NITI Aayog Releases Draft Battery Swapping Policy

By Ameena Ameena - Apr 26 2022

NITI Aayog Releases Draft Battery Swapping Policy

What is the news :

  • Government think tank NITI Aayog on Thursday (April 21) released the draft battery swapping policyfor electric vehicles (EVs) in the country.
  • The policy aims to improve  efficiency of the battery swapping ecosystem for electric scooters and three-wheeler electric rickshaws, thereby driving EV adoption.

Background :

  • During the COP26 summit in Glasgow, India committed to reduce carbon emission intensity by 45%, and take our non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030 and meet 50% of our energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030, and finally achieve the Net Zero target by 2070. The road transport sector is one of the major contributors to CO2 emissions and accords to one third of the particulate matter emissions.
  • To decarbonize the transport sector, transition to clean mobility, led by electric vehicles, is paramount. Electric mobility represents a viable option to meet these commitments,while packed with innovative business solutions, appropriate technology, and support infrastructure. Several supporting initiatives have been implemented, such as the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric (Hybrid) Vehicles in India (FAME) I and II, and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) for National Programme on Advanced Cell (ACC) Battery Storage (NPACC), to boost indigenous battery manufacturing capacity. State governments are developing complementary policies to promote EV adoption.

  • India’s e-mobility revolution is led by the two-wheeler (2W) and three-wheeler (3W) vehicle segments. 2Ws account for 70-80% of all private vehicles, whereas 3Ws play a critical role for last mile connectivity in cities. While the upfront costs for EVs are typically higher than internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts, these are offset by lower operations and maintenance costs over its lifetime which has brought the total cost of ownership of electric vehicles at par with ICE vehicles.

Battery swapping :

  • Battery swapping is an alternative which involves exchanging discharged batteries for charged ones. Battery Swapping de-links the vehicle and fuel (Battery in this case) and hence reduces the upfront cost of the vehicles. Battery swapping is popularly used for smaller vehicles such as 2 and 3 wheelers which have smaller batteries that are easier to swap compared to other automotive segments wherein the same can be implemented mechanically. Battery swapping offers three key advantages relative to charging: it is time, space, and cost efficient, provided each swappable battery is actively used. Further, Battery Swapping provides level playing field to innovative and sustainable business models such as ‘Battery As a Service’.
  • Considering the constraint of space in urban areas for setting up charging stations at scale, Hon’ble Finance Minister in her Budget Speech 2022-23 announced that The Government of India will be introducing Battery Swapping policy and interoperability standards in order to improve efficiency in the EV Ecosystem.
  • In this regard, NITI Aayog held an inter-ministerial discussion to formulate a robust and comprehensive Battery Swapping policy framework in February 2022. NITI Aayog also held an extensive pre-draft stakeholder discussion with a wide spectrum of stakeholders representing Battery Swapping Operators, Battery Manufacturers, Vehicle OEMs, Financial Institutions, CSOs, Think Tanks and other experts.

About The Policy

Policy Overviews:

  • This Policy stipulates the minimum technical and operational requirements that battery swapping ecosystems would need to fulfil, to enable effective, efficient, reliable, safe, and customer-friendly implementation of battery-swapping infrastructure.
  • This Policy highlights the possible ways in which various national and sub-national government agencies and Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) may provide direct and indirect financial support to Battery Providers (for the cost of batteries) and EV users (for the upfront cost of purchasing EVs), with the aim of driving EV adoption by lowering the costs of EVs for users, relative to ICE vehicles.
  • This Policy emphasizes enabling innovation in adoption of possible business models, and derisking the investment in required infrastructure to encourage private sector participation and attract affordable financing.
  • This Policy underlines the importance of re-use of end-of-first-life swappable batteries and recycling of end-of-life batteries. This Policy also lays the groundwork to create unique battery codes for ACC batteries falling  under this Policy.  Finally, this Policy lays down an institutional framework to facilitate on-ground implementation of the required battery-swapping infrastructure and to realize the stated policy objectives.

Need of battery swapping Method :

  • With existing technologies for e-2Ws and e-3Ws, regular charging takes at least 3 to 4 hours, adding to inconvenience and creating range anxiety.
  • The resulting vehicle downtime is particularly significant for freight and shared mobility vehicles. Whereas, battery swapping is done in minutes, as the batteries are pre-charged in swapping stations.
  • Charging stations require more space, since vehicles need to be parked next to the chargers during the charging process.
  • Battery swapping stations can stack multiple batteries on top of each other, and require limited parking, which would address space constraints in urban areas.
  • While battery swapping involves a greater number of batteries than conventional batteries, each swappable battery can be smaller in capacity (kWh), since range anxiety is a smaller concern.

The key objectives of this policy are to:

  1. Promote swapping of batteries with Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) batteries to decouple battery costs from the upfront costs of purchasing EVs, thereby driving EV adoption.
  2. Offer flexibility to EV users by promoting the development of battery swapping as an alternative to charging facilities.
  3. Establish principles behind technical standards that would enable the interoperability of components within a battery swapping ecosystem, without hindering market-led innovation
  4. Leverage policy and regulatory levers to de-risk the battery swapping ecosystem, to unlock access to competitive financing.
  5. Encourage partnerships among battery providers, battery OEMs and other relevant partners such insurance/financing, thereby encouraging the formation of ecosystems capable of delivering integrated services to end users.
  6. Promote better lifecycle management of batteries, including maximizing the use of batteries during their usable lifetime, and end of life battery recycling.

Recent news of NITI aayog :

NITI Aayog launches state energy and climate index

  • NITI Aayog has launched the State Energy & Climate Index-Round I on 11thApril 2022 at an event chaired by Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog.
  • Top Three States among Larger States Category:
  1. Gujarat
  2. Kerala
  3. Punjab
  • Top Three States among Smaller States Category:
  1. Goa
  2. Tripura
  3. Manipur
  • Top Three UTs:
  1. Chandigarh
  2. Delhi
  3. Daman & Diu/Dadra & Nagar Haveli

NITI Aayog, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and RMI India release ‘Banking on Electric Vehicles in India’ report

  • NITI Aayog, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), and RMI India released a report, titled ‘Banking on Electric Vehicles in India’, which outlines the importance of priority-sector recognition for retail lending in the electric mobility ecosystem.
  • The report provides considerations and recommendations to inform the inclusion of EVs in the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) priority-sector lending (PSL) guidelines.
  • Banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) in India have the potential to achieve an electric vehicle (EV) financing market size of Rs 40,000 crore (USD 5 billion) by 2025 and Rs 3.7 lakh crore (USD 50 billion) by 2030.

Cabinet approves extension of Atal Innovation Mission

  • The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved continuation of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), till March 2023. The AIM shall work on its intended target of creating an innovation culture and entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country. This will be done by AIM via its various programs.
  • The intended targets that will be achieved by AIM are:
  • Establishing 10000 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs),
  • Establishing 101 Atal Incubation Centers (AICs),
  • Establishing 50 Atal Community Innovation Centers (ACICs) and
  • Supporting 200 startups via the Atal New India Challenges.

NITI Aayog and FAO Launch Book Titled Indian Agriculture towards 2030

  • Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW) Narendra Singh Tomar released a book titled Indian Agriculture towards 2030: Pathways for Enhancing Farmers’ Income, Nutritional Security and Sustainable Food and Farm Systems, at an event organized by NITI Aayog and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

NITI Aayog in association with PhonePe launches the Fintech Open Hackathon

  • As a part of the Fintech Open Month, NITI Aayog in association with PhonePe will be hosting the first-ever open-to-all Hackathon event for ideating and coming up with the most creative solutions for the FinTech space.
  • The Hackathon will provide an opportunity for innovators, digital creators and developers from all over India to think, ideate and code

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