EV-charging stations: India to use three technologies

India will deploy both CHAdeMO and Combined Charging System (CCS) fast-charging technologies, besides the existing Bharat Standard, at its public electric vehicle charging stations.

According to sources in the Power Ministry, now the push will be to have Bharat Standard, CHAdeMO and CCS charging points at all public stations.

Earlier, there were indications that the Power Ministry wanted to have just one of the two fast-charging technologies for each public EV charging station to cut costs (from ₹25 lakh for all three to ₹10-12 lakh for Bharat Standard and any one of the two).

But for India, the shift to EV is quicker in two- and three-wheelers where fast-charging technology does not make economic sense right now. “Fast chargers for two- and three-wheelers are too expensive and the vehicles currently plying in India do not conform to them. Globally, the two and three-wheeler EVs are predominantly charged using standard 15 Ampere charging boards,” an industry observer said. For now, the electric two and three-wheelers would prefer using their standard (slow) chargers which can conveniently be charged at any plug point. This is approach is cheaper and widely adopted throughout the regions where two and three-wheeler EVs proliferate.

Even though all three of these are fast chargers, Bharat Standard is a low voltage charging technology (72 volts – 200 volts) and can only be used to charge the Mahindra and Tata electric vehicles and similar vehicles present in the domestic market, an official told BusinessLine. The CCS and CHAdeMO chargers are high voltage chargers (200 volt and above) and the newly-launched Hyundai Kona will be the first vehicle in the country that can use these fast chargers. Kona will be charged using CHAdeMO.

“Currently, EESL has 55 public electric vehicle charging stations in Delhi. We are going to sign an agreement for setting more of them up in Noida and Gurgaon within a month. And then aim to set up 150 stations in NCR within the next 3 months,” Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director at Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, said.

“The charging stations have one slot vacant which will have both CCS and CHAdeMO charger (in one composite system). These chargers will start to be installed in August,” Kumar added.