Can Technology Boost Electric Vehicles’ Infrastructure In India?
Just when Tata Motors has set a target of having 700 EV charging stations, we delve into the use of technology to boost electric vehicle infrastructure and industry.
When the automobile industry rulers like Tesla, Volkswagen, and Mercedes ventured into electric mobility, the sustainability and future of this type of mobility became vivid. The push towards a greener and safer mobility solution was felt explicitly when both the private and public sectors expressed the need for it.
The Indian government has been in favour of electric vehicles (EVs) and has specifically concentrated on getting electric buses for public transportation. Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, asked the states to do away with permit requirements for electric vehicles since he is expecting a minimum of 10,000 such vehicles funded by state and private.
The Department of Heavy Industries (DHI) received 86 proposals from across the country to deploy 14,988 electric buses. However, only 5,595 buses were accepted by DHI. Companies such as Olectra Greentech, Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland are a few known manufacturers of EVs.
Very recently, Tata Motors announced they will be setting up 700 EV charging stations across the country. While the push for EVs is hard, the infrastructure that needs it to sustain needs to be developed too. This is where technology comes in.
How can technology boost EV infrastructure?
Faster charging stations
Most EV owners complain of slow charging stations which is a major inconvenience. This is the reason most people are not convinced enough to move to electric vehicles. Along with this, the charge is not enough for long-distance travel.
Soon one can expect faster-charging stations to solve this problem just the way superchargers worked for electronic devices. Tesla already has a headstart on deploying supercharging stations globally.
Battery technology
At the moment, rare metal lithium is being used to make batteries for EVs. There hasn’t been much headway in finding a better way to make these batteries since lithium is so hard to find. However, there has been a key finding of lithium reserves in India recently. Around 100 km from Bengaluru, Mandya is a city in south Karnataka where lithium reserves were discovered. This can be a big boost for EVs and also expect better technology for the battery to significantly reduce costs in the future.
Autonomous driving
Moving to electric mobility already enhances the driving experience and with it one can expect autonomous driving too. Tesla and Toyota are already using autonomous driving for their electric vehicles. This will help make roads safer since the car will be making decisions based on real-time data.
Urban mobility
If the cost of electric vehicles is a concern, then the best part about technology today is smartphones. There can be so many apps developed around EVs that can cater to all requirements of an individual. Ride too costly? Make an EV ride-sharing app. Battery low? Find the nearest EV charging station on your phone. Applications and AI tools can be used to help the customer with anything and everything.
Software
As the EV market grows, tech companies will be looking to provide new solutions for new problems. Autonomous cars would be on the lookout for more bandwidth and closer data centers to perform functions. The tech infrastructure will see a major boost to support EVs on road. There will also be improvements in in-car entertainment, sensors, real-time information, etc.
Concluding…
As per experts, the EV conversion will grow by 40%-45% in 2030 alongside the developments in the tech industry. They are both interlinked. When EVs become a regular thing, there will be a need for more charging stations, some that are even in residential buildings. EV charging will become as necessary and casual as any electronic device charging!
Having charging stations within the city is useless. Those who use EV for daily commute charge at home. For intercity, battery swapping stations is the only solution, not the charging.
This is very informative. Thanks for sharing your informative article with us. Keep up the fantastic work.
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Hey Radhika, Your article is really informative related to EV’s . I agree with you that Ev’s will take time till 2030 . their are many companies who are doing full efforts to improve their cars and Govt trying to provide facilities day by day.