India will soon be able to benefit from an innovative low-cost Electric Vehicle (EV) charge point that can accelerate the adoption of Electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers. A forthcoming Indian Standard will allow a rapid scaling up of EV charging infrastructure that is much needed in the country.

The share of Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) two-wheelers and three-wheelers is almost 84 per cent of total vehicle sales in our country. Therefore, the fastest adoption of EVs is expected to be in two-wheelers and three-wheelers.

Any charging solution to serve this sector must be highly scalable, easily accessible by the public; it should support interoperability, and be affordable. Most systems developed across the globe address higher levels of power and are very expensive for wide-spread deployment.

Thus the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the Government of India, in close coordination with the NITI Aayog team had taken on this challenge.

“A committee involving all the key stakeholders including EV manufacturers, auto and electronic component suppliers, power utilities, and communication service providers has worked in fast-track mode to develop specifications, prototype products, and undertake testing and validation of the proposed standards. These will be formally issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS),” the Office of PSA to the Government of India said in a statement.

The group had set a target price of less than Rs 3,500 ($50) for a smart AC charge point operated with a smartphone, for a global breakthrough in affordable EV charging infrastructure.

Several Indian manufacturers are already on board to make this Charge Point Device, as per Indian Standards, with target prices starting as low as Rs 3,500. The Low-Cost AC Chargepoint (LAC) device is intended to be highly scalable and deployed in any place where a 220V 15A single phase line is available – mainly targeting parking lots of metro and railway stations, shopping malls, hospitals, office complexes, apartments and even kirana and other shops.

The draft Indian Standard has been taken up by the BIS committee on electromobility standards. The formal release of the standards will be done within the next two months, after completion of field and durability trials of sample products.