🏎️ E-highways: The Spark India's EVs Need?
From pollution to solution: can e-highways boost India's EV adoption?
The electric vehicle revolution has taken over the world.
While it has been embraced all over the world, it often comes with an unwanted by-product: anxiety.
Anxiety over the lack of charging stations. The anxiety of being stranded in the middle of a highway because your EV ran out of charge.
For every 393 EVs in India, there is ONLY 1 charging station.
China has 6 EVs per changing station.
The government may have finally found a solution for this too: e-highways.
Today we’re looking at two things:
What are e-highways?
How can they help India?
So, put on your seat belts and ReadOn!
🪄 Magical Roads Coming Soon?
POV: You’re one of the main characters of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. You’re going on a road trip with your friends after 4 years (yes, with Bagwati).
Everything is in full ZNMD style.
Except, you’re in an electric vehicle (EV).
Ah, in comes the anxiety of finding a charging station every few hours. Worrying about not getting a lift after being stranded in the middle of nowhere?
Naah, the journey is as smooth and carefree as in the song ‘Khaabon ke Parindey’.
Sounds like magic? A dream come true?
Well, you can thank the Indian government (or should we call it the Genie) for making this dream come true with e-highways or e-corridors.
These highways have one goal: provide you with a continuous power supply while you’re driving.
How is this done?
There are two ways:
Through overhead wire systems.
Through charging infrastructure that is directly built on the road.
The first option is relatively simple: when cars want to charge, they can connect with the overhead wires and get charged super fast.
The second option is a bit more complicated.
It includes building rails into the roads that can connect with the vehicle and charge it.
For this, vehicles will also need a charging extension that can connect to the rails.
So, while your EV is moving, you can click one button and start charging your vehicle, while you are driving. And you can remove the charger when you’re done or when you want to overtake another vehicle.
Simple, no?
This will not only end charging anxiety and boost EV adoption, but also help the economy:
This will reduce tonnes of carbon emissions and help save the planet
We will no longer be dependent on other countries for fossil fuels, saving Rs. 1.1 lakh crore!
To achieve these goals, the government is reportedly in talks with Siemens, the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe, to build e-highways in India.
Though the news of the new e-highway is not yet confirmed, our Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari had also announced last year that India would build an electric highway between Delhi and Mumbai which would be powered by solar energy and cost approximately Rs. 2.5 lakh crores.
Will these roads be worth the cost?
🤷♀️Magic Can Only Do So Much…
India is planning to create e-highways with the overhead charging system.
But this move could only benefit large vehicles like commercial buses and trucks as there will be a limit to how low the overhead wires can get.
So, why aren’t we building the second type of e-highways which would be able to charge all kinds of vehicles?
Well, we would have to dig existing roads to develop this infrastructure. This would cost money and time, lots of it.
Possible result? More traffic jams.
Plus, these roads could be super prone to destruction.
Imagine your car is charging and you forget to unplug it before you overtake another car: this could damage the road and your vehicle.
Umm, so more anxiety? Combined with damage scares?!
Breathe. There is a solution to this too: wireless charging roads.
That's what Formula E (Formula One with electric cars) has done.
This method uses the same tech as our wireless charging phones.
The only problem:
(It’s all about the money)
And it might be impossible to achieve at scale.
So, e-highways may not be the ultimate problem solvers for us.
But they could still make India a lot greener.
And for those who are still not into EVs because of range anxiety or quality problems, there are a lot of other green options that are coming up.
Like hydrogen-based cars, hybrid cars, and biofuel-based cars.
So, India's future looks clean, green and exciting.
What other steps do you think the government should take to boost EVs and green transportation? And should we bet on EVs as the future green transport or should we place our bets on hydrogen-powered vehicles?
Share this with your friends via WhatsApp and help them declutter news from noise! See you tomorrow :)
You can also listen to our stories. Catch it on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Gaana or Jio Saavn.
If you are coming here for the very first time: Don’t forget to join us on WhatsApp to get daily updates! 👇