PUNE: Sensing huge demand for electric vehicles in India in the future, Department of Electrical Engineering at Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University) College of Engineering (BV(DU)COE) has started an Electric Vehicle Laboratory.
Anand Bhalerao, Principal and Dean, BV(DU)COE, said, “The quality of infrastructure for electric vehicle connectivity in India is still in progressive mode.”
He explained that connectivity, meaning stations to recharge the battery of an electric vehicle, has immense potential in India.
“In terms of electric vehicle connectivity, Norway is well ahead of all countries having 22 per cent connectivity followed by two per cent in China, whereas for India, it’s only 0.02 per cent, which makes electric vehicles in India by 2030 an ambitious plan,” said Bhalerao.
“Hence, keeping an expectation of at least 20 to 30 per cent of electric vehicles would be a realistic target for 2030,” added Bhalerao.
The lab was inaugurated by Sagar Vekateshwaran, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of OptiXtal Pvt Ltd, in presence of Rama Sundaram, Founder and CEO of Propellex Solutions, and DS Bankar, Head, Department of Electrical Engineering, on Tuesday.
Vekateshwaran said that soon there will be a drastic demand for electric vehicles in India and all should be ready to face the challenges towards the electric vehicle.
“There is a huge market for the formation of capacitors as a product in different shapes. There is ongoing research on super capacitor and its form factor and the role of super capacitor in e-vehicles,” he said.
“Lithium-ion batteries are the main component of electric vehicles at present and are being imported by all vehicle manufacturing companies. Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) has developed Lithium-ion battery technologies and will make it open to all soon. Therefore, purpose to start a research laboratory is to research and study the functioning of batteries, its efficiency, and life. Once batteries are made locally, the price of vehicles will also reduce,” said Bhalerao.
FUTURE PLANS
- Bhalerao informed about the launch of Government of India’s Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020, under which the government proposes final projects, charging infrastructure projects and technological department projects with investments of around Rs 16 crore.
- Electric vehicles for mass transport and public transport such as cab services and government vehicles will be the biggest bank, whereas personal use of electric vehicles will increase with the affordability, he said.
