(GIST OF KURUKSHETRA) Decarbonisation of Transport Sector

(February-2023)

Decarbonisation of Transport Sector

Context:

India is championing climate action on recognising the impact of climate change. The track to achieve the nationally determined climate goals, mainstream sustainability, and reduce the carbon footprint.
The average carbon footprint of a person in India is 0.56 tonnes per year, compared to the global average of four tonnes.
India’s traditional knowledge, social norms, and daily household practices firmly position it to lead the narrative of addressing climate change through individual behaviours, in the form of mass movements (Jan Andolan), LiFE.
India is focusing on catalysing, growing, and fuelling the entrepreneurs in the country to create businesses with clean technologies such as hydrogen, electric mobility, batteries, etc.
Green technologies are driving sustainable development in India. Such technologies maximise energy efficiency and preserve the environment while saving money out of many sectors, including steel, railways, shipping, aviation, energy, road transport, etc.

Green technologies in Transport Sector:

India’s transport demand is expected to increase by 2.7 times in over 30 years.
Electric vehicles (EVs) are as green as the electricity powering them and the sustainable supply chain of batteries.
Lifetime emissions from EVs today are 19-34 per cent lower than ICE cars.
In India, mass mobility relies on public transport, two-wheelers, and three-wheelers. Therefore, FAME India Scheme Phase II was focused on these three segments.
Bus transport in India accounts for 38 per cent of passenger km, though its share in overall registered vehicles in India is just around 3.5 per cent.
Two-wheelers account for 76-80 per cent of the total registered automotive in India.
Last-mile connectivity mainly depends on three-wheelers and sub-seven-metre buses.
India is already the biggest manufacturer and most significant market for 2 wheelers globally. However, electric two-wheeler vehicle manufacturing is being led by startups and first-time entrants. Traditional players are also now switching to electric models.
Electric two-wheelers will also see Mobility on Demand (MoD) and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) models to develop. This is because the upfront cost of fixed-battery electric two-wheelers is still higher than ICE vehicles.
India has a chance also to become the global hub of manufacturing for the entire EV Value chain (except raw material mining). Therefore, billion-dollar incentive programs such as the advanced chemistry cell program with an outlay of 2.5 bn USD over five years were rolled out and received an overwhelming response from the industry.
Several states have also rolled out the incentives for battery manufacturing.

Way ahead:

India needs to have million-plus fast chargers to cater to the needs of EVs. However, fast chargers are imported into India and only a few players are manufacturing locally developed/manufactured fast chargers.
Government-led companies such as BHEL / BEL can join hands to develop the local supply chain for chargers manufacturing.
Research institutions such as IISc and labs CPRI/ CSIR/ARCI can provide further technical support.
The battery swap stations in rural areas will change the EV adoption and Battery storage landscape.
These swap stations can serve as micro power grids, which can power the villages/houses in the vicinity and supply the excess power to the grid.
India also needs a comprehensive mission plan to deal with advanced chemistry cells (ACC) recycling as >95 per cent of the original critical minerals can be recovered from these ACC batteries and reused in cell manufacturing.
Government should focus on capacity building at all levels, along with upskilling and reskilling with respect to EVs.
NITI Aayog is working with IITs to nudge them to start EV-specific courses.
“Shoonya – Zero pollution Mobility” is a consumer and corporate-facing campaign hosted by NITI Aayog.
The campaign aims to accelerate the transition of vehicles used for ride-hailing and deliveries into EVs by creating awareness and demand for zero-pollution rides and deliveries in Indian cities.