As India tries to reduce carbon emissions, many people are looking for electric vehicles (EVs) to help deal with the climate crisis. However, more electric cars on the road are only part of the equation. More importantly, the overall charging infrastructure of the electrified transportation sector can be maintained. In India, electric vehicle charging station operators (CPO) cannot be popularized. In Delhi alone, there are 78 public charging stations owned and operated by different CPOs, and access to them may require up to 10 different applications. There are also more CPO and charging applications outside of Delhi, which may be unique to these networks. This is known as the EV roaming issue, and a new report issued by the Energy, Environment and Water Commission (CEEW) and EV software startup eDRV points out the importance of introducing interoperability among Indian CPOs as a key priority. The interoperability between electric vehicle charging networks will apply to roaming within the current mobile phone coverage. Mobile phones do not require users to change SIM cards when traveling in various networks, and it is hoped that owners of electric vehicles can also enjoy the same freedom. Roaming already exists in most European countries and is currently being proposed as a new policy in the United States. However, since the welcoming promoters may be interested in the idea of roaming, implementing interoperability in India will require participants in the policy, commercial and technical sectors to provide solutions. In order to solve the complexity of mediating between these different interests, the CEEW report recommends the establishment of a centralized electric vehicle charging mechanism. Meghna Nair, one of the co-authors of the report, said: “In order to make chargers more accessible-participants in the electric vehicle charging field must cooperate. By actively adopting such cooperation, India can make it more accessible. The charging ecosystem faces the future.”
News Source: The Indian Express
