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STORAGE STORAGE

Issue2 Volume2 Apr-Jun 2015

India Energy Storage Alliance

3 r Spe

IESA
Emerging Technology
News

CONTENTS

TECH INSIGHTS

GUEST ARTICLE

THE INDIAN BATTERY MARKET WILL

INDIAS TWO WHEELER ELECTRIC

WITNESS A CHANGE

VEHICLE SEGMENT

MARKET INSIGHTS
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY AND SMART
ENERGY SOLUTIONS ARE THE KEY
FACTORS TO REALISE THE VISION
OF SMART CITIES IN INDIA

PG

18

PG

08

PG

20

Emerging
Te c h n o l o g y N e w s

00

E D IT ORS D ESK

PG

03

Vo l u m e 2 I s s u e 2 ;
April-June 2015

01

I E SA NEW S

PG

06

03

I N D IA P OL IC Y U P D AT E

PG

12

04

I N T ERNAT IONA L M ARKET S

PG

16

07

I N D U ST RY NEW S

PG

27

08

I N T ERNAT IONA L NEW S

PG

32

E d i t o r i a l Te a m
D r R a h u l Wa l a w a l k a r
Debi Prasad Dash
N e t r a Wa l a w a l k a r
Design : Insonics

A501 GO SQUARE , AUND HINJEWADI LINK RD ,

WAKAD PUNE MH INDIA - 411057
contact@indiaesa.info
indiaesa.info

The Center for Study of Science, Technology and

Policy (CSTEP) has analysed the market, policy

GUEST
ARTICLE

02

instruments and technical challenges related to

the 2W EV segment which is also known as the
electric bike segment. CSTEPs analysis shows
that both technical and policy related challenges
are a deterrent to the adoption of electric bikes in
India. A demand of 3.55 million 2W EV sales has
been projected by NEMMP. Although this segment

Indias 2-Wheeler Electric Vehicle

Segment

has the highest demand potential among all EV

segments, technological challenges such as low
range and the requirement of long charging time are
major impediments hampering sales. India is also

India received a major boost for its Electric

Vehicle(EV) industry in April 2015, when the Union
Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises,
launched the new subsidy scheme titled Faster
adoption and manufacturing of hybrid and electric
vehicles in India, also known as Fame India.
According to the minister, It is a dire necessity to
UK HS[LYUH[L ZV\YJLZ VM LULYN` ^OPJO HYL LJV
friendly yet cost-effective for transport reported
by Press Information Bureau. After the successful
launch of subsidy schemes for EVs by the Ministry of
New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in 2010, which
saw a big increase in the adoption of 2 Wheeler (2W)
EVs, the Government released an ambitious mission
plan for the EV segment called the National Electric
Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) in January 2013.
India. Fame India is a demand incentive plan for
NEMMP and it based on the National Mission on
Electric Mobility (NMEM), which the Government of
India set up in 2011.
The budget allocations for the demand incentives

IH[[SPUN ^P[O PZZ\LZ VM PUMYLX\LU[ HUK PUZ\MJPLU[

power supply. The government needs to set up
additional power generation infrastructure in order
to make EVs more attractive
,=Z JHU IL JSHZZPLK PU[V [OL MVSSV^PUN [^V
segments Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) and
Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV); the latter consist
of an internal combustion engine along with the
battery. Hence, HEVs are generally more expensive
than BEVs. Currently, in the 2W EV segment the
major BEV manufacturers are Hero electric and YO
bykes. Only TVS has come up with a 2W HEV called
TVS Qube. The price of TVS Qube is expected to
be INR 65,000, while BEV models are priced at
INR 30,00050,000. Although the subsidy amount
declared on the 2W EVs ranges from INR 1,800
29,000 under Fame India, consumers can avail
discounts of INR 7,50010,000 on available models
in the market. The comparable conventional, petrolbased 2Ws include Honda Activa, TVS Jupiter, and
Hero Maestro which cost INR 50,00065,000.

under Fame India are INR 155 crore for 201516

and INR 340 crore for the year 201617 for all EV
segments. These demand incentives are given as

Technological Challenges

discounts on vehicles. Vehicle dealers are supposed

to start receiving the reimbursement for these
discounts in 23 months, starting from August 2015.
For charging infrastructure, a budget of INR 10 crore
and 20 crore is allocated for the years 201516 and
201617, resp.

CSTEPs analysis of the various technological

challenges faced by the 2W EV segment falls under
two categories battery technology and charging
infrastructure.
Currently, the EV technology is not mature

GUEST ARTICLE
of INR 1000 crore is expected till 2020. To address

Battery Technology

the technological bottlenecks in EVs, collaboration

of local academic institutes with industry is of
foremost importance.

enough to allow

Charging related issues are another reason for low EV

BEVs to compete with fossil fuel based vehicles.

A major component in BEVs is the battery which
has the highest cost among all other components;
major technological challenges in BEVs are also

Charging Infrastructure

associated with the battery. The energy storage

capacity (kWh/kg) of batteries is about 100 times

less than that of petrol or diesel. Hence, BEVs provide penetration in vehicles market. All 2W BEV models
low range per charge. The 2W BEV models in the in India use lead acid batteries. Lead acid batteries
Indian market promise only 5080 km range. The take 68 hours to charge, which makes these
solution for this limited range issue is the installation models unattractive to consumers as compared to
of a larger battery pack. However, this increases petrol driven 2Ws. A low range clubbed with poor
[OL^LPNO[HUKJVZ[VM[OL]LOPJSLZPNUPJHU[S`(Z availability of charging stations lead to a range

a solution, a business model of leasing batteries anxiety among consumers. A solution for quick
JV\SKSV^LY[OLWYPJLZHUKLUHISLLMJPLU[YLJ`JSPUN recharging is battery swap, which is the equivalent
of batteries.

of refuelling a vehicle, in terms of time. A strategic

charging infrastructure network and battery swap

Another technical problem of BEVs is that their stations can eliminate this problem and will make
speed and acceleration is lower than conventional the use of BEVs in long distance drives possible.

fuel-based vehicles because of the low power Smart grids can manage electricity loads during
capacity (kW/kg) of batteries. The top speeds of peak demand hours for utility and BEV charging.

these models range from 2555 kmph. Higher They can provide information on grid network,
speeds can be achieved by either increasing empty slots for charging, usage, and cost statistics.
the cost or compromising the range. The use of NEMMP has mentioned plans of spending around
supercapacitors in BEVs is a potential solution INR 1200 crore on charging infrastructures by 2020.
that the industry should explore. Supercapacitors
are a type of electrochemical capacitors that use
a physical process to store energy, unlike batteries
which use chemical reactions. These have very
high power capacity; hence they can charge and
discharge very quickly unlike batteries. Thus, the
use of supercapacitors is indispensable for faster
BEVs. However, it is an expensive technology. In the
future, supercapacitors can be made up of graphite
which can be manufactured from organic wastes
like coconut shell, hemp, etc., to reduce the cost.
NEMMP aims to support R&D efforts related to next
generation battery technologies and an expenditure

GUEST ARTICLE
VEHICLE TYPE

HERO ELECTRIC BIKES

YO BIKES

HONDA ACTIVA

TVS JUPITER

RANGE (KM)

50-80

60-70

240-320

250-310

FUEL

ELECTRICITY

ELECTRICITY

PETROL

PETROL

6-7 HRS

6-8 HRS

< 5 MINS

< 5 MINS

TOP SPEED (KM/HR)

25-45

25-55

82

90

BATTERY LIFE (KM)

15,000

18,000

BATTERY LIFE (YEARS)

1.25

1.5

PRICE INR

35,000-50,000

SUBSIDY INR

7,500-10,000

7,500-9,400

COST OF FUEL

0.1 - 0.2

0.1 - 0.27

1.1 - 1.6

1.1 - 1.6

CHARGING

/ REFUELLING TIME

40,000-55,000 55,000-65,000 50,000-60,000

The overall EV technology is improving and costs

are coming down. Incentives such as discounts, low
JVZ[UHUJL[H_JYLKP[ZL[JJHUTHRL),=Z]PHISL
As their market penetration increases, costs will
reduce automatically due to economies of scale and
advances in technology. However, the industry will
require appropriate support from the government in
terms of policies and R&D funding if it is to become
a key instrument in Indias goal of achieving lowcarbon transportation.

AUTHOR:
GANESHPRASAD RAVINDRA PAVASKAR
RESEARCH ENGINEER
CENTER FOR STUDY OF SCIENCE,
TECHNOLOGY AND POLICY (CSTEP),
BANGALORE
E-MAIL: GANESHPRASAD@CSTEP.IN

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