% of the LIB cost, the substitution of mined materials with recycled material can help in reducing battery pack cost by 30%. It is expected that more than 5 million metric tons of LIBs will reach EOL by 2030. PG 29


INSIGHTS

Accelerating E-Mobility To Realization: VIEWS ON THE INCREASED IMPORTANCE OF POWERTRAIN INTEGRATION IN ELECTRIC VEHICLE DEVELOPMENT?

supply chain ecosystem should take note of this and start investing heavily in electric technology as the mass adoption of the same is not very far away.

Mobility is a crucial ingredient of our life; a majority of economic as well as our personal activities require us to be mobile. Being mobile comes with its own deficiencies – be it at the fuel consumption end to drive the automobile or at the exhaust. The earlier emission regulations that were set in place to safeguard fossil fuel and to improve air quality have been mainly achieved by working on the fuel economy, aerodynamics and tyre technology. With emission regulations becoming more stringent, the only option that we are left with to achieve the norms is to change the fuel itself. Electric vehicles have much higher efficiencies when compared to ICE vehicles, there is no worry of fuel depletion as electricity can be produced from renewable sources, and the tailpipe emissions are zero for an EV. The only concern is the fuel mix at grid level. With major decarbonisation of the power grid, the overall carbon footprint could be brought down considerably. Albeit the technology is well proven and EVs have run millions of miles around the globe, their economics is still a question which makes the masses think before jumping on the bandwagon. Fact is, TCO is already in favour when considering use-cases which have high vehicle utilisation levels. Reports suggest that with consistent improvement in battery technology over the years, the tipping point could be 2022. OEMs and their

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Another key area to focus on for cost reduction is vehicle integration. Conventional ICE vehicles have separate design groups – Body, Electric, Chassis, Powertrain – that work independently on their vertical and come together to define the assembly process. If you look at the first EV models, OEMs have kept the conventional vehicle body as is and replaced ICE parts (Engine, Fuel tank, Exhaust and Cooling system) with new EV parts (Electric Motor, Driver Electronics, Converters, On-board Charger, Battery, BMS). This modified architecture had batteries placed in transmission tunnels and fuel tanks, and was inefficient. In order to have maximum benefit and cost optimisation in EVs, the different design groups should work closer and design holistically rather than individually, as can be seen from recent models with clean-sheet design by EVonly companies. This skateboard architecture has batteries placed at the bottom which also helps improve the centre of gravity and vehicle stability. Component downsizing has been the mantra of the Automotive industry from the word go. Any improvement in weight will also improve the range of an EV. This coupled with the huge opportunity to design vehicle architecture from scratch, opens up whole new possibilities and enables reduction of CO2, achieving energy efficiency targets and maximizing electric range. The right integration of powertrain will have the added advantage of driveability, handling and driving comfort; i.e. get more value out of it, at the same time remain economic, and help accelerate the shift towards emobility.

GOPALAKRISHNAN VC Director Automotive, Govt. of Telangana

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INSIGHTS

EMPOWERING COMPANIES FOR INDIAN MANUFACTURED EV CHARGERS

help small and medium-sized enterprises create infrastructure and provide building blocks for comprehensive indigenous EV charging product development. As one of the largest OEM solutions providers of electric vehicle chargers to the United States and European markets. VerdeMobility offers local manufacturers, MSMEs, and other OEMs a reliable, enduring, and world-class ecosystem for Electric Vehicles in the country. VerdeMobility' s design, development, production, and test facilities all reside in India. VerdeMobility with an underlying motto of "charging into the future" focuses on direct and innovative solutions for the electric vehicle market and provides the following services.

The future of electric vehicles in India is greener than ever with the government and MNCs implementing new policies and providing the requisite assistance to support the electric vehicle industry. A variety of OEMs and small and medium-sized businesses are now taking big strides towards the shared aim of expanding the electronic automotive industry. Yet many indigenous businesses and small and medium-sized companies face the cumulative issue of an inefficient and disjointed electric vehicle charging ecosystem. Challenges such as poor charging infrastructure, dependency on imports, insufficient government subsidies, inadequate power supply in remote areas, the effect of global demand flows, and a lack of reliable quality suppliers require a definitive approach to stimulate a boom in electric car manufacturers. In parallel, small and medium-sized businesses also face the following challenges: Outsourcing of demand Cost inflation Delays in production timelines Unintended results There is a significant need for local manufacturers in India to understand the challenges and provide reliable solutions to deliver quality results while maintaining global standards and price stability to curb these issues. To overcome all these hurdles, which have become major obstacles to the development of EV infrastructure in the country, VerdeMobility, a division of System Level Solutions (India) Pvt. Ltd. has set out its vision to

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Technical support and consultation for chargers: VerdeMobility, currently houses more than 300 in house staff and has over 100 active EV projects worldwide. From government policies on EV installations to PCS architecture to system design and installation, VerdeMobility' s consulting and customer support services are trusted by EV manufacturers around the globe. Hardware & Software solutions: VerdeMobility' s hardware solutions like charger controllers, OCPP controllers, and rectifiers for fast DC chargers are designed with refined details and precision to meet the client' s specification for an EV Charger. In addition, VerdeMobility offers tailored solutions such as OCPP client and server apps as well as commissioning applications. OCPP implementation services: System Level Solutions is a participant of the Open Charge Alliance to integrate the OCA focuses on charging Infra. Over the years, OCA has adopted new methods and concurrently rendered new OCPPŠ to uphold the new market demands. AC/DC charge controllers: A charge controller is a device that controls single or multiple charger units and functions as a brain that communicates between the charging station and the charging management system, providing connectivity and information for the charge operation. VederMobility' s charge controllers for both AC, DC, and combo chargers are made to perform this operation with consistent efficiency and accuracy. VerdeMobility, with its advanced technology and efficient techniques, is a one-stop solution for creating a cost-effective, efficient, and sustainable electric vehicle charging ecosystem. Deeply supportive and knowledgeable of national and global initiatives, VerdeMobility is focused on making the world a cleaner, greener, and sustainable place for this and future generations.

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INSIGHTS

HOW ADVANCED BATTERIES ARE MAKING FLYING CARS A REALITY?

EmbraerX unveiled a new electric flying vehicle concept during Uber Elevate Summit 2019 in Washington, D.C.

Flying cars have always fascinated science-fiction authors and futurologists. It was seen as the pinnacle achievement of the human story and the 20th-century sci-fi authors were convinced that the 21st century will be adorned with bee-lines of flying cars and floating vertiports. Recent maturity in battery technology and the associated supply-chain has opened up the possibility of traversing the 3rd dimension - an inexpensive series of virtual roads - in the sky. Imagine reducing a 90-plus minute stop-and-go commute from Gurgaon to your office in central New Delhi (usually an hour ride) to a mere six minutes. That future has become conventional wisdom in 2020, as hundreds of commercial companies, multiple cities, and several startups are pivoting into “Urban Aerial Mobility (UAM) aka the flying cars� to capture a slice of the potential trillion-dollar market. There is a reason why Uber chose New Delhi along with Silicon Valley (San Jose) to study the potential of airmobility. India has the perfect combination of low but fast-expanding automobile ownership, highly populated urban agglomerations, and congested city infrastructure reaching their natural limits of expansion. Indian architecture is also characterized by flat and reinforced concrete roof-structures ideal for the e-VTOLs (Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Vehicles) to park, nest, and take-off. India might be the last large market in the world - where, over the next two decades, hundreds of millions of new urban dwellers will have the connected-electric-shared (CES) vehicles as their primary transport. Recent developments in the UAM (urban air mobility) space has introduced an exciting prospect of adding the A (Aerial)

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to the CES: connected-electric-shared paradigm and expanding it to ACES - Aerial-connected-electricshared. The GoI has given a massive push to infrastructure by allocating about $1.4 Tn for infrastructure to be invested until 2025. Roads, subways, and flyovers form a significant portion of government investment and constant do-overs and adjustments are a drain on the government resources. With the rise in automobile ownership, the rate of increase in road build-up has to be scaled up dramatically. UAM can help at least in reducing the speed of such dramatic step-up, saving precious resources, which can be productively used elsewhere. 1947: Consolidated Vultee Aircraft (later Convair) seeked entry into the post-war aviation boom in the United States with a mainstream flying car rather unsuccessfully. Valiant attempts towards a commercial flying car goes as far back as the First World War. It is becoming increasingly clear that, among the multitude of flying car designs, the eVTOL designs will be the main candidate to take UAM mainstream. eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) is a type of aircraft that uses electric power to hover, take off, and land vertically. This technology came about thanks to major advances in electric propulsion (motors, batteries, electronic controllers) and the growing need for new vehicles for urban air mobility (air taxi). Commercial products are in development by companies such as Boeing, Lilium, and Airbus. Automobile giants from Hyundai, GM to Porshe have dedicated UAM divisions to leverage this sunrise sector.

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Battery prices have seen a dramatic fall from $1000/KWh in 2010 to $137/KWh in 2020 as reported by BloombergNEF. The energy density and the ability of engineers to balance safety and performance in battery design have also significantly gone up. The necessary control software and electronics have gone through a robust learning curve thanks to the burgeoning drone Industry. Drone industry also helped civilian regulators build capacity in regulating airborne vehicles and associated airspaces. Air-traffic management is the final frontier, where top software giants, automotive/aviation players and government regulators have to join hands to deliver a compelling and reliable e-VTOL experience. As reported by eVTOL.com, To date, almost all funding for electric air taxi development has come from private markets, mostly consisting of strategic investors — venture arms of technology companies like Intel, Toyota, Tencent and JetBlue — and venture capital firms, as well as high-net-worth individuals like Google co-founder Larry Page. With interest rates low and great appetite from private investors in long-horizontransformational technologies, companies like Joby Aviation and Lilium have been able to raise $820 million and $375 million respectively to fund their aircraft development programs without going public. Though the innovators are delivering and private investors are showing interest, the biggest bottleneck for the advent of urban air mobility lies with regulatory challenges. There is a need for robust regulatory frameworks combining advanced automobile, aviation, and IT (software) architectures. There is a real danger of regulatory delays and apprehension, especially in the developed markets, will decimate the deployment of risk-capital, which will be the bloodline for this nascent industry to flourish.

India might be the last large market in the world - where, over the next two decades, hundreds of millions of new urban dwellers will have the connected-electric-shared (CES) vehicles as their primary transport." Apart from dramatically reducing the commute time of executives, UAM can transform emergency medical response and super-charge the way organs are transported. UAM can especially support developing countries, who do not have historical baggage of heavy infrastructure investments, to leapfrog to the transport paradigm in the 3rd dimension. It is important to note that, while flying eVTOls have enormous growth potential, they do not pose any significant threat to on-road automobile sales in the near-medium term. The car market did not stumble after the expansion of rail-roads. Rail networks were not decimated due to air-travel. Most people who fly today, also probably own a car. New modes of mobility have historically complimented and supplemented existing modes of transport. There is no reason why Batterypowered eVTOLs will not do the same.

Views expressed are personal.

KOWTHAMRAJ VS IS YP-ENERGY IN NITI AAYOG AND PART OF THE CORE-TEAM WORKING ON NATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR ACC BATTERY MANUFACTURING.

1947: Consolidated Vultee Aircraft (later Convair) seeked entry into the post-war aviation boom in the United States with a mainstream flying car rather unsuccessfully.

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PERSPECTIVE

INDIA’S EV COMPONENT MARKET PROJECTED TO GROW OVER 20% CAGR TILL 2030: HOW READY IS THE INDIAN COMPONENT MARKET TO TAKE THE LEAP? India is presently witnessing a rapid rise in the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). The cost of the various components that go into manufacturing an electrically powered automobile is continuously reducing, as a result of economies of scale thus making electric vehicles (EVs) more affordable. Both these factors are projected to propel the Indian electric vehicle component market over 20% CAGR during 2020–2030 and the Indian automotive industry (including component manufacturing) is expected to reach Rs. 16.16-18.18 trillion by 2026. With the electric vehicle (EV) market estimated to be a Rs. 50,000 crore opportunity in India by 2025, several technology and automotive companies have expressed interest and/or made investments into the India EV space. Our experts are here to explain how ready is the Indian component market to witness this growth…


NEERAJ KUMAR SINGAL DIRECTOR, SEMCO GROUP

Though e-mobility has come of age in Europe & most developed countries, safety of the vehicles on account of precious human lives remains a concern which entails intense designing, manufacturing, use & maintenance. As per Wikipedia, since May 2018, 12 incidents related to fire, overheating or smoke on normal drive or after accidents have been recorded for Tesla cars. Similarly, 15 cases for Hyundai Kona & a few cases for Nissan, Porsche, Volkswagen & BMW have been reported too. Considering the above, though India has the ambitious plans to shift to 30% e-mobility with 100% in public transport by 2030 and already 38710 EVs have been sold in India, one needs to be cautious because of higher operating temperatures, safety concerns related to road conditions, vehicle care by the owner and skill development of the e-vehicle technicians, standardization & vigorous testing of the components & sub-assemblies and availability of the failure data in public domain. As per the PMP notification of March 2019, manufacturing of Lithium Ion Cell (HS 85076000) for the Li Ion accumulator of EVs and the battery packs is planned to start from April 2021. The electric chargers, motors, controllers, energy monitors, contactors, brake system for energy recovery and Electric compressors are also targeted to be manufactured in India from April 2021. Experienced vehicle manufacturers like Mahindra, Tata, Maruti, Hyundai, Toyota, TVS, Kinetic, Hero Electric have already started manufacturing two, three & four wheelers and currently,

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27 OEMs are registered with the Department of Heavy Industry. All together, these OEMs have a wide base of suppliers of components & subassemblies. OEMs will require about Rs 3. 5 lakh crore for the EVs in the next five to seven years to meet the government' s target of 30 percent of the total vehicles on road being EVs by 2030. But because of the unprecedented slowdown because of COVID 19 & other related factors, heavy investments will be carefully made by the OEMs. The Indian government is stressing on the localisation of EV components. Current policy permits imports which are expected to get controlled though higher import duties on lithium-ion cells, battery packs & other important components. This would push component manufacturers to expedite localisation promptly. BHEL is already in talks with a multi-national consortium to build India’ s first Li-ion Giga-factory. With such a high level of support from the government, the component manufacturers need to encash the business as well as pride enhancement opportunities through development of the stringent standard norms, sharing of data, long lasting safe components & subassemblies with minimal profits. Challenges would be many in terms of availability of technology, manufacturing of reliable & long lasting components of consistent quality would be immense & the OEM, component developer & manufacturer, R&D organizations, Premier Indian & International Institutions and governmental policy making/ financial/ technical support/ procurement entities- all will have to work as the close team, to fructify the dreams for this fast growing nation, the India.

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JEETENDER SHARMA FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR, OKINAWA

Charging India for the Electric Vehicle Plunge

While the projections are robust, the industry needs to burn the midnight oil to build the required ecosystem Rising industrial growth, household incomes, and consumer aspirations over the last decade or so has given a definite boost to the automobile industry in India. Therefore, the Indian automobile industry as of now, India was the world' s fourth largest manufacturer of cars and seventh largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in 2019, as per Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. Moreover, the Indian automotive industry (including component manufacturing) is expected to reach Rs. 16.16-18.18 trillion (US$ 251.4-282.8 billion) by 2026. While the above numbers give us reasons to cheer, there is a certain cost of this growth that our environment pays. The rising smog and degrading air quality index are a warning about the impact of burning fossil fuels upon the environment. The need of the hour for the automobile industry is to innovate for sustainable growth. This requires a strategic shift to Electric Vehicles (EVs) across segments. EVs run on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, which reduce our dependence upon fossil fuel. So far, EVs have just crossed the proof of concept in India. In FY20, out of 21.55 million vehicles sold, EVs 2-Wheelers accounted for only 1.56 lakh units, whereas the rest is Internal Combustion Engine vehicles. However, the Government has stated the plans to push the share of EVs to about 30% of the automobile industry by 2030.

As the EVs industry sees economies of scale, the price of several components is declining. For example, by 2025, the average price of battery packs is expected to fall by more than 30%. A similar decline may be seen for other components such as controllers, motors, thermal management systems and DC-DC converters etc. Thus, EVs are going to be more affordable in the coming years. However, the growth of the EV industry depends on much more than pricing. The biggest challenge for the Government and players will be to nurture a supportive ecosystem, i. e. , charging infrastructure, maintenance workshops, awareness among consumers, skilled workforce, and an integrated supply chain. The Government is supporting the industry through a variety of policy measures and on ground interventions. National Electric Mobility Mission 2020 and Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) are some of these measures. States have also been playing a meaningful role to build the ecosystem. Delhi Government has emphasized upon deploying EVs for passenger commutes. Uttar Pradesh has been the largest procurer of EV parts to meet the high demand of electric twoand three-wheelers. By 2030, Tripura is expected to be the largest market for EV parts for electric threewheelers. Indian and global automobile giants are also taking the leap of faith and forming j oint ventures to build supply chains for components or Make EVs in India. Thus, the duo of Government and automobile companies is steadily bringing up the ecosystem. It is merely a matter of time when the ripple effect grips the industry, and we see breakthroughs in the EVs space.

The biggest challenge for the Government and players will be to nurture a supportive ecosystem, i.e., charging infrastructure, maintenance workshops, awareness among consumers, skilled workforce, and an integrated supply chain.

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

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PRODUCT FEATURE

CHARGE CONTROLLERS VerdeMobility' s AC charge controllers meet all the requirements of standard IEC61851-22 (Mode 33). It is integrated with energy management, remote access, and OCPP connectivity. Supporting numerous commercial applications, this Smart Charge Controller ensures your EV Charger Station adequately caters to every related use case and ends up providing the much-needed push critical for achieving a wider EV adoption.

Suitable for 3.3kW, 7.4kW, 10kW, and 22kW. Charging Power Station, the controller provides end-to-end support for your EV Charging Network. The Charge Controller helps build different EV chargers for household and commercial installations, helping establish a charging ecosystem that serves other use cases.

Features: Single and three Phase support OCPP v1. 6 compatibility over WiFi / GSM / Eth Wired and wireless connectivity for integration with CMS Compact modular design Enables smart charging Inbuilt Energy Management RFID and LCD interfaces

OCPP CONTROLLER VerdeMobility' s OCPP Controllers provide intelligence and connectivity to the EV charging station acting as the smart charging ecosystem' s core. The controller' s modularity and versatility pave the way for building competitive and customized solutions with simple and faster applications.

The controller enables the EV charging station to have bilateral communication with any OCPP server across the globe. The system comes with an inbuilt WiFi, GSM compatibility with end-to-end security encryption for your PII data, along with other features catering to a multitude of applications.

Features: Single and three Phase support OCPP v1. 6 compatibility over WiFi / GSM / Eth Wired and wireless connectivity for integration with CMS Compact modular design Enables smart charging Inbuilt Energy Management RFID and LCD interfaces

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

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COMPANY FEATURE

Relux Group of companies is a 11 Years Old company, Recently celebrated its 10th Anniversary this year by Launching its first Charging Station @ Chennai and with this we aim to grow into a complete charging infra solution provider across India. Relux Groups into various business verticals like Relux Holidays, Relux Super Cars, Relux Medic, Relux Smoke Sticks, Relux Legal Services and mainly into Relux ELECTRIC. RELUX Electric primarily supports the EV market by building strong charging Infrastructure that provides end to end solutions with a perfect investment guaranteed plan and ROI model. In fact, Relux is the only company in India which offers investment guarantee, 100% BuyBack Options and upgrade of Chargers.

Business Goals & Objectives:

Relux Aims to open 10,000 Charging Points across India till 2025. Business Strategy:

Relux has a Perfect Long Time strategy Plan for Charging Infrastructure across India, which is easy to access and money and time saving modules.

Company’s Products & Services

VISION STATEMENT:

Charging Stations depends on the market Demand. Charging Point: Suitable for Shopping Malls, Apartments, Communities, Theatres, Coffee shops, Hangout Spots inside cities. Charging Station: Combination of an AC and DC charger which supports all types of All Electric Vehicles along with two and three wheeler Charging Points also for complementary. Priority Outlet: Unique Model by RELUX which have its own waiting area, Parking Area along with complementary General Car Wash while Charging and customers can enj oy free Wi-Fi, Relux t5 Immune Boosting Tea.

Relux is determined to be one of the Top Electric Vehicle Charging Infra in the simplest and best way across India.

Business Competitiveness

MISSION STATEMENT: Relux offers Entrepreneurial Business Model to participate in EV revolution to make clean INDIA, by starting their own charging stations with 100% investment guarantee.

All Relux Outlets are Completely Equipped with Proper Infrastructure and follows very Strict Hygiene Protocols. RELUX offers people with New Mask and Sanitize machines on every Charging Sessions with its own Dedicated RELUX MEDIC Products. Relux Soon Launching its own Certified Organic Immune Tea Outlet in all Charging Infras where Customers will be offered a Free Welcome with a Healthy TEA. Relux Electric is the Only Company in India which gives Guaranteed ROI in j ust 2 Years of Time. We are the only company which offers Investment Guarantee in this EV charging Sector. Relux Electric Offers Free 2 Wheeler Charging Points in all of its Station which is completely Free for Everyone. Relux is Not only Setting Up Stations but also helping the franchisee and partners to grow by guiding them in Corporate marketing, Branding Materials and Ads across INDIA.

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RELUX ELECTRIC APP: Relux has its own App based charging model, which helps users and station owners to keep on tracking of their charging and hassle with its dedicated Cloud Management Services.

Organization Structure:

Relux Electric Have a Channel Partner for State Wise Operation and Distributors will take care of District Wise Operations. Customers & Projects

Relux Electric also serves leading food chains, builders, shopping complexes, highways and state DISCOMS in OpEx Model. Our aim is to build a minimum 500 Charging Points in OpEx Model across India. Relux Electric offers attachment services too, like anyone can link their charger for free of cost with RELUX team, they will be getting monthly Stipend and free payment gateway integration also.

RELUX ELECTRIC having 50+ Live Charging Points across INDIA. We recently launched Tiruvannamalai Outlet and Rameshwaram Outlet in Tamil Nadu State. By January 2021, we are planning to launch its Partner Outlet in KERALA, Malappuram District. Right Now RELUX electric has presence in 5 States Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Telangana State, Madhya Pradesh.

Going Step towards New Normal India, All Relux Charging Chains are “CASH FREE” .

Ambitious project:

Relux General strategy of the company – diversification, vertical integration, horizontal integration, organic growth, mergers & acquisitions, etc.

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

Relux Electric Aims to Open Charging Stations Every 5km Radius across India.

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INSIGHTS

OPPORTUNITIES FOR E-MOBILITY IN INDIA

In the world brimming with emerging new technology, mobility is a sector which has always been the determining factor for most of how societies, towns, and megacities are planned and built. Where man goes, civilization follows, but to take a man there, we have and always will need mobility. Since the invention of the car, it has been our relentless pursuit to find better and more efficient ways to get from point A to point B, and in this pursuit, we have discovered some truly marvelous inventions, some of which have been the backbone for several years, such as the steam engine; some were a bit out of time – like the jet engine powered car, and some were everpresent but only now have made their way to the forefront of the vehicular industry. Electric, hybrid, fuel-cell, natural gas, all promising new “old” technology which have started to make us reconsider and re-evaluate their true capability in shaping the mobility of tomorrow. While in some parts of the world, future tech has already crept into the daily lives of people, where it’s the new normal, there are still places where these technologies are yet to make the headlines. Still, there’s one more part of this world which has now recognized and started

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

Innovating, applying, and exploring these technologies, slowly adopting them as a part and parcel of their lives for a more sustainable future. India. Today we stand at the foot of the mountain that’s Future Mobility, and although the summit is quite a distance away, we have come leaps and bounds from where we were just 7 years back. Electric Mobility is a concept that has India by the hooks and all for the right reasons; with a population the size of 1/7th of the planet, the need for cleaner mobility has never been greater. Several factors: ecologic, economic, sociologic, and demographic dictates the need for sustainable, emobility in the country. Leaving the small window of nation-wide lockdown, India ranks amongst the top most in the world for most polluted cities, and although we changed that factor in less than a week’s time for a few weeks, it is a problem that’s resurfacing and persistent. Deaths related to respiratory illnesses caused by air pollution claim 195 lives for every 100,000 of its people – ranking India at No.3 globally. When it comes to mobility, we are the world’s largest two-wheeler market with over 80% of our mobile population using bikes and/or scooters as their daily drivers, emitting on an average 3kg of carbon emissions

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per vehicle per day. And that’s where the problem begins. This accounts for 70% of urban India’s air pollution. For a country that’s home delivery friendly – more people (especially after the global pandemic) are choosing to shop online and while this is great news for Jeff and other in his space, it’s a cause of concern for those dealing with the byproduct of this: thousands of vehicles are on road delivering the smallest items like a toothbrush, or batteries, or 1 dal makhni and 2 butter naan – 1 entire round trip for just that. Where it' s considered efficient for buyers and sellers, it’s an absurd wastage of fuel – which in turn is a cause of air pollution. Today we are at the cusp of an industrial level revamp with EVs in the spotlight to address several of the issues caused by dependency on fossil fuel and fossil fuel-based vehicles. This does, however, open up opportunities for several sectors within the EV and non EV space to undergo an overhaul of their manufacturing and start contributing to a pollution free nation. As talked about earlier, majority of India moves on two-wheelers, making it the lowest hanging fruit into which manufacturers, government bodies, technology providers, and component suppliers alike can take a fair bite of. Last year’s figures stood at: over 1,50,000 E2Ws being sold in addition to over 500,000 E2Ws already on road. The fastest cash cow for any organized EV manufacturer would definitely be E2W owing to their easy adaptability compared to all other segments such as: lowest purchase point compared to other EV segments, lowest ownership and running cost compared to any other medium of transportation, highest conversion probability, India being the No.1 2-wheeler market in the world, and there are more companies into E2W manufacturing compared to other EV segments currently in the country. When it comes to manufacturing, auto components and ancillary manufacturers in India will not only enjoy the current supply to ICE markets but also the EV sector now. The need for local manufacturing incentivizes these companies to expand their product portfolio. There’s good news even for those entering specially into EV based component manufacturing as it will help local companies to develop some world class products which not only will help upgrading the quality of existing parts but also set benchmarks for global standards. As we localize the end-to-end manufacturing process, the dependence on Indian manufacturers and companies operating within India will increase manifold leading to multiple positive factors in terms of employment, scaling up of currently small industries, technology development, and upskilling of sectors already associated with EVs. While all this is just the start of what could turn out to be the largest technology shift in the world, there are miles to go by each and every party involved, whether it’s the government in terms of policy development and mandates, the manufacturers who need to constantly provide quality, reliable, efficient, and value for money products, or the consumers, who need to place their trust in the new yet proven technology, and look towards the greater good of leaving behind a better world than what they found.

NAVEEN MUNJAL MD, HERO ELECTRIC

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

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INSIGHTS Emerging Environmentally Compatible

LITHIUM-ION Battery Technologies And Trends For Electric Vehicles

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Among the various battery compositions available today for use in electric vehicles (EVs), lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are the most sought after. They are expected to dominate the EV market in the next decade, thus playing a substantial role in realising fossil-free transport. However, the cathode materials used in LIBs pose some environmental issues during various stages of their life cycle (mining, production, operation, and afterlife). The mining and production processes of critical cathode combinations such as lithium nickel manganese cobalt (LNMC), lithium iron phosphate (LFP), and lithium manganese oxide (LMO) lead to ozone depletion, eutrophication, human toxicity, resource depletion, climate change, etc. Currently, lithium is extracted largely from sea brine and hard rocks. Brine extraction uses chemicals that pollute water. Other mining and post-processing processes cause soil damage and air pollution. In countries such as Congo, Zambia, Cuba, and Australia, studies report that exposure to mining-generated toxic dust causes lung disease, heart failure, and cancer. To mitigate these issues, emerging battery technologies are using alternative cathode materials such as Li– sulphur (LiS), Li–air, solid-state and thin-film batteries. Li–air and solid-state batteries have higher energy densities but poor conductivity and low cycle life. Other emerging technologies such as Li–metal and thin films have technical challenges (dendrite growth, fragile nature, etc.).

LiS batteries have higher energy density and are lighter and cheaper compared to traditional LIBs. While sulphur is abundant, easily sourced, and environmentally benign, it does pose safety and degradation concerns. The average life-cycle emissions (cradle-to-gate) of LiS are marginally higher than those of other battery chemistries (Figure 1). However, LiS batteries do not require sulphur mining as sulphur is a by-product of industries such as oil refining and gas processing—thus avoiding the adverse impact on ozone and human health and encouraging optimal resource utilisation. Advanced LiS batteries are being explored to increase the cycle life because sulphur is an insulator, which limits its complete utilisation as an active material. Ecofriendly materials such as cardanol and eugenol are being explored to replace cathode materials that cause high environmental impact. LMO has a low environmental impact, but its cycle life and energy density are low. Currently, LNMC is the predominantly used battery type for EVs. However, LiS and LMO have the potential to replace cobalt and nickel owing to their lower cost, domestic availability, and eco-friendliness. To promote domestic manufacturing of LIB cells, the Government of India (GoI) has approved a financial outlay of INR 18,000 crore through a production-linked incentive scheme. To manufacture cells domestically and to achieve the GoI’s target of 30% EV deployment by 2030, the right combination of electrode materials should be chosen that offer high energy density, can be sourced domestically, and do not harm the environment. Further, to reduce the afterlife environmental impact of LIBs, a recycling ecosystem should be created. Recovery and reuse of critical materials would minimise their mining and reduce environmental and health impacts.

AUTHORS:

BHUPESH VERMA Figure 1: Environmental Impacts of Various LIBs

Currently, LNMC is the predominantly used battery type for EVs. However, LiS and LMO have the potential to replace cobalt and nickel owing to their lower cost, domestic availability, and eco-friendliness."

| DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

Senior Research Analyst, Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP)

SURESH NS Research Scientist, Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP)

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INSIGHTS Lithium-ion Battery Chemistry

THE FRONT RUNNER For Electric Vehicles

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When it comes to powering electric vehicles (EVs), lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are the front runners globally. They offer higher specific energy (energy stored per unit mass) and longer lifetimes compared to other battery technologies available on the market. The storage demand for the EV sector in India is expected to reach 900–2,300 GWh (for two-wheelers, four-wheelers, and buses) by 2030—considering a 30% EV penetration. It is thus essential to understand the existing and emerging LIB technologies available today, especially considering the Government of India’s (GoI’s) Make in India initiative. CHARACTERISTICS OF BATTERIES MANUFACTURED IN INDIA

For battery modules, the important characteristics are cost, safety, cell voltage, specific energy, lifetime, material availability, and recycling capability. Presently, the cost of different battery chemistries used in EVs is in the range of 200–800 USD/kWh. However, it is expected to drop 54%–61% by 2030 because of economies of scale. Safety is another crucial parameter. Cobalt-free batteries are safe as they are less prone to fire. High cell voltages reduce the number of batteries to be connected together in a module, which in turn reduces the weight and cost of batteries. In addition, batteries should have high specific energy as this would reduce their weight. The lifetime of a battery is measured in cycle life and shelf life (when the battery is unused). One full recharge and one full discharge constitute one cycle. High cycle life is desirable as it minimizes battery replacements. India depends heavily on the import of raw materials (e.g., lithium, nickel, and cobalt) for battery manufacturing. Assuring raw material security and reducing the use of critical materials in battery chemistries are key parameters of material availability. The use of recyclable batteries and recovered battery components should be encouraged in the EV sector as retired batteries would otherwise end up in landfills and damage the environment. EXISTING LIB CHEMISTRIES

Some of the commercially available LIB chemistries suitable for EV applications are as follows: Lithium manganese oxide: It utilises manganesebased cathodes to produce cost-competitive and safe batteries but has low lifetime. Lithium iron phosphate (LFP): It is safe and cheap, has a long lifetime, and does not contain critical materials such as nickel or cobalt. Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC): It has high cycle life and gives high performance. Hence, EV manufacturers prefer to use this chemistry. | DECEMBER ISSUE 2020

Lithium nickel cobal t al uminium oxide: It has high specific energy, cycl e l if e, and shel f l if e. Lithium titanium oxide ( LTO) : I t uses l ithium-based cathodes and LTO-based anodes. I t is f ast-charging compatible and saf e, and has the highest cycle lif e (around 20,000 cycl es) among al l the chemistries. However, LTO-based batteries are expensive because of the high concentration of lithium in them. EMERGING LIB VARIANTS

To enhance the perf ormance of the state-of -the-art LIB variants, extensive research and dev elopment ( R&D) activities are being conducted across the world. While promising technologies such as l ithium–sulphur ( LiS) , solid-state lithium, l ithium–metal , l ithium–air, and thinfilm lithium are at various stages of development, some R&D challenges persist. For exampl e, the clustering of sulphide atoms over time is a concern with the LiS technology, resulting in ef f iciency reduction and usable lifetime. I n solid-state LI Bs, premature f ailure af ter cycling is a maj or issue. I t is caused by dendrites— branched out lithium networks that grow through a solid ceramic electrolyte when a battery is charged, triggering a short circuit—and v oid f ormation between the lithium anode and solid electrol yte when the battery is discharged, leading to a shortened area of contact between the two parts of the battery cell. THE WAY FORWARD

High specific energy, l ong cycl e l if e, low cost, low weight, and safe operation are desirable battery characteristics for EV appl ications. Theref ore, under the Make in India initiativ e, battery chemistries such as LFP and NMC should be giv en priority. Dev eloping these battery technologies woul d enabl e the GoI to ef f ectively manage the shortage of critical materials such as cobalt and nickel as LFP does not require these materials. While NMC battery systems hav e l ower costs, LFP batteries offer the best safety f eatures. The GoI should also incentivise the devel opment and commercialisation of LiS among the emerging battery technologies through academia–industry partnerships because of its high cell voltage and energy density. I n addition, the GoI should support R&D in next-generation LI B v ariants through multinational agreements and encourage recycling techniques to recov er critical materials such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel.

For more details kindly refer to our technical brief: https://cstep.in/publications-details.php?id=1254 AUTHORS:

DR AMMU SUSANNA JACOB Senior Research Engineer, Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP)

DR ANJALI SINGH Research Scientist, Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP)

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