New Delhi: Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and VP Singh Badnore, Governor of Punjab, jointly inaugurated a state-of-the-art battery swapping station for electric vehicles at one of Indian Oil Corporation's retail outlets in Chandigarh, Kapoor Service Station, virtually on Friday. The project is part of an initiative under which Indian Oil has partnered with SUN Mobility to set up battery-swapping stations at select fuel stations in identified cities.
Badnore, in his address, lauded the efforts of the Petroleum Ministry and Indian Oil towards improving the environment and economic needs through a series of green initiatives. Battery-swapping technology is one such initiative that offers the best alternative among electric mobility solutions, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Pradhan commended the efforts of Indian Oil and SUN Mobility in pursuing the innovative, clean energy solution, thereby contributing to the government's objective of reducing vehicular emissions. He said that he hoped that the tie-up would energise the EV markets in India. The EV opportunity is so big that every player in the eco-system will benefit from it, he said.
In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision, which focuses on reducing carbon footprint, electric mobility can help India meet its Paris Agreement commitment of reducing carbon emission intensity (emission per unit of GDP) by 33 to 35 percent of 2005-level over 15 years, Pradhan said. Thus the country can save 64 percent of the anticipated passenger road-based mobility-related energy demand and 37 percent of carbon emissions in 2030 by pursuing a shared, electric and connected mobility future.
Pradhan said that while the oil marketing companies had worked together to usher in BS-VI fuels across the nation, the time has come to go beyond this and introduce more path-breaking technologies in the business. It will need the collective efforts of many agencies to make India's commitment towards cleaner mobility possible, he added.
Indian Oil Chairman Sanjiv Singh, who also spoke on the occasion, elaborated on the various initiatives taken by the Corporation in preparation for the energy transition of the future. These include Hydrogen, H-CNG and fuel cells to run vehicles, setting up of a JV for manufacturing Aluminium-Air based batteries for electric mobility, other energy storage applications, and incorporating EV-charging facilities at Indian Oil's fuel stations network. Indian Oil would consider various aspects of the battery-swapping technology for scaling up its presence in the EV infrastructure business, he added.
(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Telegram. Join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram and stay updated)