Swaraj Baggonkar Moneycontrol News
The government will have to facilitate the creation of a standardized version of charging infrastructure if it is serious about making an ecosystem conducive to sale of electric vehicles.
Standardisation of charging technology has emerged as the focal point for development of the electric vehicle concept, considering the size of the market itself and the variation in charging loads.
According to a proposal drafted by a Finnish technology start-up AC2SG in collaboration with NITI Aayog for rolling out EV charging infrastructure in the Gurgaon-IGI-South Delhi-Noida corridor, charging equipment still remains the most vital point of concern.
”Although the plan is neutral in terms of standardization, the standardization decisions will have an impact on the implementation timelines. Although EV charging equipment is available in the market, but investments are difficult when clarity on standards is missing,” the report said.
Different countries use their own style of fast charging standards – CHAdeMO (Japan), CCS (Europe, US and Korea), GB/T (China). US-based electric super car maker Tesla uses its own unique form called Supercharger.
While India will be moving to mass production of electric vehicles in the future, imports from US, Europe or Japan of expensive electric cars cannot be ruled out. It is therefore important for India to adopt either one of the charging standards and make it uniform across the country.
“Largely the standardization is not a question of technical capabilities or features, but more a question of market policies and openness. In Europe the EV charging equipment is moving towards CCS Combo with multiple automakers supporting this. Increasingly US and Korean automakers are using CCS, while Japan follows CHAdeMO and China follows GB/T standards,” the NITI Aayog report pointed out.
There are essentially two types of charging -- AC (alternating current, also known as slow chargers) and DC (direct current, also known as fast chargers). AC charging takes anywhere between 6-8 hours for a full charge while DC charging takes about 1 hour, both depending on the battery type.
By 2030, transportation sector demand could account for as much as 15 percent of total electricity demand, but the marginal cost to power generators of meeting this demand is likely to be far less, given the flexibility of EV charging loads, according to another NITI Aayog report.
There are also technical hurdles that need to be overcome. For instance, a home private charger is generally used with a 230V/15A single phase plug, which can deliver a maximum of 2.5kW of power. A 3kW single phase 16A charger can charge a Mahindra e2o in 6 hours.
Public direct current (DC) chargers can deliver more than three times the power, between 10kW and 15kW, and can recharge an electric vehicle in one hour or less depending on the battery used in the vehicle.
In India, all electric 2, 3 and 4-wheel vehicles use voltages less than 100V and power of less than 15kW. DC chargers based on these specifications will cost Rs 1.25 lakh in ‘volumes of thousands’ and can be used by all class of electric 2, 3 and 4-wheleers, according to a report prepared by the Department of Heavy Industry.
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