FE Electric Mobility Summit 2022 Highlights: EVs now at over 5% of two-wheelers segment

Arup Das, Editor, Express Drives, Financial Express delivers a vote of thanks, marking the end of Electric Mobility Summit’s second edition.

Dr Manoj Modani from Automotive Test Systems said that best charging place to charge an EV is home, parking lots. OEMs need to be careful while manufacturing and should ensure product is suitable for Indian conditions.

Pulkit of Battery Smart said that there is no swapping company which is too large across the world.

Arun Vinayak, Co-founder of Exponent Energy talks about parking space. There are lot of India-specific problems like scarce parking space, which needs to be cracked for faster EV adoption.

Dr Manoj Modani, Director of Automotive Test Systems said EV manufacturers are all sorted. Testing is second part, root cost is design. Testing specs- littlest gap is between the specs. There are lesser movable components lesser parts. Problems in EV is lesser than ICE engine.

Akash of Zypp Electric said in some of Chinese cities and in Singapore home charging of EVs is banned. Charging at home is not the best solution in these circumstances as there are no standards. With the new battery norms, a lot of small players, who lack infrastructure, are moving out of the battery manufacturing business, which is a step in the right direction.

Dr Manoj Modani, Director of Automotive Test Systems strongly believes that EVs are new but it is absolutely safe to use. Startups not spending on testing and R&D are facing EV fires. Over the years, only good tech and players will survive.

Aakash Gupta, Co-Founder & CEO of Zypp Electric said fast charging is little costly. Swapping is the next level of evolution, it is the way for us to go.

Pulkit Khurana, Co-founder of Battery Smart discusses many important aspects on battery swapping. He said fast charging is the top most factor. Battery swapping is faster process than charging the batteries. He also mentioned that swapping becomes most efficient in a country like India.

The last panel discussion consists of eminent speakers like – Akash Gupta, Co-Founder & CEO, Zypp Electric; Arun Vinayak, Co-founder, Exponent Energy

Pulkit Khurana, Co-founder, Battery Smart; Dr Manoj Modani, Director, Automotive Test Systems; Moderator: Nilesh Wadhwa, Principal Correspondent, The Financial Express (Digital)

Uday Narang, Founder & Chairman, Omega Seiki Mobility said EV technology should be shared, it will benefit the end consumer. He mentioned that the central government is so supportive. OSM will soon build in-house cells for batteries.

Arvind Chandra, CEO, Mechatronics and Vehicle Security System of Spark Minda talks about one of the critical aspect that is how much profit we are making. He said “we are beyond the point of profit making, especially in cities like Delhi, where pollution is at its peak. Let the OEMs and suppliers come together and do something.”

Divay Pranav, Director of Policy and Partnerships, Yulu said charging infrastructure critical for faster adoption of EVs. Government should push for electrification of shared mobility. Shops and commercial establishments impact battery swapping infrastructure. Amendment required in the shops and commercial establishments across states.

Speaking the FE Electric Mobility Summit, TERI Director General Dr Vibha Dhawan highlighted the challenges with respect to faster EV adoption in the country and how alternative tech can make a difference. Read more….

Third panel discussion kicks off with esteemed speakers –

Uday Narang, Founder & Chairman, Omega Seiki Mobility; Sudhanshu Agrawal, EVP: Business Head EV & Exports 3W & 2W, Piaggio India; Arvind Chandra, CEO, Mechatronics and Vehicle Security System, Spark Minda; Divay Pranav, Director of Policy and Partnerships, Yulu; Moderator: Arup Das, Editor, Express Drives, The Financial Express (Digital)

Ravi Panga highlighted that “we have10,000 electric vehicle orders. Also, collaborating with academia and best technology of the world for the same.”

Saket Sapra said most of the batteries is not specifically designed according to the Indian weather conditions. There is 40% localisation for buses and also got a lot of import duties.

Saket Sapra, MD, Dana TM4 India Pvt Ltd and Head of Electrification, India and South East Asia, Dana said bill of material 80 per cent is localised. What is not localised are IGBTs and permanent magnets.

80 per cent of vehicle control unit is imported. Cells are also imported.

Second panel discussion started with eminent speakers – Saket Sapra, MD, Dana TM4 India Pvt Ltd and Head of Electrification, India and South East Asia, Dana; Ravi Panga, Director & CEO, Causis Group; Mandeep Gupta, Head-Business & Strategy-APAC & India, FEIG Electronic GmbH; Moderator: Pushkar Aggarwal, Associate Partner, Bain & Company

Arya also added that electric mobility is one of the best solutions we have today please adopt it. Just do not pay attention to lowest price as safety is the top most priority.

Atul Arya, Head – Energy System Division, Panasonic India said swapping taken correctly will also be a great booster for overall development for electric mobility.

Himanshu Jain, (IAS), ACEO, Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion said they are planning to launch green corridors and green zones is 6 target cities. And, also to provide registration certificates.

Atul Arya, Head – Energy System Division, Panasonic India said raw materials for EV batteries are limited, restricted to certain geographies, prices are on a rise but when the ecosystem is set, we will recycle these metals.

Himanshu Jain (IAS), ACEO, Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion talks about electric vehicle's future in India. He said “we see EV as the future of India. Planning to have special EV parks in Punjab as well. There are currently 2 biggest EV manufacturers in Punjab like hero electric. We will put our policy soon in the public domain.”

Eminent speakers Manish Raj Singhania, President, FADA; Akash Passey, President – Bus Division, VECV; Himanshu Jain (IAS), ACEO, Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion; Atul Arya, Head – Energy System Division, Panasonic India; Moderator: Harshvardhan Sharma, Head – Automotive Retail Practice, NRI Consulting

Dr Dhawan emphasized on generating solar energy. She said we can generate solar energy as the weather conditions make it possible in India. Even solar panels’ efficiency has been improving but also we need land to set up the solar panels.

Dr Vibha Dhawan said different technologies need to be looked into like hydrogen. Need a huge infrastructure for EVs and the question remains where will you get Lithium from?

There is no doubt EVs in India getting much traction but the EV technology has to be made suitable for our conditions. This is the reason many interested buyers are delaying their purchase decision. As technology is evolving, there is hesitancy and range anxiety.

Dr Vibha Dhawan talks about many aspects on EVs. She said renewables become extremely important. Solar remains number one renewable energy in India.

Singh emphasized on developing the processing method. The focus area is to develop cathode and anode.

Randheer Singh, Director, Electric Mobility & Senior Team Member for Advanced Chemistry Cells Program, NITI Aayog talks about reuse and recycle of lithium-ion batteries. He said the lithium’s price is 6 times higher since December 2021.

There is a huge opportunity in battery technology and charging network

The second edition of the FE Electric Mobility Summit 2022 starts with guests of honor for the summit are Shri Randheer Singh, Director – Electric Mobility & Senior Team Member for Advanced Chemistry Cells Program, NITI Aayog and Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute.