Challenges For Sustainable EV Charging Infrastructure

Today, India has more than 1.8 million EVs on Indian roads. Most of these are two-wheelers. It is expected that this number is going to cross 40-50 million by 2030. The size of the market right now is USD 2 billion and is expected to increase up to USD 7 billion by the end of 2025.

As the industry is growing, the focus is shifting towards fast charging and increasing the up time. Talking about the challenges the industry is facing at the moment, Amit Gupta, Business Head of Energy Infrastructure Solutions at Delta Electronics, said, “The biggest challenge in EV charging at the moment is the cost involved. In the case of two-wheelers, the cost parity has already been achieved. The second challenge is the limited number of options available to the users.”

“The mileage and the average charging time taken by the vehicle are other determining factors. The third challenge is the availability of charging stations. As of now, the number of operational charging stations is around 5,100,” Gupta added.

Charging station operators are investing money in building infrastructure. However, the adoption of EVs is not at par with the money being invested, which increases the payback time for the operators. 

The EV industry comes with a requirement of constantly upgrading the existing infrastructure and coming up with innovations. When it comes to EV installation, space is critical. “Pop-up charging poles are coming up so that when they are not in use, they go underground and pop up when required. Integration of EV chargers with digital signage is already happening,” Gupta stated.

He opined that instead of taking up power only from a fossil fuel grid, the EV charging station can use the power from a cleaner source of energy. It will help in the utilisation of the renewable energy system.

Amid the increasing concerns regarding climate change and the ever-rising fuel prices, EV is emerging as the future of mobility. With several Indian startups coming up with new-age solutions to keep the fossil fuel consumption happening in the automobile sector under check, the future of EVs in India looks promising.