Electric Vehicles: Why Are They Expensive In India? How Can We Make Them Safer? Here's What Experts Have To Say

As India plans a greener future with electric mobility playing a key role in it, here’s a look at how the EV industry is holding up in the country.

Climate change is a fact that is hard to ignore with the environment becoming more concerning with each passing day. The huddle on various global platforms is directed towards driving a sustainable and possible solution to decarbonise our planet. However, more actions are required. The world is now inclined towards renewable energy to replace what was made available to mankind since the beginning of time. Yes, there is no doubt in the statement that “electric mobility is the future”.  

 

Electric energy has various forms and uses, but the most lucrative, as is seen and discussed, are electric vehicles (EVs). Countries are moving towards a cleaner environment by reducing vehicular carbon emissions to the maximum extent possible. India, too, is working on the same line. The Indian government and the industry have been pushing through this sector to make it more and more viable for the people.    

 

However, there are certain concerns that are around EVs regarding price and safety that have put consumers away from the wheels that are likely to lead the market in the future. Besides this, the revolution in the area is also hidden from the general masses.  

 

ABP Live discussed these issues with some experts who shed light on the way ahead for EVs, innovation, and much more. 

 

Consumers And Market Discomfort: Why Are EVs Expensive?  

 

To answer it simply — batteries. They are the prime reason for expensive electric vehicles in India. When we import batteries, the machinery and technology required therein cost a lot, which altogether costs a fortune for many. 

 

Shedding light on the cost of EVs, Moushumi Mohanty, Senior Programme Manager and Head of Electric Mobility, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), told ABP Live that EVs run on batteries that have ingredients that come from very far away.  

 

“They travel from South America and Australia to precursor material and electrode manufacturers in China before becoming part of a battery cell and then they are imported here. In India, the cells are assembled into packs,” Mohanty said. 

 

She further explained, “We don't manufacture cells yet. The government offers a production-linked incentive and there are three players who have been selected for receiving those incentives. There have been multiple announcements of battery capacity being built around the country, but they will take time to come online.”

 

Mohanty elaborated on how things have become costly as far as EVs are concerned. “The reason why they are expensive is because the EV drivetrain includes a battery which forms about 40-45% of the cost. High demand for battery materials has been pushing up costs which led to a big spike in the battery cost in 2022. It went up to as high as $155/kWh.”

 

"Battery comprises materials from all over the globe. Some parts come from Australia, some other parts are from Chile, Bolivia, Russia, etc," she added.

 

 

 

Consumers Are Becoming More Aware

Nitin Kapoor, Managing Director, Saera Electric Auto, noted how EVs have become more acceptable for consumers these days, despite being heavy on pockets.  

 

He said, “The good part is that people are now more aware of EVs and their acceptability and popularity have increased. And I think the reason for having this awareness is the initiatives taken by the Government on this.”  

 

Kapoor mentioned how consumers are looking forward to better technology, electronics, and new concepts which come with an EV.  

 

“People have become more conscious because of environmental change and global warming. If you talk about the middle class, and the higher class, both are very well aware of the consequences of this change and so, they are also taking it as their responsibility to shift to this [electric mobility] for the betterment of the environment,” he added.    

 

Kapoor said, “All these cells [lithium-ion] are being imported mainly from China, and some other countries as well. So, for lithium batteries, we are still dependent on other nations.”     

 

 

EVs On Fire: Reasons And Remedies

In the last two to three years, concerns were raised among consumers about the safety of EVs after several reports and social media posts surfaced around stationary two-wheelers catching on fire out of a sudden. A few companies in the business even issued statements that they would check what the problem is and till then, will put the sale of the concerned vehicle on hold.  

 

CSE’s Mohanty explained in detail why the fire incidents happened. She said that there are essentially two types of EV batteries Indian EV manufacturers use. One is the Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide cathode-based battery cell — popularly known as NMC — and the other is the Lithium Iron Phosphate cathode-based cell called LFP. 

 

NMC cell batteries are energy dense, which means that they allow travel for larger distances with a single charge compared to the LFP-powered EV. Mohanty said that EVs are said to catch on fire due to the ambient heat outside the vehicle. But that is technically not what is happening here. She said that the batteries ‘should not’ burn at all.  

 

“The battery catches fire because of a short circuit. NMC batteries have Oxide cathodes, which contain Oxygen which helps the fire to burn.” 

 

Such situations can be avoided by ensuring that the cell is of good quality, has passed all abuse testing procedures, adheres to the 80%-20% charging spectrum and is armed with an effective battery management system. “One big function of the battery management system is to try and detect [the cause for the fire]. For this purpose, sensors play a very important role – temperature sensors and smoke sensors.” 

 

She suggested that having an effective battery management system in place is a solution for this. “One big function of the battery management system is to try and detect [the cause for the fire]. If there is a rise in temperature, sensors are very important. So are gas sensors and smoke sensors.”   

 

Mohanty said that there is a lot of work happening on this in the country. Apart from work on battery, laboratories in the country are working on next-generation battery chemistries such as sodium ion as well as lithium solid-state batteries. “Sodium is very easily available, is safe and offers fast charging. Solid state can be super-safe because of the absence of the liquid electrolyte,” she explained.

 

Saera’s Kapoor said that EV is a new technology, and the industry is trying to make it popular. He said that the Centre has taken the initiative to bring new tech into the sector, adding that “if there is any new technology, definitely in the beginning, there can be certain challenges.”  

 

Kapoor said that manufacturers have taken note of these fire incidents and what is important is that they are taking corrective actions. “A joint meeting was set up for the manufacturers of these electric vehicles, as well as the battery manufactures then.”

 

However, Kapoor added that the climate change and soaring temperatures have become a challenge for the manufacturers which was not anticipated by the manufacturers at all. “The major reason has been global warming. About 25 to 30 years back, the average temperature of Delhi was not this much, and now in the summer, it is reaching up to 45-46 degrees Celsius. So, the battery, which is being sent in a closed container is tackling such a temperature outside, the temperature inside it rises more resulting in what we have seen,” he said.  

 

Both Mohanty and Kapoor said that the industry has taken measures and these incidents have fairly reduced. Mohanty also advised, “Let's plan our batteries in such a way that we do not have fires. Let's have control of our materials.”      

 

Nakul Mehan, co-founder and CTO of Sheru, an energy storage Web service startup, said that he wants people to feel safe while using an EV.

 

Speaking with ABP Live, he said that incidents of EVs catching fire reflect back on the entire community working in the industry. “People think it is unsafe to use,” he added.

 

“One of my primary purposes of coming here was that [EVs] should be promoted more. It is okay to let your two-wheeler cool down for five minutes rather than facing issues later,” he said.

 

However, Mehan added that EV technology is going to be revolutionary.

 

Do We Need More Charging Stations Now?    

The Government of India in March this year allotted Rs 800 crore to establish 7,432 EV charging stations across the country. When asked if the decision is rightly timed, Mohanty, who has been working on electric mobility for years, explained how these charging stations can bring down the prices of EVs.  

 

“If we have adequate charging stations, charging anxiety will become history. In addition, we may not need large batteries that store large amounts of energy. So, if we have more charging stations, do we need such a large battery? We can avail opportunity charging for quick top-ups, just like the way we use our petrol vehicles," she said.

 

If there was a dense charging network, manufacturers will begin making EVs with smaller batteries and that can bring down the cost of the vehicle.

 

Kapoor also raised a similar point on consumers’ “range anxiety”.  

 

“Customers have range anxiety in their mind. If we have to travel from [Delhi] to Kashmir or maybe to Kanyakumari or to Mumbai, we will never feel like going in an electric vehicle thinking about how will it be charged, whether we will get charging stations on the route or not. So, this anxiety has to end in some way. And for this, the charging stations are being now deployed to cover maximum areas. It will definitely help to boost the sales of electric vehicles,” he said.

 

 

 

EV Batteries And Waste Management    

 

With growing interest in the EV sector, concerns have been on the rise about the wastage that lithium and other batteries will accumulate after their life gets over. Though the batteries generally have cyclic lives where they can be reused again and again, it also ends after a certain time.  

 

Nitin Kapoor said that the industry is focused on this aspect also and is working to minimise waste. He added that certain regulations are in place to oversee battery waste management and laws are there to properly dispose of them.  

 

“The Government has also incentivised the industry to put in the disposable plants for this and given targets to the manufacturing companies,” Kapoor said.    

 

He further said that there are harsh penalties that are imposed on manufacturers if they don’t follow these regulations as far as battery waste disposal is concerned.  

 

Speaking on the issue, Sheru’s Mehan said that there have been a lot of efforts to manage battery waste. He said that efforts are being made to use the second life of the Lithium batteries and it is being done aggressively. Mehan added that institutes are developing recycling technologies to use the batteries again and again.

 

Mehan said that IITs are developing sustainable recycling and a fair amount of investment has been made into it by the government of India.

 

Focusing on batteries, Mehan said that these lithium batteries contain cobalt, nickel and manganese. “These are the valuable metals that actually constitute a major part of the cost of the cell. So recovering them, crushing it and going through the chemical processes can be done to recover it and then make a new battery out of it.”