Charging infrastructure planning for electric vehicle in India: Present status and future challenges

Abstract

The challenge to deal with environmental contamination along with national goals such as energy security, reliability, and self-dependency due to depleting fossil fuel resources has motivated researchers to find an alternate solution in the transport sector. Due to this, electrification of the transport sector has become an achievable solution that has caught attention with increasing penetration in the market share. India is a participant in the Paris Agreement which aims to curtail the production of greenhouse gases and limit the escalating temperature. Public intervention and changes in policy and regulations are the key aspects of this technological transition. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) engine-based vehicles, the consumers’ frame of mind concerns about adapting to e-mobility is anxiety over charging times and driving range. Thus, the development of charging stations plays a crucial role in promoting electric vehicles (EVs). This study investigates to identify different barriers that exist in the Indian context related to the adoption of e-mobility. Furthermore, this work emphasizes the recent developments in charging infrastructure planning in India. Also, the status of the installed charging stations is examined. Developing appropriate charging stations are associated with several challenges which are also highlighted to provide guidance to public and private entities that can be adopted in their respective business model. The low EV adoption rate is considerably low compared to other countries having the second largest population and seventh largest country; there is a long path to match the growth rate. Hence it becomes essential to develop a robust and suitable charging infrastructure to promote the sale and use of EVs in India.