Piyush Goyal calls for coexistence of charging and battery swapping infra for faster EV adoption in India

INN/New Delhi, @Infodeaofficial

At the Consultation Meeting on the “Development of Battery Charging and Swapping Infrastructure,” which was co-organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal stressed the importance of battery swapping facilities coexisting with charging infrastructure in order to accelerate the adoption of EVs (electric vehicles) in India. He said that the adoption of EVs led by the creation of charging infrastructure should be “a people’s movement.” Leading industry representatives from the automotive, battery, battery charging, and battery swapping companies were present.

Senior representatives from the Ministry of Power, Environment, Road Transport and Highways, and Heavy Industry were also present at the meeting, along with Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Secretary, DPIIT, and Bhupathi Raju Srinivasa Varma, Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Steel. The discussion was attended by senior leaders from a number of companies, including Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor Company, Gorogo, Ather Energy, SUN Mobility, and Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies.

According to industry participants, the battery switching market is expected to reach USD 20 billion by 2030. It also underlined that when it comes to subsidies and incentives, fixed-battery EV manufacturers must be treated equally. Technological developments in the sector were highlighted, including the use of robotics to change batteries in as little as 135 seconds. Stakeholders stressed the importance of accountability and the creation of clear norms by pertinent bodies, like the Bureau of Indian norms (BIS), even though safety is still a problem.

All gas pumps, CNG stations, and such establishments ought to have battery swapping and charging capabilities, according to the Union Minister’s vision. He pointed out that doing so will guarantee that facilities are widely available without undue concentration in particular places, in addition to addressing the vandalism problem that is now plaguing the industry. To guarantee the successful deployment of battery swap stations, he advised tight cooperation between industry leaders and several ministries, including Heavy Industry, Power, Petroleum & Natural Gas, and Housing & Urban Affairs.