Uniform Safety Standards for EVs | 10 Oct 2022

Why in News?

To establish uniform safety standards for electric vehicles (EVs), India will begin its first ever testing of EVs from April 1, 2023.

• This comes amid concerns over multiple instances of fires in electric two-wheelers and four-wheelers in recent months.

What are the Key Points about EV Testing?

• Current Scenario:
  • As of now, there are no centralised testing facilities for EVs in India and manufacturers have their own benchmarks.
  • In June 2022, the first major step towards standardisation of battery technology was taken when the Bureau of Indian Standards issued performance norms for lithium-ion battery packs and traction systems in line with broader ISO norms.
• Latest Update:
  • The task for procuring the infrastructure needed to test battery-powered vehicles has been vested in the Pune-based Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).
  • The Ministry of Heavy Industries has allocated Rs 44 crore to ARAI to set up the requisite infrastructure for testing, certification, and development of electric and hybrid vehicles.
• Significance:
  • The EV testing push compliments the government’s redoubled focus on electric vehicles as well as on other forms of alternative fuel with a larger aim to reduce its crude import bill.
    • As per the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, the government is targeting to go all-electric in terms of new car sales in the country by 2030.
  • Adherence to the uniform standards would enhance product reliability, performance, and safety.
    • It would also make the entry barrier slightly tougher for non-serious players and ensure that only serious players get into production.

What are Electric Vehicles?

• About:
  • An EV operates on an electric motor instead of an internal combustion engine and has a battery instead of a fuel tank.
  • In general, EVs have low running costs as they have fewer moving parts and are also environmentally friendly.
    • In India, the fuel cost for an EV is approximately 80 paisa per kilometer.
• Current Scenario of EVs in India:
  • The push for Electric Vehicles (EVs) is driven by the global climate agenda established under the Paris Agreement to reduce carbon emissions in order to limit global warming.
  • As of June 2022, India had over 1.3 million electric vehicles — 50% of which are three-wheelers, a bulk of the remaining vehicles being two-wheelers, with four-wheelers making up the rest.
• India’s Initiatives to Support EVs:
  • Localisation of EV manufacturing through Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles Scheme-II (FAME-II)
  • PLI schemes for manufacturers in the automobile, automotive components and Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) to develop indigenous supply chains for critical EV components.
  • The government also revised its guidelines for charging infrastructure by including a revenue-sharing model for use of public land.
  • To boost sales, there also exist consumer-centric incentives - tax exemptions, subsidies and interest subvention schemes to trigger a mass demand for EV mobility options.
  • In April 2022, the NITI Aayog released the draft battery swapping policy for Electric Vehicles (EVs) in the country.
  • The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways recently extended the rollout of amendments to EV battery testing standards- Automotive Industry Standards-156 (or AIS-156) and AIS-038 to a staggered two-phased implementation (first from December 1, 2022 and second from March 31, 2023).
    • The AIS-156 includes motor vehicles in the L category — those with less than four wheels and an electric powertrain.
    • The second amendment — AIS-038 — regulates vehicles with electric power trains for M category (those with four wheels and used to carry passengers) and N category (electric four-wheelers used to carry both goods and passengers).
• Recent Issues Related to EVs:
  • There have been increased instances of electric vehicles catching fire. The reasons for fire may include:
    • Manufacturing defects
    • External damage
    • Faults in the deployment in the battery management system, and
    • Faulty charging in some cases
• The Covid-19 pandemic and the US-China trade war has disrupted supply chains thus making the critical components of EV prohibitively expensive.
  • Indian manufacturers are also struggling to source lithium-ion batteries.
• The semiconductor shortage which began at the end of 2021 has still not been resolved completely and has hindered multiple industries.
  • A similar challenge can adversely impact India’s upcoming EV industry in terms of high price volatility and supply disruptions of these elements

Way Forward

• Uniform guidelines and inspection systems should be laid down for the entire EV ecosystem starting from conceptualization to prototype to production and finally end-of-life of the battery.
• Battery is the most important component of an EV, and with consumers concerned about EV safety, uniform production standards — conformity of production (CoP) in industry parlance — should be laid down.
• CoP should be implemented to ensure that the same quality is maintained throughout the manufacturing of EV batteries.
  • Further, self-regulation should be maintained by battery manufacturers until CoP is implemented.
  • Each imported cell should be checked individually and only those that fulfil the norms and quality standards should be used in battery pack manufacturing.

Source: IE