Driving a technology-agnostic approach to facilitate the development of EV ecosystem in India

Did you know electric vehicles (EVs) have been around since the nineteenth century? And interestingly in 1905, their share in the US was 30% while that of internal combustion engines’ (more popular now in the twenty-first century) was 22% (at that time, they were at a nascent stage). So what changed? Driven by the need for long range travel, cheaper ICE vehicles (and gasoline) overtook EVs to dominate the mobility segment. The former attracted heavy investment and hence developed rapidly. The discovery of new oil fields (in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, USA, Russia, etc.) and consequently, cheaper fuel further incentivized the development of ICE vehicles.Early revolution in high speed mobility and rapid industrialization, without any focus on the climate and environment, proceeded unchecked and thermal- or fossil fuel-based power-generating stations mushroomed globally. Investments in energy storage solutions were abysmally low and only with rising automotive pollution, CO2 levels, global warming, etc., did the focus gradually shift to zero emission mobility.However, the transition to cleaner mobility and the development of energy storage solutions to replace ICE must be technology-agnostic. Fixing one particular technology could result in curbing innovation in the EV space. Therefore, governments and policymakers must act as facilitators for different technologies to compete and grow.Evolution of EVsOver the years, EVs have been driven by a number of batteries—from lead acid batteries in Generation-I vehicles (golf carts, etc.) to nickel metal hydride batteries in Generation-II EVs (Toyota RAV4). Each type—be it commercial vehicle EV start-up Modec using zebra batteries (sodium nickel chloride) or the widely used lithium ion (lithium polymer) batteries—has led to better specific gravity and power, improved safety, and reduced charge cycles.The last decade witnessed some major breakthroughs in the electric mobility domain (with drop in battery cost by over 84%). This led to several chemistries within lithium ion, which were either already in use or at various stages of development or commercial production.The Advance Chemistry Cells programme—under the PLI scheme with a total outlay of Rs 18,100 crore for 5 years—is technology-agnostic in approach. It will help shape battery recycling facilities in India—the most important part of the transition to green mobility. Cost-effective solutions in recycling not only promote circular economy by retrieving precious metals (which are currently being imported) but are also much needed as they are eco-friendly.The battery recycling market is estimated at about 160 GWh. Currently, the cost of recycling a lithium ion battery is estimated to be around Rs 90–100/kg in India. This needs to be reduced to fetch better economic value.