Telangana has planned 600 charging stations in one-two years which will translate into a charging point below every 2 km.
Prof Siddartha Ramakanth
Telangana is one of the first States to develop a draft policy for e-mobility and it was notified after wide deliberations with stakeholders in 2020. The Telangana State Renewable Energy Development Corporation (TSREDCO) is the nodal agency for setting up electric vehicle infrastructure and promoting electric mobility in the State.
The promotion of electric mobility is one of the many instruments adopted by the State government to combat climate change in addition to spending NCAP (New Car Assessment Program) funds for the same. Telangana is also one of the few States which has constituted a steering committee headed by the Principal Secretary (Industries) for its implementation.
Addressing anxiety issues is key to the mass adoption of electric mobility. Having adequate charging infrastructure is the most cost-effective way of addressing Range Anxiety (fear that the battery does not have sufficient charge to reach its destination). Countries like China, South Korea, Norway, Sweden, the US and the Netherlands had a higher EV penetration as of December 2021.
Driving the World
China houses the largest stock of passenger cars at about 7.8 million units, which is 46% of the global road fleet. It also dominates the light commercial vehicle segment and electric bus deployment, with over 65% and 98% of the world’s fleet. Europe accounted for over 32% of the global stock as of December 2021. Europe also has the world’s second-largest electric light commercial vehicle stock, with about 2,20,000 vans. The US car sales stood at 2.32 million.
Mass deployment in these countries is primarily attributed to the deployment of a large number of public EV charging stations led by the government, followed by private investments addressing the chicken-egg conundrum. South Korea and the Netherlands currently have the most EV charging stations per 100 km.
In Telangana
TSREDCO plans to commission 600 charging stations in Hyderabad in addition to the 138 charging stations that are under various stages of development and 111 stations already operational. Hyderabad sustains the tariff with roughly 9,000 km of road, with 1,000 km being arterial roads and others being lanes and bylanes. Telangana has around 1,000 km of main roads, including State Highways, National Highways and other important roads. The existing 111 chargers boil down to having one charging station every 9 km. The chargers have various rated wattages from 10kW to 50kW, both AC and DC.
Under FAME II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) there will be a charging station within 5 km in a year. TSREDCO’s planned 600 charging stations in 1-2 years will bring the number to less than 2 km. Telangana is also pushing hard by having charging stations in every commercial establishment that comes under the Energy Conservation Building Code.
Disruptions in Battery Technologies
By 2030, the EVs plying on roads are expected to increase over 5-10 times but a primary challenge will be creating the charging infrastructure. Extended charging times is one of the main challenges for the spread of e-mobility. EV charging, as of now, takes anywhere between 30 minutes and a few hours.
Surveys suggest that at least 50% of the respondents are postponing their purchase decision because of the Range Anxiety issue. Fewer charging stations and uncertainty about the availability of charging points are the main reasons for staying away. Even though a few find the existing guaranteed range sufficient for their day-to-day business, their prospective requirement of travelling outstation forces them to put their EV plans on hold.
Charging Points
To understand the case in detail, let us imagine a scenario. A person in Hyderabad or any other metro commutes an average 50 km daily. A least-cost EV is guaranteed a minimum of 100-150 km a day on a single charge. Hypothetically, the currently available EV will cater to his requirement. But, if the person wants to travel outstation on weekends once or twice a month, s/he may be required to travel 200-250 km in one direction, ie, around 500 km up and down. With the existing EVs, the person may have to get the car charged at least three times for a risk-free commute.
In general, a one-time break during the journey and night charging is sufficient. However, the real concern is the availability of charging points near the mid-point and at the destination. With a normal battery pack costing nearly half of the total cost of the vehicle, an incremental increase in the battery capacity significantly increases the vehicle cost. Even if one opts for a vehicle with higher battery capacity, the additional capacity is redundant more than 80% of the time, making the investment inefficient.
Battery Swapping
Another available technology, primarily used for electric 2-wheelers and 3-wheelers, is battery swapping. The technology allows instant charging for EVs. The existing battery swapping technology allows the entire battery pack to be swapped with a fully charged battery manually from the battery swapping racks. This is an innovative swapping system for high-capacity batteries, primarily for 4-wheelers and light utility vehicles.
The innovation is an attempt to use a combination of computer vision and wireless communication, and the swapping system can identify the exact battery module to be swapped once dislodged from the battery pack from the 4-wheelers; they are placed on racks so that they can be charged, similar to the conventional swapping systems and ready for the next vehicle. The system is being made similar to ‘Lego’ for ease of operation by vehicle owners. They are also being tried to be vehicle agnostic, ie, the batteries shall be intelligent in the sense that when they are placed in a 4-wheeler, they are designed to know exactly the vehicle type, BMS and adjust the voltage level to match the vehicle’s requirement.
Swappable-Extendable Modular Battery System
Under this, a vehicle is fitted with a fixed battery pack when purchased with a slot for an additional 2X capacity, which makes the battery pack ‘extendable’. Battery extension can be done only when required, and the extended battery can be returned to the service provider. The external batteries are also connected to the system and are chargeable along with the main battery. Such battery systems are both cost-effective and address Range Anxiety. The vehicle chassis-body dynamics with respect to the weight of the additional battery packs are also easily managed by ‘dummy batteries,’ equivalent to the weight of real batteries.
Lithium-ion will get makeover
The above-mentioned cases are with the existing lithium-ion batteries. However, certain new technology batteries can disrupt the existing battery game and can revolutionise the sector once available commercially. A few of them are:
Marriage of graphite with lithium: The graphite anode is replaced by silicon in conventional lithium-ion batteries. The graphite part of the batteries generally weighs 10-20% of the existing battery system. Replacing the graphite with silica will result in a reduction in battery weight. Research results suggest that the silicon-based lithium battery cells will have at least 20% energy density (700 Wh/L to 900 Wh/L by 2025 and 1400 Wh/L by 2030) and also charge faster.
Divorce between mushy electrolytes and lithium: Another such case is a divorce between mushy electrolytes and lithium and replacing them with solid electrolytes. Solid-state batteries are expected to have a greater energy density, faster charging, longer cycle life and thermal stability. Interestingly, the conventional lithium-ion batteries manufacturing line can be used for producing solid-state batteries, a huge advantage in terms of cost economics. Industry trends suggest that economies of scale could be achieved by 2024.
With newer technologies of modular batteries, the vehicle cost would become even lesser. There is no better time to buy an EV than now, as by the time you get the delivery of your car (current waiting time is 4-6 months), there would be at least double the number of charging stations in Hyderabad.
Step on the Green Gas in Telangana
Use Case for 4Ws
The current petrol price in India is Rs 102-110 per litre, with an average mileage of 16 km per litre; the cost of running works out to Rs 6.3-6.9 per km. This is in addition to the average servicing and maintenance cost of Rs 17,000-22,000 in the first five years (for Tata Nexon, apple-to-apple comparison).
Let’s compare the cost economics with India’s most selling EV, ie, Nexon EV which currently has a range of over 250 km and Nexon EV Max which gives nearly 450 km. The average cost of running Tata Nexon EV is as low as Rs 0.96 (as reported by users in Indianautoblog as of May 2021) and gets a maximum of up to Rs 2.5/kWh, which is 80-60% lesser than the running cost of conventional ICE (internal combustion engine) Nexon. In addition, EVs like the Tata Nexon EV also offer free serving costs for the first five years, which is 100% lesser than the ICE variants. The difference between the on-road cost of Tata Nexon and Tata Nexon EV is around Rs 6 lakh. I have considered my odometer statistics as an example for computing their lifecycle costs.
I have driven close to 22,000 km in the first 12 months of purchasing the vehicle. Considering the average running cost at present, fuel costs at Rs 6.5 per km, with an increase of 6% every year, the amount spent in the next five years will be around Rs 8,50,000. In addition, one will be spending around Rs 20,000 towards maintenance costs and Rs 10,000 towards engine oil, taking the total expenditure to Rs 8,80,000. If one had purchased Tata Nexon EV, the running costs would be around Rs 2,20,000 @ Rs 2/km. Comparing the two, Tata Nexon EV would have recovered its capital cost in around 4.5 years.
It would make even better commercial sense to commercial vehicle owners, where one would be travelling 4-5 times that of an average private passenger vehicle, and the breakeven will be achieved in probably less than a year.
Use Case for 3Ws
Apart from personal and commercial vehicles (4Ws), the case proves more conducive for three-wheelers — autorickshaws, especially in Hyderabad. As per available information, around 1,50,000 autos are plying on the roads with a median life of 7-8 years. The mileage of such vehicles drops 30% to 20 kmpKG (CNG auto), considering the average usage of these vehicles. The policy of Telangana on incentivising the retrofitment of old autos with electric drive-train is a boon to the average auto driver. The State government offers up to Rs 15,000 per auto towards retrofitment.
However, similar to passenger vehicles and commercial 4Ws, range anxiety persists in 3Ws, and TSREDCO needs to set up special charging infrastructure either by way of charging stations or battery swapping stations in the city through scientifically designed siting. Studies suggest that one charging station needs to be set up for every 15 three-wheelers, and one swapping station is required for every 10 such vechicles. An investment of Rs 7-12 crore is required for the purpose. If a collegium of retrofitment agencies, charge point operators and the government can come together to invest in the infrastructure, the case can prove a win-win for all the stakeholders in the sector.
The Telangana government and TSREDCO’s intervention towards retrofitment can prove revolutionary and can bring windfall gains to the auto drivers besides improving the economic conditions of the drivers.
(The author is Assistant Professor, Centre for Energy Studies, Administrative Staff College of India [ASCI], Hyderabad)