NHEV eyeing east and west corridors for expansion, says Abhijeet Sinha

The expansion plan involves 1,401 kilometres in the west and 2,164 kilometres in the east, targeting 13 highways

The National Highway for Electric Vehicles (NHEV), a central government-promoted pilot for building electric highways (e-highways), is looking to upgrade 3,565 kilometres (km) of highways in the Eastern and Western corridors, NHEV Project Director Abhijeet Sinha said in an interview with Business Standard.

 

The expansion plan involves 1,401 km in the West and 2,164 km in the East, targeting 13 highways. This rollout includes a fleet of 520 buses and trucks, 2,600 electric cars, 3,320 electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers, alongside 128 charging stations and 256 battery-swapping kiosks, said Sinha, who is also the national programme director for ease of doing business.

 

NHEV has been tasked with transforming 5,500 km of national corridors — 23 highways on the Bharatmala and Sagarmala routes — into e-highways by 2027. The revised estimated expenditure for this initiative is around ₹6,618 crore, including ₹1,298 crore for the West and ₹1,998 crore for the East. NHEV has successfully run a technology pilot of 830 km on the Delhi-Agra, Delhi-Jaipur, and Chennai-Trichy corridors.

 

“For the Eastern and Western corridors, the rollout will begin this month, once the land is finalised. We need to determine which areas involve private land acquisition and which require bidding through the National Highways Logistics Management. Once those decisions are made, partners who participated in the trial will have a maximum of a month and a half to visit the sites and finalise the logistical details. Subsequently, public sector undertakings will take over the project,” Sinha said.

 

The list of highways targeted for the current expansion includes routes such as Bodhgaya-Dhanbad, Dhanbad-Kolkata, Kolkata-Balasore, Udaipur-Ahmedabad, and Ahmedabad-Vadodara, covering a total of 10 states. 

 

So far, NHEV has identified four sites in the East and 12 sites in the West, with each site requiring at least 2 acres of land.

 

However, there may be delays in the Eastern rollout, particularly in Kolkata, due to political challenges, Sinha said, adding that the finance minister’s announcement of a ₹1.5 trillion interest-free loan for states could generate interest in states like West Bengal.

 

The upgrade plan also includes the construction of sensor gates, compact substations, car-swapping stations (relay systems), rooftop solar panels, banks, and automated teller machines, among other features.

 

There will not be a trial for these two regions unless discrepancies arise or there is a desire to introduce new fuel vehicles, such as hydrogen vehicles.

 

Sinha further explained that NHEV plans to place orders with BluSmart for electric four-wheelers, GreenCell for electric buses, and Ashok Leyland for electric trucks within two to three months, once the locations for the stations are determined. However, no immediate orders for electric ambulances are expected due to the absence of a trial.

 

NHEV has also identified the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor as ideal for rapidly adopting 3G energy stations to phase out the thermal grid, aiming for full integration of hydrogen, wind, and solar power by 2030. This initiative addresses the higher costs of power lines compared to charging stations, especially in deserts, according to Sinha.

 

The Viksit Bharat 2047 vision includes highways with charging strips capable of dispensing at least 5,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh). Currently in beta, NHEV’s stations feature a capacity of 3,200 kilowatts in 800 kWh segments, with one connected to thermal grids and another to solar power. Surplus solar energy is stored in batteries or used for hydrogen generation through an on-site micro-electrolyser.

 

Vertical wind turbines will be placed along a 10-km divider before each station, generating energy from passing trucks, which is expected to contribute about 30 per cent of the required power. The ultimate goal is to establish a fully green energy system and eliminate the thermal grid. Sinha highlighted India’s potential to lead in this technological advancement within the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.