Blog: NITI proposes : NITIN disposes

Monday, 20 November 2017

NITI proposes : NITIN disposes

Economic Times ( 21 Nov ) carries following news :

“ Niti’s Battery Swapping Pitch Not Viable , says Gadkari “

Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has said official think tank NITI Aayog’s battery swapping policy for accelerated adoption of electric and shared vehicles is not viable and hence wouldn’t work.

“The battery swapping policy I feel is not appropriate for the country because it is a very difficult thing,” the minister said at the Smart Mobility Conference organised by industry association FICCI on Monday.

Niti Aayog has been advocating standardised, smart and swappable batteries with lease or pay-per-use business models.

Gadkari said his department was working on the plan of providing the charging infrastructure across the country.

“We are working on the charging system that can reduce the charge time to 15-20 minutes,” he said.

The cost of lithium ion batteries has been slashed by 40% and mass production could lead to further reduction in prices, Gadkari added. There are 12 manufacturers of lithium ion battery.

Reacting to this “ Breaking News “ on CNBC TV last evening, Shri Abhay Firodia ( President , SIAM ) said :

“ Even within the Auto Industry, views on swappable batteries are evenly divided . Within a few days , we plan to submit to the Transport Minister , a white paper on the subject of change-over to Electric Vehicles . We want the Government to come out with a Road-Map on this subject “

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And Shri Anand Mahindra said :

“ Many years back , we had introduced swappable batteries on our 2-wheelers , However this did not work out – but for reasons of mechanical design

I wonder what big announcement will Shri Gadkari make next “

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That BIG ANNOUNCEMENT could well be :

· ISRO will make available ( for FREE ) , to any Indian Manufacturer , its technology of Electric Vehicles ( of course , excluding 2 wheelers ), where the solar panel mounted roof will , continuously charge a small Lithium Ion battery as long as the vehicle is under sunlight. The small battery can be re-charged at night using a 5 Amp domestic electric outlet

· This innovation ( so vividly demonstrated by the Dutch and the Germans , at the Australian Solar Car Challenge , last month , for a 5 seater regular sedan , which travelled 3000 km , without any charging along the route and at ave speed of 80 km / hour ) , will mean , there will be no need for battery charging infrastructure

· Elimination of Battery Charging Infrastructure , will save the country , an investment of Rs 195 Lakh*Crore