Energetica India Magazine nº88 March-April 2020

ELECTRIC VEHICLE Battery Swapping: A Game-Changer for the Indian EV Market A battery swapping (or switching) station is a place or commercial outlet at which a vehicle’s discharged battery pack can be immediately swapped for a fully charged one, eliminating entirely the delay involved in waiting for the vehicle’s battery to charge. India’s EV market is slated for tremendous growth over the coming years. In order for it to really take off and fulfill its great potentialhowever, the impediments to growth in this sector need to be addressed. One of these is the issue of batteries. As the battery is the powerhouse, or soul, of the electric vehicle, to ignore the various problems associated with the battery would necessarilymean damaging the overall prospects for the EVmar- ket. In India, the EVmarket is at a nascent stage, and the adoption of electric vehicles has yet to take off at a significant scale. To trigger growth in the market and the switch from conventional fuels to cleaner energy, the infrastructure associated with the smooth functioning of electric vehicles needs to be in place. For the end user, this means the convenience of being able to ‘fill up your tank’ with fuel on the move and whenever required. In the context of EVs, it means being able to charge your battery on demand. The decision to switch to electric mobility cannot be driven on idealistic concerns (such as environmental) alone. It needs to also be viable in terms of cost. In both matters of cost and convenience, it is the battery of the electric vehicle that comes to center stage. The cost of ownership of electric vehicles is directly linked to the cost of the battery used, and can add up to almost 40 percent of the total vehicle cost. In addition, the costs associated with the necessity of frequent charging of the battery act as a strong barrier to adoption of electric vehicles. While the Indian government is committed to lower emissions and reducing the carbon footprint, policy alone can only do so much to drive the switch to green mobility. The incentives to do so must be more brass tacks – and that comes down to cost and convenience. In both cases, it largely comes down to a matter of the battery, and an ecosystem that supports its hitch-free and cost-effective functioning. The EV Battery Conundrum Presently, the vast majority of electric vehicles in India are fitted with outdated and technologically inferior lead acid batteries. These batteries are unwieldy and have a host of problems associated with them, not least of which is the amount of time it takes to recharge. A typical lead acid battery takes on average 10 hours of charging time. In a commercial scenario, such as in the case of e-rick- shaws, this results in poor (and cumulatively reducing) returns, limited revenue, and range anxiety due to limited charge. On the other hand, lithium ion batteries offer a great deal more reliability and are significantly more compact, but are also more expensive. Understandably, the up-front cost acts as a strong barrier to acquisition. Coupled with the problem of charging and limited range or mileage, this has led to a slow growth in not just the lithium-ion powered vehicle segment, but in the EV market as a whole. To this, add the low availability of charging stations for electric ve- hicles, andthe scenario for electric vehicles would appear more stark. Even in urbanized areas, where the EV has most potential, the infrastructure for charging stations is virtually nonexistent. Setting up such infrastructure not only requires vast capital outlay, but also reaches a bottleneck due to problems related to land acquisition for such projects. 40 energetica INDIA- March-April_2020 Akshay Kashyap Founder and Managing Director, Greenfuel Energy Solutions