Using NueGo electric mobility coach from NHEV partner, GreenCell Mobility, the test run will continue for a month and help assess the technical, economic, environmental and social feasibility of the EV infrastructure along the highway
The tech trial run for E-vehicles on the 270-km Delhi Jaipur Expressway has been started by the National Highway for Electric Vehicles (NHEV) under the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) initiative.
Using NueGo electric mobility coach from NHEV partner, GreenCell Mobility, the test run will continue for a month and help assess the technical, economic, environmental and social feasibility of the EV infrastructure along the highway.
A detailed report containing findings and recommendations from the tech trial run are to be presented to Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways. Earlier this year Gadkari had said that making India's first electric highway between Delhi and Jaipur is his dream. These trial runs are expected to help transform 5,000 km of traditional highways into EV-highways while testing both technical and commercial aspects over a span of 500 KM to the satisfaction of the entire spectrum of stakeholders—users, operators, investors and the government.
While flagging off the trial run from New Delhi, Abhijeet Sinha, Programme Director, NHEV, said, “This is one of the landmark green initiatives in the country's EV mobility sector. This trial run will establish the viability of EVs and supporting infrastructure for the common people and help eliminate any glitches. For India to meet its target of carbon neutrality by 2070, EVs need to become a common man’s vehicle.”
Sinha added, “In the second test run, NHEV aims to answer the concerns of the users by answering questions like per person seat cost, one-day car renting cost, one KM highway upgradation cost, and CO2 emission saved by one EV over one year.”
He added that other factors like the requirement of a number of physical infrastructures and charging stations to support EVs efficiently and other associated requirements for safe inter-state EV transportation will also be studied during the trial run. The Delhi-Jaipur highway is expected to be EV ready and operational for public by March 2023 “We aim to develop not only an E-highways network, but also a people-friendly network of 5,000 km by 2024.”
NHEV has set up India’s largest electric vehicle charging station in Gurgaon. Addressing the concerns arising due to the recent fire incidents in EVs, NHEV technology partner SHERU has developed battery management software called Tezz to enhance battery safety. The software studies the physical condition of the battery, climatic conditions, the percentage of battery charged, etc. Whenever an EV reaches a charging station, a data pack is sent to the sensor at the station for matching with the original data set. In the case of a problem, an alert is sent to be ready with the backup. Keeping in mind that hydrogen is going to be the fuel of the future, the charging stations are built in such a way that they will able to adjust to the transition.
The first phase of this tech-trial run was conducted last year between Delhi and Agra to evaluate the technical feasibility of the EV infrastructure on the Yamuna Expressway. The first test run addressed the concerns of the operators and the Investors when it successfully established mechanisms for 30 minutes backup for EVs, 30% lesser priced EVs for operators, 30 per cent Capex Utilisation of chargers, and 3 Years timeline for breakeven for investors, according to NHEV.
(The writer travelled on the Delhi-Jaipur electric highway during the inaugural trial run.)