Earth Day 2022: How electric vehicles can help reverse Climate Change and make planet a better place to live?

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For any country to become a global economic power in the modern world, it is essential to ensure adequate energy security in a sustainable and scalable manner. India has embarked on an ambitious journey towards electrification of its mobility. This change of approach is going to be a major boost to the climate change commitments made by the Government of India, and will also help generate job opportunities in the EV manufacturing sector.

India is already the fifth largest car market globally, and the rising economic stature of the public is expected to make it the third largest in the years ahead. It is expected that almost 40 crore Indian customers would seek mobility solutions by 2030. Fulfilling this need in a manner that synchronizes with the sustainability goals implies that India is set to undergo an EV revolution.

Fuel prices are soaring to unprecedented levels, and Indian cities including the national capital have earned the dubious distinction of consistently being among the world’s most polluted in terms of air quality. At the same time, there is also constant urbanization taking place, making the cities expand further into the countryside. Thus, electric mobility is being seen as the panacea that will fulfil the growth goals without smothering the cities.  The first and foremost goal set by the Government of India is to try and convert 30% of new vehicle sales into EVs by 2030, reducing carbon emissions by a billion tonnes by that time, and achieving overall net-zero by 2070.

This push for EVs will lead to a cleaner and greener future, and also significantly contribute towards India’s energy security. At present, India imports more than 80% of its crude oil, and as evidenced in the current scenario, this supply chain is subject to disruptions as well as interferences internationally. Through EVs, we will not only be able to eliminate the reliance on oil for mobility, but also strengthen the grid and enable greater renewable energy generation through secure and stable power grid operations.

EVs currently account for less than 1% of all vehicle sales in India, but there is a rapid growth of the market being witnessed in various vehicle categories. There is no doubt that with the improvement of efficiency and increasing battery affordability through measures such as Battery as a Service solutions, EVs will be the future of mobility in India. By 2030, India’s demand for EV batteries is expected to reach 900-1100 GWh. The domestic manufacturing of batteries is going to be crucial in meeting this demand.

As of now, India is solely dependent upon import for the domestic battery consumption. This import of Lithium-ion cells cost India over $1 billion in 2021, even when the EV penetration is almost negligible. Therefore, it is not difficult to predict the volume of demand when EVs become the standard mobility solutions in the years ahead. There is a huge need for battery production, storage, charging, swapping and Battery Management Services that the ecosystem development has to take care of.

Aware of the scenario, the Government of India is taking various steps to promote the EV ecosystem, and public adoption of these vehicles. FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles, and FAME II (10,000 crore) schemes for the consumers and production linked incentive scheme for the Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) (Rs 18,100 crore) and also the PLI scheme for Auto and Automotive Components (Rs 25,938 crore) to manufacture the EVs are some of the major initiatives alongside setting up of EV exclusive zones, building of charging and battery swapping infrastructure etc.

By integrating all the elements of the EV ecosystem, it is expected that there will be a strong public adoption of these vehicles. They will eventually help in reducing air pollution and help India become greener and cleaner. Cumulatively, an estimated investment of INR 1,00,000 crore is needed to boost domestic manufacturing of EVs, the battery ecosystem and a robust supply chain. The investments into the EV sector can be more than compensated by the reduction of oil import bills and other aspects.

All three schemes cumulatively expect an investment of about INR 1,00,000 crore which will boost domestic manufacturing and also facilitate EVs and battery demand creation along with the development of a complete domestic supply chain and foreign direct investment in the country. The programme envisages an oil import bill reduction of about INR 2 lakh crore and import bill substitution of about INR 1.5 lakh crore.

This visionary approach towards electrification of mobility will lead to a greener and more conducive habitat for the future generations, and the start has been made!

This article has been authored by Varun Goenka, Co-Founder and CEO, Chargeup. All views are personal.