Mention
Urban Mobility Lab: Think & do tank plans major makeover for Pune’s transportationedit
Pune promises to be the lighthouse that shows India the way forward. The city will be hosting the country’s first Urban Mobility Lab, a project involving the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) of the United States, and eight automotive companies. The lab would be developing innovative mobility solutions for Pune’s traffic, transport and road infrastructure issues. Solutions from the ‘Light House’ project would be tested in Pune before being rolled out across the country —Mumbai, Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam, Kochi and Bengaluru have been made scaling partners for the project.
An electric switch to e-carsedit
Is there an electric way out of Bengaluru’s vehicular pollution? Zero emission e-cars, e-autos and electric buses could potentially arrest the city’s dangerous descent into a Delhi-like gas chamber. But no, without a robust charging infrastructure or an urgency to create it, e-mobility in this tech city is not going anywhere. Consider this: A Bengaluru company showed India how to develop and mass produce an electric car in 2001. Seventeen years later, this city that pioneered e-mobility in the country has only two public EV charging stations to show! And the second one was launched only last month at the office of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC).
Industry
EV-users want quick infra upgradeedit
The state government might have taken baby steps towards achieving an electric future by passing the Karnataka Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy 2017. But electric vehicle users in the city continue to be plagued by initial hiccups. Says Sagar H M, an auto enthusiast from Hebbal: “There continues to be a lack of charging infrastructure in the city and even if there is a point, only one person is able to charge at one time. If we are to move to an electric only future this is definitely going to be insufficient.”
E-vehicle charging stations to come up every 25 km on Bengaluru-Mysuru highwayedit
Electric vehicle (EV) owners can soon travel to Mysuru without the worry of running out of charge. The state energy department is likely to set up EV charging stations every 25km on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway. A fully charged electric car can run up to 120km. A proposal has already been sent to the Union power ministry, sources said. The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom), along with Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC), will facilitate 18 stations on either side from Kengeri to Columbia Asia Hospital in Mysuru.
Electric car, EV sales increase two fold in India – 56k EVs sold in FY 2018edit
In view of the 100% electric mobility plan by 2030, two wheeler sales have seen two fold growth over the past two years while sales of four wheelers have significantly diminished. As per data released by Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles, sales of two wheelers have been growing over the years. In FY 15-16, sales of electric two wheelers stood at 20,000 units which increased to 23,000 units in FY16-17 while it witnessed a steep increase to 54,800 units in FY17-18.
Open Business: Soon You Can Set Up An Electric Vehicle Charging Station Without Any Special Licenseedit
While most of the indigenous automakers have shown interest in opening electric vehicle charging stations, the Government is ready to further boost the proposition. As per a senior government official, the opportunity to open up an EV charging station will now be available to all the individuals in the country without the requirement of any licence. There is no qualification criteria for anyone who would want to open up an electric charging station which essentially means that the possibility is open for everyone alike.
Challenges of electric mobility: Metal-air tech can emerge as a viable option for EVsedit
For electric vehicles (EVs) to gain momentum, India needs to promote R&D of alternative battery technologies to address issues such as range anxiety, total cost of ownership and the lack of proper charging infrastructure. Cost has been one of the biggest hurdles towards growth of EVs. While it is expected that after BS-VI implementation the cost dynamics will shift in favour of EVs, the battery cost continues to be a major concern. New technologies that use locally-available minerals and metal-air batteries can emerge as a viable option for long-range EVs.
International
Demand for copper is set to increase as electric vehicles market expands electricity clipartedit
According to a research by Freedonia Group, the Global demand for copper metal is projected to advance 4.2 % per year through 2019 to 36.0 million metric tons or valued at USD 261 billion. The International Copper Association describes copper as an extremely versatile metal with a long history of making the world work better, with electrical and thermal conductivity to its antimicrobial properties. One tonne of copper brings functionality to 40 cars, powers 60,000 mobile phones, enables operations in 400 computers, and distributes electricity to 30 homes.
Electric vehicles are Made in China — and Germany is worriededit
Germany has reportedly earmarked 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) to support a consortium looking to produce electric car battery cells and plans to fund a research facility to develop next-generation solid-state batteries as the home of BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen try to catch up with China and the rest of Asia.
Plans for electric vehicle battery production in Europeedit
Germany has earmarked 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) to support a consortium looking to produce electric car battery cells and plans to fund a research facility to develop next-generation solid-state batteries, three sources told Reuters. The measures, expected to be announced by Economy Minister Peter Altmaier next week, are designed to reduce the dependence of German carmakers on Asian battery suppliers and protect German jobs at risk from the shift away from combustion engines.