India develops indigenous charging standard for two and three-wheeler EVs

The charging standard designed and engineered in India, paves the way for common LEV AC and DC system that will benefit all sections of the EV ecosystem from owners and vehicle manufacturers to charge point operators.

Hyderabad: In a major step towards higher adoption of electric vehicles in the country, India has indigenously developed its first AC and DC combined charging connector standard for two and three-wheeler EVs (Light electric vehicles).

Incidentally, this standard is also the first AC and DC charging connector standard in the world for LEVs. The charging standard designed and engineered in India, paves the way for common LEV AC and DC system that will benefit all sections of the EV ecosystem from owners and vehicle manufacturers to charge point operators.

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The new system saw the NITI Aayog, the Department of Science and Technology, ARAI, EV makers, and the Bureau of Indian Standards come together to develop the first-of-its-kind national standard.

With the new standard in place, on open ecosystem can be creating to drive a faster EV adoption across the globe. It also allows the Original Equipment Manufacturers to move away from relying on international standards and protocols and instead implement a charging system that will propel Indian innovation.

Niti Aayog CEO, BVR Subramanyam said , “I am happy to note the development of a combined charging standard which is an absolute necessity if we are to achieve our EV targets. A strong need was felt for a combined charging system for Light EVs in India and since such an option has not been provided in the International Standards, it was necessary to develop it indigenously to give Light EV Customers the option of charging both from an AC or a DC outlet, whichever is available conveniently for them. Since more than 75% of new vehicles sold in India are either two or three-wheelers, we created a standard that impacts the biggest chunk of the vehicle market. Several government bodies and private sector OEMs came together to make this happen.

He further added, “This is a unique global innovation that has been indigenously developed by BIS. It facilitates both AC (slow) and DC (fast) charging from the same service point/station and has enormous potential for adoption and proliferation of Electric Mobility. This is also a fine example of what we can achieve when good policy, innovation, and enterprise come together to guide the country in the right direction. We expect the new standard to be one of the most helpful factors in making India a global player in the clean mobility space.”

Responding to the new development, Ather Energy founder Swapnil Jain, said, “Taking our stride further in the EV space today, we have an EV charging standard for India with the potential to be implemented worldwide. This is a remarkable achievement because, for the first time, an India-designed and developed technology can be used globally.”

“This could well be the tipping point that catapults India into a global league of technology-based solution providers in the EV-automobile sector that only a few countries in the world are capable of,” he added.

Hero MotoCorp CEO Niranjan Gupta said, “A home-grown connector-standard is a breakthrough achievement for the country and the EV industry, aligned with the government’s ‘Make in India’ policy.