The transportation sector accounts for nearly 30% of India’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Transitioning to electric vehicles powered by clean energy can significantly reduce emissions and air pollution from the transport industry. Lithium-ion batteries are playing a pivotal role in accelerating green mobility by enabling the electrification of vehicles across vehicle segments, from two- and three-wheelers to commercial vehicles.
Forklifts Leading the Charge
Warehouse and logistics operations involve significant material handling, using forklifts for lifting and transporting goods. Transitioning from diesel-powered forklifts to electric lithium-ion battery-operated forklifts can eliminate onsite air and noise pollution, reduce fuel costs, and lower the carbon footprint.
Electric forklifts powered by lithium-ion batteries offer higher efficiency and performance than the traditionally used lead-acid batteries. Lithium-ion batteries have a 3–4 times longer lifespan with minimal performance degradation over battery life cycles. Battery capacities can be flexibly customized based on application requirements for optimal productivity. Further, features like fast charging enable non-stop operations 24×7 by reducing downtime.
Major logistics players and e-commerce companies are increasingly deploying electric forklifts with lithium-ion batteries in their warehouses and fulfillment centers. Electric forklifts now account for over 30% of annual forklift sales globally, indicating their rapid mainstream adoption.
Charging Ahead on Two-Wheelers
Two-wheelers constitute over 75% of vehicles on Indian roads. Transitioning from petrol-run two-wheelers to electric two-wheelers powered by lithium-ion batteries can drive faster adoption of affordable personal green mobility.
Advances in lithium-ion cell chemistries have led to significant improvements in energy density, allowing compact batteries to deliver a higher vehicle range per charge. Most electric two-wheeler models today can deliver 75-100 km of range on a single charge, which is adequate to cover the daily commute for most users. Higher range alleviates concerns over range anxiety associated with EV adoption.
Lithium-ion batteries also offer high cycle life, retaining over 80% of their original capacity even after 1000+ charge/discharge cycles. This ensures consistent performance over 3+ years of typical usage. Further, smart BMS helps protect batteries from damage to enhance safety and longevity.
The lower running costs of electric two-wheelers, driven by lower maintenance needs than petrol two-wheelers, along with exemption from road tax and registration charges in many states, improve TCO parity with petrol variants. This will drive faster mass-market adoption.
Electric Rickshaws Taking Over Cities
E-rickshaws have emerged as a popular means of last-mile connectivity and passenger movement within cities. Transitioning from diesel or CNG variants to electric rickshaws powered by lithium batteries eliminates direct emissions and noise. Given their stop-start duty cycles, e-rickshaws require high current discharge capabilities from batteries to allow faster acceleration and climbing of flyovers. Lithium-ion batteries offer high charge and discharge efficiencies coupled with a long cycle life to reliably meet performance needs and minimize battery replacement costs.
Further, smart BMS protects batteries from overcharging and deep discharging, enhancing safety and prolonging battery life. Dual battery configurations allow continuous operations while one battery is charging.
Government subsidies and lower operating costs are accelerating the adoption of electric rickshaws. Many cities are proactively switching to electric rickshaws. Delhi has capped permits for diesel rickshaws and offers incentives on e-rickshaw purchases.
The Road Ahead
The transition to green mobility is integral for India to meet its climate commitments and improve air quality in cities. The electrification of vehicles across segments will play a key role. Advances in lithium-ion batteries are enabling this critical transition by alleviating range anxiety and total cost of ownership concerns across vehicle categories, from two-wheelers to buses to commercial vehicles.
Further, smart charging solutions can optimize EV charging loads on grids through features like scheduling charging during off-peak hours. Battery swapping models can also accelerate adoption by reducing downtime for charging. The future looks greener and cleaner as innovations in lithium-ion batteries charged by renewable energy will power the wider adoption of electric vehicles on Indian roads.
The positive environmental and economic impacts of vehicle electrification at scale can be multiplied by leveraging clean energy sources for EV charging. Integrating solar energy can enable truly emission-free green mobility. Solar carports with charging infrastructure can be installed at parking lots of corporate offices, malls, apartments, etc. to harness sunlight for charging employees’ and visitors’ EVs.
Solar rooftop systems can also power EV charging stations. Further, grid-connected solar power plants send excess solar energy to grids during daylight hours, which can be utilized for overnight EV charging. Waaree has executed over 5 GW of solar projects, powering the equivalent of over 1 million EVs. As India targets 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, a massive expansion of solar energy generation is slated. Solar energy integration into the EV charging ecosystem will amplify the sustainability benefits of electric mobility. With its expertise in developing high-efficiency solar modules paired with strategic collaborations with leading lithium-ion battery and EV manufacturers,
Waaree is uniquely positioned to deliver integrated clean energy solutions for e-mobility, from solar panels to battery storage systems and smart charging infrastructure. Get in touch with our experts or visit our official website to make your EV transition renewable, profitable, and sustainable.