Maruti Suzuki’s CV Raman says well-to-wheel analysis don’t make EVs viable for India currently; country headed to be a gas-based economy

The World Environment Day is celebrated annually on June 5 and aimed at better awareness towards the environment. Especially in the India context, the transport sector contributes about 13 per cent to the GHG emissions across the country. Passenger vehicles have a share of about 2.2% of this. EVs, CNGs are emerging as potential alternatives for cutting down emission but the question is how green are these options. The bottomline is energy security needs to be balanced with energy sustainability. Here is an excerpt of a conversation with Maruti Suzuki CTO, CV Raman on the initiatives being taken by the largest passenger car maker towards a greener tomorrow.

The need for India specific initiatives to address the economics of emission in our country is key. Please elaborate on it and detail out the CNG and hydrogen strategy for next 5 years.

Today from a capacity perspective you have 40% renewable and 60% of coal-based power but actually consumption is only 25% renewable and 75% coal-based power.

If you look at the well to wheel calculation it becomes a very pertinent perspective. If you look at EVs, I don’t want to get into this discussion as an EV versus hybrid, but I’m only just bringing facts to the table – these technologies have to work together in tandem. Government is looking at that when they’re talking about 500 gigawatt of renewable energy by 2030 so they want to invert this change from seventy-five percent coal power to twenty-five and from current twenty-five percent renewable power to the other way where they want forty percent coal and sixty percent renewable. When that happens that’s when the you know the the well to wheel calculation for an EV comes lesser than a hybrid but till such time the hybrid becomes you know better from that perspective and diesel and gasoline also the carbon intensity.

Predominantly our energy for transport is built on crude oil which is about 85% imported. We have two imperatives, one to reduce crude oil import and from energy security and sustainability perspective reduce the greenhouse gases. So both are interlinked and our way.

So from that perspective we have to have our India specific initiative. We are introducing technology in line with that. I have the lowest carbondioxide emissions today in in the passenger vehicle industry. We have introduced many changes in the powertrain from B series engine to the C series engine which have improved. We continuously work on that second is that we have introduced many CNG vehicles and that accounts for 20-25% reduction compared to the Co 2 emissions compared to a petrol vehicle so that’s a large component. India is looking at a gas-based economy.

Source:financialexpress.com

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