India Inc is preparing plans for mega investments for the electric vehicle mission including charging infrastructure worth thousands of crores in cities, batteries and purchase of three-wheelers and cars.
According to Economic Times, the government officials said they have held extensive discussions with more than 50 companies, domestic and foreign, for setting up charging infrastructure – a vital requirement of the country’s ambitious e-vehicle plan. Ola and several local taxi aggregators are also considering bulk purchases of electric three-wheelers and e-rickshaws and lease them, industry executives and officials said.
Praveer Sinha, chairman and managing director of Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd, said the company plans to partner DMRC and Municipal Corporation of Delhi to set up charging stations at metro stations and other possible locations. Sinha said a fast-charging station requires an investment of about Rs 25 lakh, while a slowcharging outlet would cost about Rs 1lakh. When the electric vehicle sales pick up in about five years, an area of 3 km could require about 300 charging stations with about 4-5 charging slots, he said. With this costing, setting up charging stations across Delhi would cost about Rs 33 billion over five years.
A top official involved in the government’s e-vehicle’s programme said Tata Power, ABB, Acme Industries, and few Dutch firms are actively considering setting up vehicle charging stations, while Exide Industries, Amron Batteries and Microtek have held discussions with officials about supplying batteries and setting up bulk shops for motorists to swap drained out batteries with charged ones.
State-run NTPC and Power Grid Corp are also in talks with Delhi Metro Rail Corp (DMRC) and other entities in over half a dozen cities for space to set up battery charging and rapid vehicle charging stations, industry and government sources said. The two firms also plan to purchase batteries in large numbers to lease them out as the government plans to promote electric- three wheelers without batteries to cut costs.
