As India moves towards its net zero ambitions, electrification of transport has emerged as a priority. As electric vehicle (EV) adoption is growing, the development of a robust EV charging infrastructure remains a key enabler. Encouraging policy support, technological innovation and private sector participation have all contributed to the uptake of charging infrastructure. Yet, infrastructure gaps, low utilisation rates and long payback periods continue to pose hurdles. Against this backdrop, at Renewable Watch’s conference on “Accelerating E-Mobility”, senior sector stakeholders shared their current portfolio, on-ground experience, challenges and strategies in developing EV charging networks. Edited excerpts…
As of now, we have close to 955 charging points across 17 states, 38 cities and 16 national highways. Around 75 per cent of our network consists of combined charging system (CCS) chargers rated at 60 kW and above. The remaining 25 per cent are Type 2 AC chargers, mostly installed at destination locations such as shopping malls. On highways, we use only DC chargers. We have now started deploying higher-capacity chargers. These use a centralised 200 kW power bank with four to six dispensers, each capable of delivering 25-200 kW, depending on the vehicle’s requirement.
Business viability depends on both utilisation and the price that customers are willing to pay. High utilisation at very low pricing still makes the business unviable. For example, fleet operators may have high usage but often pay only Rs 9 or Rs 10 per unit. In contrast, individual customers are willing to pay Rs 20 per unit. So, when fleet operators ask for very low pricing, we suggest they set up their own infrastructure because those economics do not work for us.
Today, public DC charging typically costs Rs 18 and Rs 20 per unit. If a charge point operator achieves even 7-7.5 per cent utilisation at that price level, the business can be earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation positive. I am referring here to medium-sized operators who are not overpaying on rent or overheads. Over the past two and a half years, utilisation has improved steadily. In our own network, about 40 per cent of locations are achieving utilisation of 15 and 17 per cent, although some locations are still at just 1 per cent.
One thing we have learned is that public visibility of chargers plays a huge role in EV adoption. Even if a user has a home charger, unless they see chargers available publicly and frequently, they may not feel confident enough to switch to an EV. That is why, in the early days, we focused on deploying single chargers across multiple locations to maximise visibility. Now, as adoption is growing, we are moving towards the hub model. The idea is to reduce queues and improve user convenience, not just to increase utilisation numbers.
With payments, we initially experimented with a post-paid model such as the one used in Europe. But in India, digital payments require two-factor authentication, which made things complicated and led to mounting receivables. So, we shifted to a prepaid, pay-per-use model. Customers pay in advance and any unused balance is refunded. We do not lock user money in a closed-loop wallet.
We have also launched QR-based charging which allows a user to simply scan a QR code on the charger, make the payment and start the session. We have also launched a prepaid card following RBI’s guidelines. Users can charge it up to Rs 10,000 per month and use the card not just for charging but also for other services such as Netflix, Amazon, restaurants and theatres.
Our focus is primarily on EVs. We lease EVs to government departments and are also setting up public charging infrastructure. At the moment, we have a portfolio of about 450 public EV chargers. Most of these are DC fast chargers, including 15 kW Bharat DC and 120 kW CCS2 connectors. We have also begun exploring the electric truck segment.
We operate under two main business models. One involves working directly with public landowning agencies to set up and operate charging stations for 10 years. The second is a satellite model, where we aggregate land from various government entities and bring in private charge point operators who provide the investment and technology. For instance, through this model, we are deploying chargers at 20 locations across sports complexes. We are also expanding across Goa, Lucknow, Patna and Faridabad.
From a government perspective, especially when it comes to rural deployment, the FAME-II scheme has played a significant role. Most of the initial deployment under this scheme was led by public entities such as the oil marketing companies that set up chargers at fuel stations spread across urban and rural areas.
Despite this progress, utilisation has been a persistent challenge. Over the past three to four years, the average utilisation across both public and private charge point operator (CPO) networks has stayed below 5 per cent. Some locations perform better, reaching up to 20 per cent, but these are outliers. At this level of utilisation, payback periods stretch to six or seven years, making the economics difficult.
There have also been challenges around evolving technology. Between 2018 and 2020, most public chargers used Bharat DC connectors designed for early EVs from Tata and Mahindra. But as the industry shifted, original equipment manufacturers started adopting CCS2 connectors. We initially thought 30 kW would suffice, but now higher capacity chargers reaching 360 kW are also in the market in a bid to match the growing battery sizes of EVs. Earlier, vehicles had 18-21 kWh battery packs. Today, we are seeing 45-90 kWh capacities.
Going forward, there is a strong need for high-capacity CCS2 chargers, especially at strategic locations. But land availability and grid access remain significant challenges. High-capacity chargers need dedicated and reliable feeders, especially along highways and in rural areas. Without strong support from discoms and regulatory authorities, deployment will remain difficult.
In some cases, to ensure backup power, CPOs have installed diesel generators, especially on highways. This defeats the purpose of clean mobility. What we really need is a regulatory push to ensure that reliable grid access is available at charging locations.
We have also started upgrading our older chargers, replacing underperforming Bharat DC stations with CCS2 technology. We have learned that charger location is crucial. When we started, we placed many chargers in public parking areas where people would spend some time. Those chargers saw utilisation go up to 21 per cent or even 30 per cent. Public user behaviour is different from that of fleet operators. For the fleet, utilisation is driven by operational cycles. For public users, it depends on visibility and convenience.
From our internal analytics, we found that some chargers were underperforming because of poor placement. We are now repositioning these to higher-demand locations. Instead of expanding blindly, we are optimising the existing network.
The recently announced PM E-DRIVE scheme is encouraging. The draft guidelines suggest that 80 per cent of the subsidy will go towards upstream infrastructure such as transformers and grid upgrades. The finer details are still to be seen, but the intent looks promising and it should significantly help improve project viability.
Our EV charging operations span four key verticals. The first is home charging, where we have deployed more than 130,000 chargers across India and are adding 5,000 to 6,000 new ones every month. Next comes public and fleet charging, with more than 5,500 chargers deployed across highways, hotels and urban centres. Another area is our large-scale fleet and bus charging hubs, where we have 240 kV chargers and 4-8 MW load at a single location. These hubs are operational in eight to nine cities including Srinagar, Jammu, New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Lucknow. We also have our digital platform, Tata Power EZ Charge, which allows both fleet and individual users to access our public charging network.
When selecting locations for public chargers, we study EV density in a region, the overall traffic movement and local demand. Our team then identifies sites that are well connected to roads and highways, have sufficient parking space and offer reliable power supply and telecom connectivity.
Power infrastructure is especially important. EV charging is fundamentally an energy business. Without stable grid connectivity, you cannot run a station. At the same time, telecom connectivity is essential so that users can see charger status in real time. Even if the charger is working and does not show up on the app, it is as good as unavailable.
The current trend in business is to deploy fast chargers using CCS2 connectors, which are now the standard across India. We started out with 30 kW chargers but now focus more on 60 kW and 120 kW units to match user expectations and vehicle needs.
Utilisation is the core of the business. In the early years, from 2019 to 2021, utilisation was extremely low. But now, as four-wheeler EV adoption picks up, we are seeing a positive shift. In fact, four-wheeler sales have grown four to five times over the past four to five years and that is directly reflected in charger usage.
The EV charging infrastructure sector faces several challenges. A major issue is the high capital cost and delayed return on investment. EV charging infrastructure requires significant upfront investment. To address this, we need to encourage public-private partnerships and explore multiple revenue streams for CPOs such as advertising and battery-as-a-service models.
Another major challenge is grid capacity and load management. To this end, smart charging technologies, supported by AI and demand response systems, can help. Renewable energy integration is another important solution. Vehicle-to-grid technology also holds promise, although its uptake cannot be witnessed in India yet.
Overall, the industry has moved from slow AC charging to faster DC charging, especially under schemes such as PM E-DRIVE. Battery swapping and hybrid charging models are also emerging. These developments are improving user convenience and infrastructure performance.
