Govt needs to invest big in EV charging infra to boost e-mobility in India: TERI DG

The government needs to make large investments for setting up electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and facilitate research to boost e-mobility in the country, TERI Director-General Ajay Mathur said Tuesday.

"The government has intended to boost e-mobility in the country. But, it is a chicken-and-egg story. Here, charging infrastructure is the egg. Thus, the government needs to make huge public investments in the charging infrastructure as well as (facilitate) research on that," Mathur said, on the sidelines of the launch of the Energy Transitions Commission's (ETC's) report.

Admitting that private players are reluctant to invest in the EV charging infrastructure, he suggested that initially, the government can bring in a business model with public investment on the lines of UJALA scheme by Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), which can later be self sustaining.

Under the UJALA scheme, EESL had brought down the price of energy-efficient and environmentally safe LED bulbs to as low as Rs 38 through bulk tendering, from over Rs 300 per piece. EESL distributed around 32 crore bulbs, whereas consumers bought over 80 crore bulbs from the open market as prices came under their reach.

The ETC report, titled 'Mission Possible: Reaching Net-zero Carbon Emissions from Harder-to-Abate Sectors by Mid-century', stated that reaching net-zero carbon emissions from heavy industry and heavy-duty transport sectors is technically and financially possible by 2060 and earlier in developed economies, and it could cost less than 0.5 per cent of global GDP.

It outlined the possible routes to fully decarbonise cement, steel, plastics, trucking, shipping and aviation -- which together represent 30 per cent of the total energy emissions and could increase to 60 per cent by mid-century with other sectors lowering their emissions.

On the report, the director-general of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) said: "India is investing in new capacities in many sectors -- steel, cement, petrochemicals -- where low-carbon technology options are not yet evident. The report provides strategic direction into possible technology investments to move to near-zero carbon emissions by the 2060s."
Nandita Parshad, managing director of the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development, said: "Keeping to the target of 1.5C temperature increase above pre-industrial levels will mean rapid and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society. The report states that we cannot overlook the harder-to-abate sectors."