How technology is strengthening the future of EVs in India

The world is progressing at a fast pace every day. With the emergence of new technological interventions with each passing month, many industries across multiple verticals are witnessing a remarkable growth. Transportation is one such industry leveraging these digital disruptions to a great extent into its mechanism with complete agility.

With approximately 900 million vehicles on road at present globally, transportation is one of the major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions due to the usage of petrol. While solutions to this problem have come in the form of ridesharing and public transportation, altering the larger picture would need drastic measures. Electric vehicles have the potential to substantially reduce GHG emissions as well as air pollution. Merely by plugging an EV to a charger for a few hours, enough energy can be stored to go through the day. Along with curbing pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and all such environmental concerns, electric vehicles also have the potential to help reduce our reliance on crude oil and its consumption.

Electric vehicles have already hit the Indian roads and according to the latest report by the International Energy Agency, electric vehicles will grow from 3 million at present to 125 million by 2030. Although the demand for EVs is expected to grow exponentially during the next two decades, driven by favourable government policies and increasing environmental awareness amongst users, it is the new technological interventions in the form of detachable batteries that are helping EVs achieve optimum growth and a massive uptake in India.

EVs were traditionally powered with lead-acid batteries that had few drawbacks. Their bulky exterior made the movement of vehicles a tedious task. Not only was it an extremely inefficient and time-consuming process to charge the batteries, but their life-cycle was also quite low.

Detachable lithium-ion batteries have come as a solution to all the problems refraining the EV industry from achieving its full potential. The new batteries embrace advanced technology, which is more progressive than the traditional charging infrastructure available for EVs. The major advantage of using a lithium-ion battery is the detachable feature that makes it easy to replace. As a result, they are being touted as the next big thing in the industry.

New-age EVs are also incorporating a number of passenger safety-oriented features to augment overall security for both drivers and the vehicle. Specifically, in a country like India where the safety of women is an issue of grave concern, EVs have been introduced with a host of smart features like geo-fencing and GPS technologies to locate vehicles quickly and immaculately. This makes the ride convenient, environment-friendly, cost-effective and highly secure for women. For those travelling on a fixed route, the geo-fencing feature reports any abnormal movement of the vehicle for near and dear ones. It also offers maps of available parking spaces nearby and gives persistent reminders to drivers for any kind of malfunction that the vehicle is going through, or might occur. By leveraging technology, electronic vehicles can also ring in smart alarms for over-speeding and offer reminders to users for making timely insurance payments or regular servicing visits.

Considering all the positive signs in the EV sector in India, the government is keenly working towards encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles in the Indian market for a holistic economic, environmental and social benefit. The dawn of IoT is further urging the government to set up a grid-based infrastructure that can monitor vehicular progress and ensure greater security. However, for the sector to reach a large enough scale and start replacing the 230 million conventional vehicles on Indian roads, a joint effort is required by the innovators, entrepreneurs, and regulators to evolve new business models and develop a robust infrastructure around electric vehicles for its successful adoption.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)