EVs

Range anxiety continues to be an obstacle to electric vehicle take-up but the nation’s willingness to embrace car-sharing and other workarounds offers plenty of promise to the sector, according a World Economic Forum report.

The state bus company had originally sought central government funding for 250 vehicles but was given the green light for the smaller figure. A pre-bid meeting related to the tender is planned on Friday.

Manufacturers have been invited to compete for the tender by submitting expressions of interest by October 22. The vehicles must be ready to hit state roads by the end of March.

The Chinese thin-film manufacturer and compatriot carmaker Joylong Automobile applied thin film cells to the roof of a small commercial vehicle which was tested for a month. Hanergy says its K-Car could offer an effective daily range of 50-100km without charging.

While some of the industry insiders gathered at REI 2019 have made predictable calls to be free of the restrictions imposed by regulators, others maintained policy support is crucial and audience members voiced concern about India’s lack of recycling rules.

Technical consultancy DNV GL has published its Energy Transition Outlook 2019. While the electric vehicle, storage and renewable energy industries are likely to see significant rises in demand, the sobering conclusion is the world will miss carbon reduction targets by a long shot.

With the 200 hydrogen bikes offered to journalists and world leaders at the G7 summit in Biarritz, France proving popular, manufacturer Pragma Industries has received an order for 1,000 of them from Chilean president Sebastian Pinera. The company’s founder, Pierre Forté, wants the bike to have a societal impact in developing countries.

The state has issued expressions of interest for the two forms of battery-powered vehicle which each attract a subsidy for purchasers. The two-wheeler inititiave has been extended from secondary school to college students.

The new budget aims to seize the opportunity in energy storage and EVs through a range of incentives. However, alongside demand, production and export, the government also needs to focus on e-waste management and Li-ion battery recycling to sustain raw material supply and minimize environmental impact.

The annual report has placed EVs at the heart of India’s decarbonization and called for an Indian answer to the U.S. ‘Motor City’ of Detroit, where electric vehicles and the batteries to run them could be manufactured.