The Centre is very keen on a rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country. By catalysing the shift from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to EVs, it not only hopes to significantly cut emissions and meet its international obligations but also reduce fuel imports and improve the nation’s energy security. To enable this transformation, it has sweetened FAME-2, a scheme announced for `Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) & Electric Vehicles’. This, along with additional sops given by a few State Governments, has seen sales of EVs, especially two-wheelers, grow rapidly. But without adequate charging infrastructure, the pace of adoption will eventually slow down. Setting up of charging infrastructure takes time and the Government is obviously keen that it should not hold back the shift to EVs. Thus, the push to battery swapping as a solution to this problem. The government has already allowed EVs to be sold and registered without batteries with a view that it will considerably reduce the ownership cost and speed up adoption. The idea is that batteries can be sourced in the market by the vehicle owner at a cheaper price. After all, batteries account for 40 per cent of an EV’s cost. Now the Union Budget 2022-23 has given a renewed focus to this concept.
While the Government is doing the right thing in trying out various charging models to promote EVs, it must evaluate the pros and cons carefully. Its thrust to reduce the ownership cost (by selling EVs without batteries) could trigger reliability and accountability issues. For instance, it is not clear whether the vehicle manufacturer, battery producer or the dealer who swapped the battery will be held responsible if a vehicle catches fire. Also, battery swap will not be possible unless the batteries are standardised. The Government has indicated that it will take steps in this regard. But doing so at this early stage of battery technology evolution could kill innovation in the battery management system, which is at the heart of an EV’s performance. If that happens, the opportunity that India (it did not have a chance with ICE vehicles) has to leapfrog and become a global player in the EV space may be lost. EV batteries will become a commodity, and cheap imports could flood the market. This, when recycling old batteries is critical to cut imports of rare earth metals used in them.
A majority of electric vehicles on the road now are personal two-wheelers and they do not need a battery swap as they can be charged at night. The same holds true for personal cars. Only vehicles used commercially will need a battery swapping facility to save down time. So, is the importance of battery swapping over-rated? A better option would be to ask vehicle manufacturers to take the lead and set up the facilities rather than go for a third-party battery swapping model. It will ensure reliability, fix accountability, encourage innovation; standardisation can wait till the battery technology matures. It will help help recycle used batteries effectively and keep India in the race to become a major player in the EV space.