Nagpur EV project expanding, says Gadkari
India is looking to adopt the London transport model at number of its cities in a move to reduce the high level of pollution from traffic.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is engaging with London transport authority to work out synergies in implementing the same model in various cities like Varanasi, Nagpur and Pune among others, said Minister Nitin Gadkari.
There is a lot of potential from the London Transport Model to enhance e-mobility in India, he stressed at the ‘Smart Mobility Conference’ organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in New Delhi on 20 Nov 2017.
“Public transport running on biofuel and electricity is the focus of the government as it would be environment friendly and cost effective” said Gadkari.
He pointed out that India is an electric-surplus and coal surplus country and the nation can capitalize on this advantage to become an all-electric vehicle hub in the world.
The country’s first electric vehicles project in Nagpur is progressing on with 200 electric taxis along with 200 charging stations.
By December 2017, charging capacity of more than 10,000 cars will be created in Nagpur where the government is planning to increase the number of electric taxis to 2000.
Increasing production will also reduce the cost of lithium-ion battery over time, which almost makes up for 40% of the total cost of an electric vehicle.
Emphasizing the need of pollution-free methanol as fuel in vehicles, the Minister cited the example of Sweden, where an efficient system has been developed for substituting diesel by methanol as fuel.
He added that, research in converting carbon dioxide to methanol is promising and can be a game changer for the economy.
Gadkari highlighted that cost effective, indigenous, import substitute and pollution free electric vehicles is the smart mobility solution for India.
FICCI President Pankaj R Patel said new business models and disruptive technologies in the field of mobility are going to bring about a significant change in “our daily lives through effective mobility management”.
The government’s efforts to embrace this future-oriented mobility ecosystem will go a long way in making India the hub of smart mobility in the world, said Patel, also Chairman & Managing Director, Zydus Cadila – Cadila Healthcare Limited in his welcome address.
Meanwhile, a report by FICCI-Rocky Mountain Institute, ‘Enabling India’s Transition to Electric Mobility, highlights the way forward to accelerate electric mobility in India by addressing key areas of public transportation, shared mobility services, interoperable transport data, EV charging infrastructure and manufacturing.
FICCI will coordinate with the government and the industry on devising a roadmap for transition to smart mobility through stakeholder meetings, policy representation to the government and by working on in-house research reports for dissemination of required information to the stakeholders. fii-news.com
