To Develop Infrastructure For Electric Vehicle Users, Govt. Giving Incentives To Manufacturers

After multiple policies for bringing in electric vehicles to the country, Indian government¡¯s think tank - Niti Aayog will now be working towards setting up the required infrastructure for the EVs. For the same, the ministry of heavy industries will soon announce incentives for such infrastructure.

The impending move was recently confirmed by Anil Srivastava, director general - DMEO & principal adviser at the ETAuto Tech Summit. Srivastava addressed the industry leaders at the event by saying, ¡°When we look into the battery storage and transformation which is going to take place, India¡¯s electric vehicle market will be worth $300 billion in 2030, as per the projections by leading consultants and experts.¡±

That was enough of a hint for the government¡¯s plan to set up a localised battery manufacturing. Srivastava further confirmed this by highlighting the need for the industry to invest in a battery capacity of 50-60 GWh by 2025, in order for the country to meet its electrification goals. In numbers, this investment has been estimated to be around $40 billion in the next three years.

Srivastava, however, mentioned that the investment will not completely be for a particular battery format. While lithium-ion is the prevalent choice for EV makers, alternatives like solid state batteries and fuel cell batteries will also be looked at.

(Representative Image: BCCL)

Also read: Chinese Electric Bus Maker To Set Up Second Manufacturing Plant In India

Why the huge investment?

Srivastava clarified that the country will be having two-fifths of the global battery demand by 2027-28. In order to be at par with the demand, the in-house production of batteries will come in as a huge help.

Meanwhile, the corresponding infrastructure is also a necessity for an EV revolution. Srivastava suggested that proper incentives for such infrastructure will be a big boost towards the goal, citing the ongoing efforts of NTPC in the sector. ¡°NTPC is going big on infrastructure for charging stations and what kind of incentives should be there, and they will be pronounced shortly by the Department of Heavy Industries,¡± he said.

Srivastava also encouraged the auto makers to come up with more and more electric vehicles for the country¡¯s market, focusing specifically on electric two and three wheelers. As per him, electrification of vehicles in these segments will have the most impact in India.

A major need for the country to switch to electric vehicles is the localisation of R&D, Srivastava mentioned. Once this is set, the EV market in India can work towards better efficiency, low cost electric vehicles.