The recent announcement by the Government of India on developing a low-cost AC charge point standard for public EV charging is a game-changer for electric vehicles. Here, we explain why local government officials, EV charging operators and EV enthusiasts should be paying close attention.
Even as the global electric vehicles (EV) transition is measured by the share of cars that are going electric, India’s EV transition is forging its own path. Of the more than five lakh EVs sold since FY2017, two-and three-wheelers or light electric vehicles (LEVs) account for nearly 98%. The International Energy Agency (IEA), in its recently published Global EV Outlook 2021, reiterated that EV penetration in the country would be led by electric two- and three-wheelers. This segment is expected to reach a cumulative sales share of 50% by 2030, far higher than the estimated 15% for electric buses and cars.
A network of visible, accessible, and affordable charging facilities is an absolute prerequisite to support this projected growth. However, the widespread installation of EV charging infrastructure has been much slower than desired, especially when it comes to public charging. This is because of a few key barriers.
Public charging infrastructure is often perceived as requiring high capital investments with low initial returns. This is partly due to the initial focus on public charging standards that were developed for high-voltage electric cars, which India adopted as it embarked on its’ EV journey. The cost ranges from INR 1.25 lakhs to INR 7.5 lakhs per single charging gun as they often require additional electrical grid infrastructure upgrades like new distribution transformers and high-tension cable networks. These make high-power chargers a costly proposition. The Bharat AC-001 and DC-001 public EV charging specifications, developed in 2017 for India’s predominantly low-voltage EV fleets, still carry price tags of INR 70,000 and INR 2.5 lakhs, respectively.
Another barrier is the lack of affordable land in dense urban areas, with public charging seen as a stand-alone land use requiring dedicated space, like petrol pumps. This adds further to the costs of setting up charging infrastructure. To fill the charging gap caused by these barriers, the central and state governments provide policy incentives like monetary subsidies and public land parcels for installing charging infrastructure. However, available charging facilities are only being used for an estimated 8% of the time. At the same time, the lack of adequate charging infrastructure continues to be an issue to EV uptake in the country.
This points to an apparent mismatch in the requirements of EV users and the current approach to EV charging infrastructure planning. Rather than providing a few high-power EV charging points, the focus should be on numerous low-power charging points that are better suited for India’s EV fleet, which LEVs dominate.
Policymakers and market players are taking due cognizance of this required shift in approach to local charging infrastructure. A recent announcement by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) indicates that a new low-cost AC charge point (LAC) will shortly be available in the Indian market, customized for LEV use. With a target price of less than Rs 3,500, the smart charging point is powered by a 220V/15A single-phase connection and can charge one EV at a time. EV users can communicate with the LAC through their smartphones to start charging, make payments, and get details of the charging transactions. Developed in close cooperation with industry players, the LAC will be launched as a charging standard by the Bureau of Indian Standards. It will be produced widely by multiple manufacturers in India, thereby promoting local manufacturing and supporting the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat agenda.
This development in low-cost EV charging will be a gamechanger in India’s EV transition. The LAC standard provides an affordable solution tailored for the rapidly growing charging demand of LEV segments. It does not require expensive electrical grid infrastructure and can be connected to the ubiquitous low-tension distribution network. This allows charging points to be set up anywhere across a city, without concerns of power supply availability. Finally, the low cost of the LAC device enables the large-scale deployment of charging points without requiring high investments. What all this means is that public EV charging need not be restricted to a few select locations- charging points can be installed across public parking spaces to create a dense charging network that is accessible and convenient to use.
For the centre and the state governments, this greatly reduces the need for subsidies and land concessions for EV charging, ensuring more efficient use of public funding to promote EVs. This significantly cuts down on capital costs and improves the business case for charging services. And for current and potential EV owners, this can eliminate once and for all the well-known phenomenon of range anxiety and unlock faster adoption of EVs.
Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com
