This blog was original published on HindustanTimes.

As India develops standards for swappable electric bus batteries to ensure interoperability and ease of battery change, parallelly addressing range anxiety, there continues to be focus on creating common swapping stations for all electric buses. This will improve overall efficiency while reducing infrastructure constraints.

As of early July 2024, 8,583 electric buses were registered across India. That number is set to increase fairly dramatically soon as by 2030, the Indian government intends to replace 800,000 diesel buses with electric buses.

In an effort to boost the adoption of electric buses, the Central Government is planning to implement uniform battery standards for electric buses.

NITI Aayog’s draft Battery Swapping Policy primarily targets the electric two- and three-wheeler segments. However, introducing uniform battery standards for electric buses is expected to enhance interoperability and promote battery swapping within the electric bus sector.

While national schemes such as FAME, National Electric Bus Program, and PM e-Bus Sewa have supported State Transportation Undertakings (STUs) in increasing the number of electric buses in their fleets, electric bus adoption in the private sector is limited. Only a few established private operators with sufficient financial capacity are making noticeable progress.

Currently, there are central government subsidies for STUs to procure electric buses through gross cost contracts (GCC) that cover bus supply, operation, maintenance, charging infrastructure, and driver costs. But for the private sector, which constitutes 94% of the 2.39 million buses registered across India, if not through such subsidy, could battery swapping with certain financial incentives be a catalyst for faster adoption of electric buses?

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), supported by NITI Aayog, explored battery swapping for electric two-wheelers in India by analysing factors affecting total cost of ownership (TCO). That work provides a strategic framework from which to also explore adopting battery swapping in the private bus market.

Current context

All electric buses in India rely on plug-in charging. To attain a full charge, these typically take 20-40 minutes using DC fast charging or 6-8 hours using lower-powered slow charging. To support the 8 lakh buses by 2030, an overall investment of ₹1.5 trillion ($18 billion) is estimated be required, and this includes the power and upstream infrastructure across cities and on intercity routes. The estimate also includes large spaces for charging stations at every 100 km on each side of highways. The process of land acquisition India is often lengthy and costly, and installing fast charging brings challenges related to not only space and costs, but also power availability and continuous supply on isolated interstate routes in rural areas.

Benefits of battery swapping

Separating batteries from buses would enable battery swapping operators (BSOs) to own the batteries instead of the bus owner. This converts the battery into a variable cost and reduces the upfront capital cost of the bus dramatically, as batteries constitute 40%–50% of this cost. Battery swapping is about as fast as refueling a combustion engine vehicle and typically takes 1-3 minutes. Sun Mobility’s battery swapping station in Ahmedabad required only 33% of the energy and 60% less area than depot-based charging. The strategic deployment of battery swapping stations could help reduce range anxiety, and the short turnaround time of battery swapping instead of opportunity charging may benefit bus operators by lowering overall travel time and thus making the service more desirable to passengers.

The emergence of a battery-swapping industry in India

The industry has advanced towards battery swapping for electric two- and three-wheelers because of the Ministry of Power’s Battery Swapping Stations policy. Delhi led with purchase incentives for swappable EVs, and last-mile service aggregators are improving efficiency with low-cost, swappable vehicles.

In the Union Budget 2022–23, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans for a national battery swapping policy with interoperability standards. NITI Aayog is working to standardize the policy across all vehicle segments, and the Heavy industry ministry is set to implement norms for electric buses

Purchase-subsidy based scheme and usage-linked incentives

The ICCT’s battery swapping report included a strategy framework for early policy that highlighted the potential of purchase subsidy and usage-linked incentives for electric two-wheelers. The framework may be considered for its potential to accelerate adoption of private electric buses. Under a purchase-subsidy based scheme, electric buses sold without pre-fitted batteries could qualify for certain financial incentives under national or state-level programs. The incentives could be given to manufacturers, which can then choose to pass them on to registered BSOs that meet safety standards.

Additionally, the usage-linked leasing scheme may allow bus operators to lease swap-capable buses rather than buying them outright. This allows operators to pay fees based on distance or usage, and Macquarie recently launched Vertelo in India, a $1.5 billion platform providing leasing, financing, charging infrastructure, fleet management, and end-of-life vehicle solutions for electric buses.

Battery swapping to potentially enhance electric bus operations

If a network of battery-swapping stations were developed across urban and peri-urban areas, private operators could procure battery-swappable buses and collaborate with a BSO as needed to ensure operational efficiency and reduce time and cost.

The expansion of the highway network, the unavailability of railway tickets, and high airfare also make intercity buses a convenient option, especially for passengers from Tier and Tier 4 cities. It was observed that ticketing for electric buses on Delhi Agra and Delhi Chandigarh routes surged by 150% in 2022. With rising diesel prices and improved electric bus technology, new electric buses can now travel 250–300 km per charge, covering 40% of India’s intercity trips. With less space requirements, battery-swapping stations can be strategically placed along highways and if interoperability is achieved, private operators could subscribe to highway-based battery swapping services from suitable BSOs.

In the case of BasiGo in Kenya and in Shenzhen, China, buses were procured without pre-fitted batteries. Shenzhen Bus Group (SZBG) in China did not ultimately opt for battery swapping due to a lack of battery standardization, safety concerns, and the absence of subsidies for BSOs. But for more than 2 million buses across India with over 26,000 private operators, interoperability through standardization of batteries and creating an ecosystem of battery swapping might hold the key for some. Prioritizing policies for battery standardization and interoperability through a consensus-driven approach would help build a solid foundation for scalable and efficient integration of electric buses into India’s transport systems.

This blog was originally published in ETAuto.

The Government of India is emphasizing the need to decarbonize road transport, and low-emission zones (LEZs), geographically defined areas where the operation of highly polluting motorized vehicles is restricted, can accelerate this transition toward cleaner mobility. LEZs also have the potential to improve quality of life for urban residents because of the health benefits they bring.

LEZs are becoming an increasingly adopted intervention to curb urban air pollution and traffic congestion, especially among European cities where more than 320 such zones exist. In addition to regulating the movement of polluting vehicles, LEZs also help spur mode shift from private vehicles to public transit and more active mobility alternatives like walking and cycling. As cities in India consider such interventions to address the issues of pollution and traffic congestion, and to meet decarbonization goals, how would upgrading transport infrastructure bring a range of benefits, including support for LEZs?

Enabling regulation of highly polluting vehicles

To identify vehicles that are contributing to most emissions, city authorities need vehicle-specific information like the fuels they run on, their years of manufacture, and the emission standards to which they are certified, for every vehicle plying in the city. While vehicle-specific information is available through the VAHAN database, the challenge lies in ascertaining polluting vehicles that are plying in the city and their travel patterns.

Vehicle registration data available with the Regional Transport Offices (RTO) that cover a given city is seldom considered a proxy to determine the motor vehicles plying in that city. However, the vehicles plying within a city could have been registered anywhere in the country, and the registration data from RTOs is not likely to be a complete representation of vehicles operating in that city. In 2016, for example, it was estimated that over 5 lakh personal passenger vehicles enter Delhi every day, which was more than the total number of vehicles getting registered in the capital in a year. An equal number could be traveling out of the city as well, deeming the registration data inept for determining polluting vehicles.

Installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, preferably those with the ability to read license plates, at strategic locations across the city is an ideal way to access real-time insights into vehicular movement. Using the vehicle registration numbers detected by this network of CCTVs, local authorities can determine the age, engine type, Bharat Stage emission standard, and other characteristics of each vehicle plying in the city to develop a vehicle emission inventory and identify vehicles that should be regulated by the LEZs.

While CCTVs are already extensively used in security surveillance and traffic and parking management, they are now being integrated with artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities for many things, including crowd management, threat detection, and improving road safety. Bigger cities like Delhi and Bengaluru already have over 2 lakh CCTVs installed for improving law and order. Such a robust network of cameras in a city augments the eyes-on-the-street concept and can be used to enforce future LEZs, all while remaining compliant with the rules governing this equipment in India.

Encouraging alternative modes of travel

Alternatives to private vehicles include public transport modes like metro, light rail, and bus, para transit modes like feeder buses and auto-rickshaws, and non -motorized modes like cycle-rickshaws, cycling, and walking.

Public transport is especially crucial in metropolitan areas, where about half of all motorized trips are made via buses or metros. It’s also effective in moving more people and consumes less fuel per passenger kilometers travelled than private vehicles. Cycling and walking are the cleanest modes of travel, and the cheapest and healthiest. Across 27 cities in India, research found that the number of people cycling and walking ranges from 48% to 55%, depending on population size (large cities of more than 10 million people are on the lower end of the range).

It’s estimated that India operates only one-fifth of the buses it currently needs. With a few exceptions (Chennai, Mumbai, and Hyderabad), most cities with any form of rapid transit system (metro, bus-rapid transit, or light rail) operate at less than 20% of their estimated ridership. Most Indian cities lack adequate and safe infrastructure for non-motorised transport.

Efforts are being made at both national and subnational levels to improve the availability of and access to non-personal modes of travel. The PM e-Bus Sewa program aims to add 10,000 new electric buses in 169 cities. The operational network of metros in cities is expected to double in the next few years. While there is a clear need to increase availability, the barriers to using public transport, which include safety, accessibility, reliability, and comfort must also be addressed. This can not only encourage a mode shift from personal to public transportation, but also increase the acceptability of LEZs.

LEZs are not an isolated solution to a city’s deteriorating air quality but contribute towards the overall enrichment of the urban ecosystem. Studies show LEZs have helped reduce nitrogen dioxide emissions from road traffic by up to 46%. By integrating technological solutions and upgrading transport infrastructure, cities not only improve the efficiency of transport system but also add infrastructure that is a utility for other urban services. With the environmental and health benefits they bring, LEZs could be a valuable part of India’s vision for cleaner, healthier, and more liveable cities.

About this event

The webinar presentation and outcomes document are available for viewing.

Electric vehicles (EVs) have been found to be the single most important technology for decarbonizing the transport sector. The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) program is the Indian government’s flagship EV promotion policy, which seeks to encourage demand for EVs through purchase incentives for EV buyers. The second phase of the scheme (FAME II) concluded in March 2024 and media reports suggest a possible next phase of the scheme will be implemented soon.

The ICCT’s recent study offers insights into FAME II, including in terms of fund utilization, achievement of EV sales targets, and the overall status of EV uptake in the country. It further examines the impact of the purchase subsidies offered under the FAME II scheme on the cost dynamics of EVs. As policymakers weigh a possible third phase of the program, Sumati Kohli, Associate Researcher at ICCT, has developed policy considerations for future demand incentives and other government support, including the extension of subsidies to vehicle segments that are yet to be covered under the scheme.

It is also pertinent to note that the US is the third largest market for EVs globally, after China and Europe. New electric car registrations in the US were 1.4 million in 2023, rising by more than 40% compared to 2022. National-level demand incentive policies have played a crucial role in increasing the demand for EVs and propelling the country to be a global leader in EV sales. Dr.Aditya Ramji, Director, Global South Clean Transportation Centre, UC Davis joins us in this webinar to speak about The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 and how it became a landmark legislation in the United States. The act aimed at addressing climate change, reducing inflation, and bolstering the economy through investments in clean energy, accelerating the uptake of EV.

This webinar is being held as part of the India ZEV Alliance Initiative.