Battery swap at the heart of plan for e-vehicles

The government has decided on batteries with a range of 50 km on a single charge as part of a blue print to push sales of electric three-wheelers and buses.

The smaller batteries can be swapped in stations within minutes, by passing lengthy charging cycles that po sea hurdle int head option of electric vehicles.

Batteries delivered to swap ping stations can be charged overnight. Government sources said as many as 15 manufacturers had shown interest in manufacturing the lithium-i on batteries in India.

Larger batteries that run 120-200 km on a single charge require fast charging at 45 degrees Centigrade for over two hours, reducing their life by a third and increasing the cost of buying an electric vehicle. Also, investments of~15-20 lakha re required to build each fast-charging battery station.

The specifications discussed with automobile and battery manufacturers will form the basis of initial orders the government proposes to place for electric vehicles for its own use.

The government is planning to float a tender in November through state-owned companies for 50,000 three-wheelers, which will go up to a million in 18 months. In January next year, it plans to order 10,000 buses in 12 cities.

“We have received interest from 50- odd vehicle, battery and sub systems manufacturers as well as ag greg at or sand those who want to setup swap ping and charging infrastructure. We have final is ed the plan for three-wheeler sand buses and are working ont axis. In the end, we will take up passenger cars, where a final call on the battery size has to be taken ,” said an official involved with the project.

He pointed out that most city buses travel led less than 30 km per trip and had gaps of 10 minutes between trips, enough time to swap batteries. The official said the plan was to setup over 200 battery swap ping stations in each of 12 cities.

Manufacturers will sell vehicles without batteries. As battery specifications have been standard is ed for three-wheeler sand buses, these will be manufactured and sold by separate vendors toc ustomers.

The government has also worked with the industry and academic institutions to reduce the cost of making the battery by 30 percent, by decreasing the watt age required per km of charge.

Officials said the $250 price of a lithium-i on battery was expected to decline by $150 by 2020 with volumes picking up.

The blue print has been drawn upon the premise that the government will not provide substantial subsidies to push electric vehicles. This is in contrast to China and the US, where large subsidies are provided for electric vehicles, sometimes as high as 60 percent of their cost. The plan fort axis involves a combination of battery swap ping and fixed charging. These batteries could have a range of 110160 km on a single charge.