Electric Vehicles

Waste-to-energy, battery lifecycle solutions and hazardous waste management will make up an increased share of Fortum’s business in future. While solar will continue to be a mainstay for the Finnish clean energy company in India, Fortum wants to deepen its presence in the electric vehicle space with smart solutions, according to Sanjay Aggarwal, the company’s India MD, and Juha Suomi, area director for Asia, who spoke exclusively to pv magazine.

Government-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals and the Automotive Research Association of India will combine their respective strengths in technology development and testing and certification to work on electric and trolley buses, EV chargers and battery and charger testing.

The Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, and Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (Vinnova) have created funding mechanisms through which companies may seek support for joint R&D projects. The projects should aim to develop renewable, energy storage and waste management technologies that can be commercialized over two years through joint cooperation between India and Sweden.

The world had more than half a terawatt of PV generation capacity at the end of last year as emerging solar markets picked up the slack caused by Beijing’s subsidy about-turn to the tune of a 20% rise in installations outside China.

Mobility company Shuttl will also set up more than 50 EV charging points in prime locations and state-run power distributor BSES Rajdhani Power Limited will invest in testing facilities to support stabilizing the grid for EV charging, as well as pilot schemes on effectively integrating renewable electricity into its network.

All-electric buses will cost the same as diesel options by 2030 – and possibly earlier – according to research into the global EV market which highlighted the potential for India to follow China’s lead in the sector.

India needs to adopt renewable energy and electric vehicles in a big way to meet the twin goals of energy security and climate protection.

Tata Power will set up rooftop solar projects for Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) establishments. The two companies will also explore the feasibility of large-scale ‘group captive’ solar power projects for IGL’s own consumption, and commercial-scale charging and/or battery swapping stations for electric vehicles.

Bolivia will provide India with access to its lithium carbonate, and also facilitate joint ventures for lithium battery/cell production plants in India. The partnership will provide a major fillip to India’s ambitious e-mobility plans.

Designed to be portable and flexible, the modules are ideal for electric vehicles to support energy requirements of auxiliary functions like refrigeration—increasing the efficiency by 10-15%.