Energetica India Magazine October-November 2021

ELECTRIC VEHICLES 43 energetica INDIA- Oct-Nov_2021 solution to replace the combustion en- gine with an electric powertrain. With the right expertise, the innovative solu- tion can be implemented at a fraction of the cost of a new electric vehicle, and even within the same day, ensuring quick turnaround. For a driver, retrofit - ting immediately reduces the running cost of a vehicle in a multitude of ways; drivers are no longer dependent on fuel and oil -- allowing them to avoid long lines at the petrol stations -- while sav- ing on direct fuel costs daily. Electrifying a vehicle also prolongs the lifetime of a vehicle, requiring less maintenance over the span of ownership and saving costs associated with tune-ups, oil changes and more. Beyond direct-to-consumer savings, ret- rofitting is an important step in reducing crude oil consumption, vehicular pollu- tion, and expenditure on oil imports -- all areas of interest to the Indian govern- ment. Retrofitted vehicles could act as an early catalyst in a market like India by encouraging the development of EV supply chain components, including batteries, and leading to the build out of EV infrastructure, which in turn would accelerate widespread adoption. A convenient answer to infrastruc- ture: battery swapping With more EVs on the road, countries simultaneously need to build infrastruc- ture to support charging, such as sta- tions or kiosks. However, the buildouts tend to be costly and more importantly, require time to plan and implement. As the government works toward investing more heavily in EV infrastructure, ener- gy-as-a-service battery swapping can offer an attractive alternative by reduc- ing the upfront cost of vehicle owner- ship while addressing consumer range anxiety. Rather than wait for EV batteries to charge up, swapping the EV battery once it has been depleted allows driv- ers access to fast on-demand power without any of the maintenance require- ments. Battery swapping stations have a small footprint, and can be distribut- ed throughout urban areas and along well-used roads, giving drivers flexibility to decide where and when they swap -- and taking seconds to do so. Best of all, battery swapping saves drivers up to 35% in daily operating costs by eliminat- ing fuel and operating associated with internal combustion engine vehicles. Combined with the cost of the retrofit EV kit, which is around a third of the cost of a new EV, the savings are an attractive value proposition for drivers to electrify their vehicles. While infrastructure deployment for electric vehicles has been a chick- en-and-egg issue across the world, with providers reluctant to implement charging services without established consumer demand, battery swapping is an infrastructure-light solution that can be rolled out in tandem with a growing customer base. More importantly for energy-insecure regions such as India, battery swapping infrastructure is light on the electrical grid, often capable of being paired with solar panels or pas- sively-recharging during off-peak elec- trical hours. Building a greener future for India Ultimately, for vehicle electrification to successfully evolve and expand, law- makers need to provide greater empha- sis on innovative approaches to the en- ergy transition from a policy-level, and provide regulatory support to encour- age organized retrofitting of existing vehicles. As the largest market globally for two- and three-wheelers, India and its national FAME-II scheme does not currently include subsidies or provisions for EV retrofitting, even though the coun - try’s goals are based on the successful transition of its fossil-fueled vehicles into EVs. For a country deeply affected by air quality concerns, an open discourse must be made on the viability of EV ret- rofitting and battery swapping to sup - port the country’s energy transition.