Sunday, 26 August 2018

EESL : Getting Away from Straitjacket ?






Following news appeared in Eco Times ( 22 Aug ) :




  
Extract :

State owned Energy Efficiency Services, which leads the country’s energy efficiency and conservation drive, has thrown open a challenge for entrepreneurs and start ups “ to develop electric cars that are more efficient in terms of performance and cheaper “ than what it had sought in its e-car tender last year


EESL…. Has sought variants of electric cars that can run 200 km or more in a single charge and is priced not more than Rs 10 lakh


The solutions , if viable, will be scaled up and commercialized BY EESL ……


EESL has also sought ,

#  solutions in the field of Charging Stations , which is instrumental for the success of
    electric mobility initiative in India
   

“ We are trying to go away from the straitjacket approach “ ,  Kumar told ET




While welcoming EESL’s intention of “ going away from straitjacket “ , following questions arise :


·         Is this “ challenge “, open to “ Indian Entrepreneurs and Start Ups “ only, or is it also open to existing Electric Car manufacturers ( both local and foreign ) ?


·         Are the participants required to submit “ Conceptual Designs “ only or also “ Manufacturing Drawings “ / “ Working Prototype “ as well  ?



I could not find any answers to these on EESL web site  


Nor any mention of this “ challenge “  or any tabulation  of “ Minimum Specifications / Performance Criteria “


·         World over , existing car manufacturers are “ forward integrating “

[   Car manufacturing  >  Ride sharing   >  Car leasing   ]




Now EESL is not a “ Car Manufacturer “


After “ Buying “ from manufacturers , EESL is “ Leasing  E-Cars “ to various Govt departments


Why does it want to “ backward integrate “ into “ Car Manufacturing “ ?


News report reads :

 “ The solutions , if viable, will be scaled up and commercialized BY EESL “



EESL is planning to replace existing govt fleet of 500,000 petrol / diesel vehicles with electric vehicles , in next 3 – 4 years ( as per EESL web site )


By “ commercialization “ if EESL plans to manufacture e-cars , it will require EESL to set up its own “ Manufacturing Facility “ with a capacity to produce , 50,000 cars per year ( a sales value of Rs 5,000 Cr @ Rs 10 lakh / car )


If we assume a “ Capital Output Ratio “ of 1 : 1 for this industry , then that would require a Capital Investment of Rs 5,000 crore  !


Unless EESL plans that proposed  “ commercialization “ ( of the winning design ) by “ sub-contracting “ the actual manufacturing to one or more , existing E Car manufacturers


     If “ sub-contracting “ is the idea , why go through this entire “ Challenge Exercise “ ?
Why not just contact the 38 existing e – car manufacturers , encouraging them to set up manufacturing facilities in India ? [ TATA and M&M are already producing ]


If assured of guaranteed order from EESL [ say 25,000 cars each per year , to two selected manufacturers ] , they will be happy to make cars as per winning design


If at all , there has to be a “ Challenge “ , it should read :


“ E Car with a range of 100 km / charge and costing no more than Rs 7 lakh


  It should have Solar Panel mounted roof top to continuously charge a small Li-ion Battery which can be also charged overnight at home , using a standard 220 V domestic outlet 



No need for any roadside “ Battery Charging Infrastructure “ , no “ Range Anxiety “ for the buyers , no need for any Subsidy ( under FAME II  being launched in Sept and expected to cost Rs 5,500 crores ) ! 


In that case , following parties might get interested :





SONO  Motors  (  https://sonomotors.com/  )


Specs :
·         Range  >  250 Km

·         Price    >  Euro 16,000 ( Rs 13 lakh )


·         330 integrated solar cells mounted on top , sides , front / rear hoods , to charge battery while under sun . Can be charged at home using domestic outlet , in 13 hours ( overnight charging )

·         Bidirectional charging enables charging of home electronic devices , from SONO car battery



·         SONO eliminates need for road-side Battery Charging Stations but can be charged in 3.5 hours




LIGHTYEAR   (  https://lightyear.one/  )



·         Range   >    400 km to  800 km

·         Price     >    Euro  119,000  (  Rs 96. Lakhs )


·         Battery charged by solar power but can also be charged at home using standard domestic outlet



OUR VERY OWN ISRO


·         Way back in May 2017 , ISRO demonstrated a OMNI van fitted with Solar panels on its roof , charging a relatively small Lithium-ion Battery ( also developed by ISRO and now in the process of being licensed to several Indian firms


 Read :
Further Reference :




27  Aug 2018


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