Energizing India Podcast: Recent Episodes
Ador Digatron
Energizing India Podcast focuses on electric vehicle mobility in India, the E-Mobility industry, and how rapid change can be brought about to grow this industry. In a series of conversations, Ravin MIRCHANDANI, Chairman of Ador Digatron speaks to major influencers of E-mobility in India including policymakers, regulators, CEOs of electric vehicle manufacturers & electricity distributors, industry leaders managing charge point operators & charging infrastructure companies to uncover the roadblocks that hamper rapid growth in this sector. These conversations are candid, often insightful, and unfiltered.
India has spent the last decade creating demand for batteries. The next decade is about something much harder: learning how to make them.
Our guest today sits at the centre of that transition. Amara Raja built one of the world’s great lead-acid battery businesses. Now it is attempting something far more difficult: reinventing itself around lithium-ion cells, battery packs and energy storage while the technology, supply chains and geopolitics are all changing at once.
Three years after Vikramadithya GOURINENI first joined us on the podcast, the plans have become factories, qualification lines and real capital at risk. Today we ask the question underneath the gigafactory headlines: can India move from assembling batteries to truly knowing how to make them?
India's battery future won't be built by importing technology—it will be built by developing it.
In this episode of the Energizing India (EI) Podcast, Ravin MIRCHANDANI speaks with Vikramaditya GOURINENI, Executive Director, Amara Raja Energy & Mobility, about the journey from lead-acid batteries to lithium-ion manufacturing, building India's gigafactory ecosystem, and why developing in-house technical expertise is critical for long-term success.
From battery cell manufacturing and energy storage systems (BESS) to sodium-ion technology and India's path to energy sovereignty, Vikramaditya shares the opportunities and challenges shaping the country's next chapter in clean energy.
India's electric mobility future will be built on technology—not just vehicle assembly.
In this episode of the Energizing India Podcast, Ravin Mirchandani speaks with Vijay Thakur, Founder & CEO of Tsuyo Manufacturing, about developing indigenous EV powertrains and the technologies that can make India globally competitive in electric mobility.
From pioneering magnetless motor technology to building AI-powered telematics and focusing on commercial EVs, Vijay shares how innovation, engineering excellence, and technology ownership can reshape India's EV ecosystem.
The conversation also explores the challenges of manufacturing advanced EV components in India, reducing dependence on rare earth materials, and creating a sustainable path toward becoming a global engineering powerhouse.
Today we are discussing one of the least understood but most critical parts of India’s energy transition: the electricity distribution system. Solar, wind, EVs, batteries and green hydrogen may get the headlines, but the real test is whether India can deliver reliable, affordable, high-quality power to every consumer, every hour, in every state.
To explore this, we are delighted to welcome Alok KUMAR, one of India’s most experienced power-sector voices in India and also Chairperson of the Indian Discoms Association. We will discuss resource adequacy, discom reform, grid constraints, EVs, hydrogen, storage, power quality and what India’s electricity system must look like by 2030. A subject no one has ever covered in such depth before.
As India accelerates its clean energy transition, one critical question remains: Is the power grid ready? In this episode of the Energizing India Podcast, Alok Kumar, veteran power sector leader and President of the All India Discom Association, explores the challenges and opportunities shaping India's electricity distribution ecosystem. From resource adequacy and discom reforms to smart metering, grid modernization, and the growing demands of electric mobility and green hydrogen, this conversation offers valuable insights into the infrastructure that will underpin India's energy future. A must-listen for policymakers, industry leaders, utilities, and anyone interested in the future of India's power sector.
India’s electric bus story may become one of the most important chapters in our clean mobility transition.
While most EV conversations focus on cars and scooters, buses are where the impact can be massive. India has roughly 20 lakh buses, but only a fraction operate from organised depots where charging can be planned and scaled. In 2024, India registered around 3,700 electric buses, compared with more than 41,000 diesel buses, so the shift has begun, but we are still very early.
The government wants to change that fast. PM-eBus Sewa targets 10,000 electric buses, and the new payment-security mechanism is meant to support more than 38,000 e-buses between FY25 and FY29.
But the real question is not just procurement,it is operations. Can electric buses deliver lower lifetime cost, higher uptime, reliable charging, and bankable returns for fleet operators?
We are delighted to welcome Saurabh PATWARDHAN, CEO of Prasanna Purple Mobility, a company with decades of experience across city, intercity, corporate, school and tourism bus operations.
Today we will discuss what is working, what is still difficult, and what India must solve to electrify bus mobility at scale.
Welcome to the Energizing India Podcast.
Today, we have the privilege of welcoming back to the podcast for a third time one of India’s sharpest strategic minds — former Foreign Secretary of India.
Vijay served as India’s 32nd Foreign Secretary after a distinguished 39-year career in the Indian Foreign Service. He has served as India’s Ambassador to China and Germany, as well as the High Commissioner to Malaysia, and worked extensively on China and East Asia policy throughout his career.
He is widely regarded as one of India’s most experienced China watchers and is currently a Non-Resident Fellow at. He has also authored five books on geopolitics. His latest,, which explores the politics and diplomacy behind China’s military coercion, was released earlier this month.
We meet him at a time when the world feels increasingly unstable. The conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran has already shaken assumptions around oil, gas, fertilizers, shipping, currencies, and global investment flows.
India, which imports the overwhelming majority of its crude oil and a significant portion of its gas needs, is exposed not only to price shocks but also to supply disruptions, inflationary pressures from currency fluctuations, and delays in major projects. Recent reporting has already linked the conflict and disruptions in energy markets to renewed pressure on the rupee.
There is also a deeper strategic question now emerging.
India has historically maintained a relationship with Iran. It has built close ties with Israel. India also depends heavily on the Gulf, while continuing to strengthen its partnership with the United States. This makes the current moment especially sensitive for Indian diplomacy.
At the same time, Pakistan appears to be positioning itself as a potential mediator between Washington and Tehran, with China closely watching and encouraging Islamabad’s diplomatic role.
So the question for India is no longer just: how do we manage this crisis?
It is: how does India protect its energy security, economic growth, strategic autonomy, and global influence in a world where the old certainties are beginning to break down?
Vijay Gokhale, welcome to the program.
Five years ago, EV charging in India was a promise… today, it’s a battlefield.
Billions of dollars committed, networks being built at speed, and yet—range anxiety, broken chargers, and questions on profitability still linger. The hype phase is over. This is now about execution, resilience, and who actually survives the decade.
My guest today isn’t theorising about this transition—he’s building it. Brick by brick. Charger by charger.
For the third time on Energizing India, I’m joined by Kartikey Hariyani, founder and CEO of ChargeZone—one of India’s largest independent EV charging networks, taking on giants and redefining what scale looks like in this space.
Kartikey, welcome back—this one’s going to be fun.
In this podcast Episode, Chargezone CEO Kartik Harani discusses the rapid maturation of India's electric vehicle charging sector as it transitions from a growth phase to an execution-focused grind. He debunks the misconception that network size equals success, emphasizing instead that energy sales, reliability, and supercharging capabilities are the true drivers of profitability. Harani highlights Chargezone’s shift toward ultra-fast intercity infrastructure and its "open access" strategy that serves both personal cars and commercial fleets. The conversation also explores how India can achieve national energy security by following China’s integrated approach to electrification, particularly through subsidizing electric trucks. Looking toward 2030, Harani envisions a consolidated market where traditional banking capital and innovative franchise models fuel expansion. He concludes by sharing his bold vision for sustainable microgrids, aiming to control the entire lifecycle of an electron from solar generation to vehicle propulsion.
Over the past decade, the energy transition has largely been framed as a technology and capital story—batteries getting cheaper, EV adoption accelerating, hydrogen scaling, and climate capital flowing across borders.
But in the last few months, something fundamental has shifted. Geopolitics is back at the center of energy.
The escalating conflict involving Iran, the return of a more protectionist and unpredictable United States under President Trump, and the increasingly assertive roles of China and Russia are no longer distant headlines—they are now shaping supply chains, energy prices, and strategic decisions in boardrooms across the world.
For CEOs in the energy transition space, this raises urgent questions:
Are we entering a new era of energy fragmentation?
Will supply chains be redrawn along political lines?
And most importantly—how should businesses prepare for a world where geopolitics, not just economics, drives outcomes?
To help us unpack this, I’m delighted to welcome Pramit Pal Chaudhary.
Pramit is one of India’s most respected voices on geopolitics and global strategy. He has been a foreign policy advisor to the Indian government, a senior fellow at leading global think tanks, and a long-time analyst of how power, policy, and economics intersect.
Today, we go beyond headlines—to explore the tectonic shifts shaping the future of energy, and what they mean for India and the world.
(00:00:15) Introduction: The Fundamental Shift: Geopolitics Returns to Energy
(00:01:57) Is the World Entering an Era of Permanent Conflict?
(00:05:51) Assessing the Escalating Iran-US-Israel Conflict Dynamics
(00:11:13) Unpacking Trump's Personal Animus and Iran Strategy
(00:17:29) Decades of Missteps: Why US Foreign Policy Fails
(00:23:30) China's Strategic Advantage in Energy Independence
(00:25:58) Tiptoeing Around Global Energy Infrastructure Attacks
(00:29:49) India's LPG Crisis and Long-Term Energy Security
(00:35:30) India's Regional Energy Role and LPG Supply Challenges
(00:40:01) Modi's Israel Visit and Rules of Naval Warfare
(00:47:37) How China and Russia Benefit from Global Instability
(00:52:49) Lessons from Conflict for Taiwan Strait Scenarios
(00:54:49) Preparing for Geopolitical Risks: Advice for Energy CEOs
(01:01:52) Energizing India Podcast: Episode Conclusion and Credits
Designing Cities for People, Not Just Cars: Rethinking Urban Mobility with Zohra MUTABANNA
What happens when we plug electric vehicles into cities that were never built for them? Urban designer Zohra Mutabanna joins us to unpack the real design challenges of India’s mobility future...from shared transport to the Avoid-Shift-Improve model, and how our cities can evolve into living, breathing ecosystems instead of chaotic grids.
Welcome to the Energising India Podcast. On this program, we engage with the key protagonists shaping the future of energy, mobility, and sustainability within India and globally. I’m your host, Ravin MIRCHANDAN, and today we step into the world of cities, the spaces that hold our daily lives together yet often crack under the weight of growth, congestion, and unsustainable planning. Today, we speak with Zohra MUTABANNA —an architect, urban designer, and thought leader who believes that cities must be designed as ecosystems, not afterthoughts. She works with the intersection of design, policy, and sustainability, asking bold questions about whether India’s cities are truly ready for electric mobility or whether we risk building EVs into an already broken urban fabric. Zohra brings years of experience reimagining the built environment through resilience, inclusivity, and innovation. With her, we’ll explore the Avoid-Shift and improve framework,the realities of urban transport and shared mobility, and design choices that will determine whether our urban future is chaotic or truly sustainable.
Welcome to the Energizing India Podcast! On this program, we engage with the key protagonists shaping the future of energy, mobility, and sustainability in India and globally. I’m your host, Ravin MIRCHANDANI, and today we’re stepping into a completely new lane of India’s transport story in relation to zero-emission intercity travel going electric. We’re talking about FreshBus, a young but ambitious player redefining what it means to move people cleanly, comfortably, and efficiently across states.
Joining us is Mr. Sudhakar CHIRRA, a serial entrepreneur synonymous with innovation in India’s bus mobility space. Before FreshBus, he founded and led AbhiBus, India’s first bus-ticketing app that reshaped how travelers connect with operators.
Now he heads FreshBus, an all-electric, full-stack intercity bus platform that’s rewriting expectations of cost, speed, and sustainability in mobility. Since launching in 2019, FreshBus has built a battery-powered fleet, carried hundreds of thousands of passengers, and is now backed by a $10.5 million Series A round to scale that ambition nationwide.
With Sudhakar as our guide, today we’ll explore:
● What does it mean to start fresh with a 100% electric fleet?
● How does one build profitability in a capital-intensive asset under real Indian conditions?
● What’s the passenger experience really like when “EV+Tech” replaces convention?
Sudhakar, welcome to the program.
Three decades, countless innovations, one mission...redefine how India moves. PuneetANAND pulls back the curtain on Hyundai’s journey in clean energy, EVs, and community-driven mobility. Buckle up, it’s a ride into the future.
Welcome to the Energizing India Podcast. On this program, we engage with the key protagonists shaping the future of energy, mobility, and sustainability, both in India and globally. I’m your host, Ravin MIRCHANDANI, and today we’re in the driver’s seat with one of India’s most exciting automotive journeys. The transformation of mobility as we knew it in this country. Joining us is a man who quite literally has his fingerprints across the evolution of the Indian automobile industry. Puneet Anand is the vertical head of corporate affairs, corporate communications, and social responsibilities as AVP with Hyundai Motors, India, and has an enviable 3 decades of experience in the Indian automotive sector. Since 1998, Puneet has been an integral part of Hyundai’s leadership in India, steering pivotal functions and driving growth in a dynamic and often unpredictable automotive sector environment. Today, we look under the hood of Hyundai’s clean energy transition from investments in EVs, hydrogen technology, and renewable energy to localization strategies that boost the resilience of India’s economy. We explore the role of public policy, infrastructure, and community engagement that Hyundai plays in redefining mobility in the next generation. What does the road ahead look like for India’s clean mobility revolution? How does a giant like Hyundai balance cutting-edge innovation with deep local relevance? Puneet ANAND, welcome to the program.
Today, we welcome back Uday Narang San. Uday is one of the few real innovators of electronic mobility in India. Focusing on the 2-wheeler, 3-wheeler, and 4-wheeler transport space in India. And it’s always exciting to have Uday on the show to have a candid conversation about what gives and often what does not. Uday San, welcome to the program.
Can democracies compete with China's algorithmic hegemony in the energy transition?
In this pivotal episode, we sit down with Peter Varghese AO, former head of Australia's Office of National Assessments (Australia's intelligence agency), former High Commissioner (Ambassador) to India, and former Australian Secretary of Foreign Affairs, for an unfiltered discussion about the new world order reshaping energy and technology.
Varghese challenges conventional wisdom on self-reliance, warning that abandoning comparative advantage could make us "a heck of a lot poorer." He reveals why containing China is "not feasible," but allowing it to become the Indo-Pacific hegemon would resurrect the Middle Kingdom where "hierarchy was harmony."
With Trump's America imposing 50% tariffs on India and creating "perceptions of unreliability," Varghese explores whether the Quad and AUKUS can survive, and why India-Australia cooperation on critical minerals and AI remains slower than anticipated despite evident synergies.
Key Discussions:
Why China's control of energy technology may be irreversible.
The "salad days" of US leadership and what comes after Trump.
How AI will disrupt diplomacy, universities, and the very concept of expertise.
The hidden risks in post-COVID self-sufficiency drives.
What policymakers consistently get wrong about the China-India-Australia triangle
Co-hosted by Ravin Mirchandani and special guest co-host Ritu David (ex-intelligence analyst, seconded to CIA Afghanistan), this episode delivers rare insights from one of Australia's most experienced strategic thinkers on navigating the collision of energy transition, AI disruption, and great power competition. Essential listening for anyone working in energy, technology, or international business in the Indo-Pacific.
[Runtime: 32 minutes]
⚡️⚡️Energizing India Podcast Alert! ⚡️⚡️
1991: India’s Near-Default Moment. How Did We Survive — and in 2025 What Challenges Come Next? | Montek Singh AHLUWALIA
On this program, we engage with the key thinkers and leaders shaping India's economic, energy, and policy landscape. I'm your host, Ravin MIRCHANDANI, and today, honestly, I'm a little bit starstruck. Joining us on the show is someone we have admired for years and who really needs no introduction at all to the business audience, as he was one of the true architects of the modern India that we inhabit today.
A journey that the country commenced in 1991, Montec Singh AHLUWALIA is an economist, a policy visionary, and also a civil servant who, along with the then-prime minister Manmohan Singh, played a pivotal role in steering India during its 1991 economic crisis. A moment of near default, where the country had to pledge its gold to keep the economy afloat. He served as the deputy chairman of the planning commission from 2004 to 2014, holding the rank of cabinet minister, and before that, he was the first director of the Independent Evaluation Office of the IMF.
Today we go behind the scenes of that 1991 crisis, what really happened in those 10 stays, battles that were fought in the coridoors of power and how india chose the path of liberalisation, we will also look ahead to the turbulence of the present moment, global trade wars, tariff barriers, and the new era of supply chain of geo politics, what does all of this mean to india and how do we charte the path forward.
This is a rare and candid conversation with a man who has seen it all from Washington to New Delhi and has helped shape India's economic destiny. Montec Singh AHLUWALIA, the man with the perennial blue turban, welcome to the program!
⚡️⚡️Energizing India Podcast Alert! ⚡️⚡️Bangalore's pollution- a victim of its own economic success. Can EVs change that? | Thirumalai NC, Sector Head - Strategic Studies at CSTEP In this episode of the Energizing India Podcast, we head to India’s tech capital — Bangalore — a city at the heart of innovation, but also at the edge of an infrastructure overload.With startups like Ola, Ather, and Exponent leading India’s clean mobility revolution, Bangalore is setting the stage for what’s to come in 20 more cities. However, rapid economic growth comes with a paradox: 80% of households now own personal vehicles, and the city’s air quality is plummeting.We’re joined by Thirumalai NC, Sector Head at CSTEP, one of India’s leading think tanks in science, tech, and policy. He helps us understand the unique urban challenge Bangalore faces: Can a traffic-choked city leap into an electric future — and where will all that charging power come from?This is a story of hope, policy innovation, and the race to plug into a cleaner tomorrow.
In 2025, hydrogen is a darling of the energy sector. It represents hope for a greener tomorrow and the opportunity to democratize the energy generation industry, allowing any country to generate energy rather than being subject to the tyranny of the hydrocarbon molecule. Yet, it is underrepresented by women at the senior level and all levels of management globally. The Women Leaders in Hydrogen - India is a platform built to bring women in the industry together as a community to solve some of the critical commercial and scientific hurdles faced by the industry in India. With a mission to empower and inspire, in this episode, we are joined by our Co-Chairs: Dr. Anuradda Ganesh, Bhumika Singh, and Supriya Patwardhan
In this episode, we explore the intersection of policy and industry with a distinguished guest who plays a central role in advancing Australia's engagement with India.
We are honored to welcome Phil Green, Australia's High Commissioner to India, and a seasoned diplomat with a remarkable career spanning four continents. Over the years, Phil has served as High Commissioner or Ambassador to Germany, Singapore, South Africa, and Kenya, amassing extensive international experience and a deep understanding of global affairs.
A key figure in shaping Australia’s foreign policy, Phil was instrumental in the implementation of the Indo-Pacific strategy following its launch in 2017. He also played a pivotal role in formulating Australia’s approach to the Quad—a strategic partnership between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States.
Phil's contributions extend to advancing clean energy collaboration, having piloted the Australia-Germany Hydrogen Accord in 2021. His career highlights also include serving as International Adviser to former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and being awarded the Order of Australia medal for his exceptional leadership during the response to the Bali bombings.
Join us for an insightful discussion on the evolving Australia-India partnership and its critical role in the global energy transition.
In this episode, Vijay Gokhale, former Indian Foreign Secretary, offers a nuanced analysis of the evolving dynamics of geopolitics and global trade. He examines China's strategic maneuvers in supply chain control, its negotiation strategies, and the broader implications for international diplomacy. The episode also evaluates the potential repercussions of Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency, considering its impact on global trade and geopolitical stability. Join us for an insightful conversation on the critical challenges and opportunities shaping the future of the global order.
On Energizing India, we speak with key protagonists in the energy transition and clean mobility sectors to uncover what works, what often doesn’t, and to hear from those who have faced the toughest challenges. While we frequently discuss topics like lithium, hydrogen, and electric mobility, there is another part of the energy transition sector that quietly contributes to making the world a better place to live, even if it doesn’t grab the headlines or generate widespread excitement.
In today’s episode, we’ve decided to shine a spotlight on the role of biofuels—such as ethanol-enriched gasoline, 100% biodiesel, and the increasingly promising sustainable aviation fuel. These innovations hold the potential to alleviate some of the guilt associated with frequent travel.
Joining us is Ranjit Kulkarni, Vice President and General Manager of Honeyworld’s Energy and Sustainable Solutions portfolio. He leads the company’s operations in India and brings valuable insights into this crucial segment of the energy transition.
In this episode, we welcome one of the key protagonists for both electric mobility and hydrogen energy in India: Amitabh Kant. A distinguished bureaucrat and policymaker, he is recognized for his substantial contributions to the development of the Indian economy. An alumnus of St. Stephen's College and JNU, he joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1980.
Mr. Kant is renowned for his role in spearheading initiatives that have significantly impacted the economy, including Startup India, Make in India, and the highly successful Incredible India campaign, which repositioned the country as a global tourism destination. He is also credited with coining the slogan “Kerala: God’s Own Country” during his tenure in the state.
When the Planning Commission was dissolved in 2015, Kant was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the newly created NITI Aayog, the apex public policy think tank responsible for catalyzing India's economic development.
As India's Sherpa at the G20 in 2023, under his leadership, 87 outcomes were achieved, and 118 documents were adopted—an impressive increase from past years. His vision and leadership have firmly established him as a pivotal figure in shaping India’s policy landscape in the 21st century.
In this episode, we explore India's efforts toward energy transition and understand how the country can become a global leader in clean mobility and hydrogen generation.
India's population is projected to surpass China's in both overall numbers and population density in the coming years. This growth is particularly concentrated in urban areas, which are facing significant challenges. Traffic congestion, increased road stress, road rage, and heightened demand for utilities and essential services are adversely affecting the quality of life for residents. To improve the lived experience of citizens, it is crucial to address the challenges of urban mobility. In this episode we have one of such innovative companies that are making strides in the urban mobility space – we met with Pratik Gupta , CEO of Gensol EV or Storm Motors who spoke about urban mobility.
In his Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed the government's commitment to establishing India as a global leader in green hydrogen through the National Green Hydrogen Mission. In just a year and a half, this mission has placed the hydrogen molecule at the forefront of discussions among energy developers, investors, policymakers, and industry leaders.
The introduction of production-linked incentives, along with significant capital investment for electrolyzer manufacturers and developers of green hydrogen and green ammonia, has bolstered confidence in India’s ability to achieve its hydrogen production goals. However, there is ongoing concern among developers about the demand and market uptake for their products.
Today, we are pleased to welcome Shardul Kulkarni, Managing Director and CEO of Deesha Power. With 20 years of experience in the power and renewable energy sectors, Shardul has been instrumental in driving over $1 billion in energy transition investments across Southeast Asia and Western Africa.
Within the Indian green hydrogen community, Shardul is affectionately known as the "hydrogen wala," a passionate advocate for green hydrogen, dedicated to raising awareness and educating others about the vast potential of this transformative energy source.
The Indian EV and energy transition sector has been in flux for the last three years. If you looked at it just three years ago, there were only a few thousand vehicles on the road.
Since then, we've seen exponential growth: today, there are hundreds of thousands of electric two-wheelers, many thousands of three-wheelers, and thousands of new electric buses being added to the roads every year. Tata alone is targeting 150,000 electric cars this year.
Today on the show, we talk to Uday Narang, CEO of Omega Seki Mobility, one of the major players in the Indian electric vehicle sector. Omega Seki Mobility is transforming both public and goods transportation, not just in India but also around the world. They have launched many industry-first products and are consistently among the top three electric three-wheelers sold in the country.
India has 326 million registered vehicles on the road in 2024. Seventy-five percent of these are two-wheelers, including scooters and motorcycles, down from 80% just four years ago. Approximately 12% of these are trucks and buses, with the vast majority being trucks, as only 2% of registered vehicles in India are buses.
The fastest way to clean the air in Indian cities is to convert public transportation, including intra-city and intercity buses, to electric. The government has made significant progress in this area over the last four years, converting over 5,000 buses a year in Indian cities to electric.
Initially, Chinese buses played a key role in this transition, but over the last four years, Indian entrepreneurs have invested boldly to implement new technology made in India for electrification and clean mobility in Indian cities.
Today, we are speaking with one such company, an Indian gem: Eka Mobility. We welcome to the programme Sudhir Chairman, founder and CEO of EKA Pinnacle Industries .
In this episode, Vijay Gokhale, former Indian Foreign Secretary, delves into the complexities of global energy transitions and geopolitics. He discusses China’s rapid technological advancements, strategic geopolitical maneuvers, and the global implications of energy resource control. Gokhale also provides insights into India’s strategic positioning, technological growth, and the intricate balance of international relations. Join us for an engaging discussion on the challenges and opportunities shaping the 21st-century geopolitical landscape.
In this episode, we talk to some of the biggest EV Charger OEMs in India, discussing the various challenges in the EV charging space and how Indian charger companies can dominate the global competition. We feature Arth PATEL, Founder & CEO of Tirex Chargers, and Amit KEKARE, Head of E-Mobility at Siemens, along with Ravin MIRCHANDANI, Chief Dream Merchant at Quench EV Chargers and the host of the Energizing India Podcast. This is a fun one!
In 2024, hydrogen is a darling of the energy sector. It represents hope for a greener tomorrow and the opportunity to democratize the energy generation industry, allowing any country to generate energy rather than being subject to the tyranny of the hydrocarbon molecule. Yet, it is underrepresented by women at the senior level and all levels of management globally. The Women Leaders in Hydrogen - India is a platform built to bring women in the industry together as a community to solve some of the critical commercial and scientific hurdles faced by the industry in India. With a mission to empower and inspire, in this episode, we are joined by our Co-Chairs: Dr. Anuradda Ganesh, Bhumika Singh, Kalpana Gupta, and Suruchi Rao.
Harshavardhana Gourineni is an accomplished business leader who has made significant contributions to the growth and expansion of Amara Raja Energy and Mobility Limited. Harshavardhana has worked in various roles and industries, gaining a wide range of experience and expertise. After living in the US for 25 years, Harsha moved to India and was appointed as Executive Director of Amara Raja. In this role, he is responsible for leading the automotive and industrial business, which has a turnover of over $1 billion in revenue.
In this episode, we explore what lies ahead for lead-acid batteries, what could be the relevant use cases for them once replaced with lithium, and how we are going to recycle them sustainably. Check out the episode today!
Bicycles have been pivotal in revolutionizing transportation, offering efficient and accessible mobility for centuries. From enabling faster commutes to fostering leisurely exploration, bicycles have shaped modern society's connectivity and sustainability. But, in this age of electrification, can bicycles still be a part of our everyday lives? Today we have Aditya Oza and Sumedh Battewar, the co-founders of Emotorad, a very interesting startup based out of Pune, who are working on making this a reality.
Charge times, battery safety, and affordability are crucial - big obstacles that hinder the faster adoption of electric vehicles globally.
In this episode, we engage with a remarkable company in India that is endeavoring to address these challenges in a unique way.
Today, we speak with Dr. Akshay Singhal, Founder, and CEO of Log 9 Materials, who holds an honors degree in materials engineering from IIT Roorkee and is also a Forbes under 30 Asia honoree. Log 9 was founded in 2015, and in this time, it has amassed 35 industry-defining patents that attest to the organization's first-principle thinking. Log 9 Materials is able to offer batteries that can be charged nine times faster, last nine times longer, and offer nine times higher performance and safety. This is a fun one!
Today, we speak with Sheetanshu Tyagi, co-founder of Emo Energy. Emo has developed Zen, a battery tech platform for net-zero solutions, boasting 100% fire safety, a swift 20-minute charge, and 120% extended battery life. Sheetanshu has a decade of expertise in the mobility sector, including roles with major OEMs like Rivian, Ather, and Ola, and is dedicated to creating a sustainable transport system for cleaner cities.
As countries around the world rapidly accelerate their transition to clean energy and clean mobility, amidst all the celebrations of zero emissions, we persistently ask a set of uncomfortable questions.
What would happen if all vehicles transitioned to electric? Can the grids in different countries handle such a massive shift? And will wait times for access to charges, and then to charge, become the norm?
Today, we speak to a company addressing both of these challenges. In this episode, we turn our focus to Europe as we interview the CEO of an intriguing charge point operations company that originated in Italy but now operates across Europe. Joining us is Luca Fontanelli, CEO at E-GAP.
Apart from causing a lot of traffic, commercial trucks play a very key role in running everyday life in India. However, over the years, these internal combustion engine (ICE) trucks have been major contributors to environmental pollution. Addressing this particular issue today, we have Rohan Shravan, the CEO at Tresa Motors—one of the few companies that is actively building intellectual property (IP) in India, and that too in a space largely dominated by legacy players. This is going to be a fun conversation. Rohan, welcome to the program.
Hydrogen is considered an energy source for mobility worldwide. However, it's essential to note that green hydrogen derives from solar, wind, or hydro power energy sources. It goes beyond just mobility and plays a crucial role in the energy transition by decarbonizing large manufacturing processes, particularly in industries like steel, cement, and paper that rely on gas for their furnaces. Additionally, hydrogen can contribute to achieving energy independence, especially for countries like India. Today, we are speaking with Siddharth Mayur, the founder and CEO of H2e Power, India's first green energy electrolyser and fuel cell company with operations in India, Germany, and the USA
On this show, we typically speak to protagonists who are making policy decisions, regulatory decisions, manufacturing cars, or running a power grid. Sometimes, they are involved in battery production or various aspects of the clean mobility value chain. Every now and then, we have the privilege to speak with super users of electric vehicles to discuss problems, challenges, opportunities, comparisons, and the joys of driving electric vehicles. Today, this is one of those special shows. We are speaking with Manish Jain. Manish co-founded Shadi.com and later, even M Profit, names that are almost synonymous with anyone in the tech space. Manish shares his experience of driving a Tesla Model S Plaid and how he came about to own a KIA EV6. Tune in today!
On the show, we rarely have the same guest visit twice. Today, we talk to a very special person who's coming on the show for the third time: none other than Vasudha Madhavan, CEO & Founder at Ostara Advisors. She is an investment banker who helps facilitate investments as well as M&A transactions in the Electric Vehicle Space. In this special episode, we talk about the Funding Winter, major deals this year from January to August, the categories that are doing well, and much more.
The motorcycling spirit is a passion that runs deep. It's a love for the open road and the freedom it brings. It's the feeling of the wind against your skin and the rush of adrenaline in your heart. So, what would happen when a hardcore biker desires to challenge the age-old industry and aspires to build one of the most impressive motorcycles to come out of India? Today, we speak with Ranjita Ravi, the co-founder and CEO at Orxa Energies, who is building Mantis, an all-electric performance bike, and much more. You don't want to miss this one.
The EV revolution that we are witnessing globally right now has demonstrated that legacy players have been repeatedly caught off guard as new technologies were adopted earlier than they had anticipated. Whilst General Motors and Ford were sleeping, Tesla changed how people drive in America. Legacy car makers globally, even the super green European ones, had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the clean mobility era, more than 10 years after Tesla launched their first commercial car.
In most sub-sectors within the clean mobility sector, the same pattern is evident as well. Legacy lead-acid battery makers stood on the sidelines as CATL, Panasonic, and a myriad of other small startup companies led the race in lithium-ion battery adoption globally. Typically, legacy players have waited because they did not understand the technology and decided to move only when new technology started to become a threat to their existing business.
But in this brave new world, that might be just waiting too long and being caught in the pincers of a Kodak or a Xerox moment. In this episode, we deep dive into the battery sector to understand why this pattern of legacy players taking their time keeps repeating itself. We speak to one of the big daddies of the battery world in India, who also dominates their sector in many of the countries they export to, and who, unlike most legacy players, is moving fast to learn, adopt, and dominate the new technology wins that are raging across their business.
Today, we welcome the Executive Director of Amara Raja Batteries, Vikramadithya Gourineni, on this deep-dive journey.
In this episode, we hit the road and have a conversation with Visakh Sasikumar, an entrepreneur who co-founded Fyn, a startup focused on end-to-end micro-electric mobility. Their approach involves leveraging data to enhance productivity during the last mile of delivery. Visakh, an alumnus of IIT Madras, envisions making last-mile zero-emission mobility more efficient through complete digitization. By blending technology with execution, he aims to facilitate rapid scale-up. Currently, he is actively involved in building India's largest vertically integrated electric vehicle ecosystem platform, catering to both last-mile logistics and commute applications.
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How often in your life do you get to meet someone who wants to design and launch a new car, an actual car? For many kids, particularly boys, the first ever drawing they make is often a car. But very few grow up with that dream to challenge an established industry that is over 100 years old and is dominated by giants.
Today, we speak to someone who is actually doing that—designing and launching an electric car specifically for urban mobility in India. We speak with Nilesh Bajaj, co-founder & CEO at Vayve Mobility.
Today we are speaking with Vasudha Madhavan, the founder and CEO of Ostara Advisors, the first electric mobility and sustainability investment bank. Ostara Advisors has facilitated some of the pioneering investment deals in the sector, such as Greaves' acquisition of Ampere and Altigreen's raising of the largest private equity round in this space in India. Join us for a relaxed and fun conversation as we delve deep into the finance sector of EVs, discuss the various capital raised by EV startups in India, and explore the segments to look forward to in the EV industry.
More often than not, we speak with people who bring to India a brilliant idea or technology from overseas. Today, our show features a subtle difference as we speak with the founder and CEO of a company that is swimming furiously against the trend. While the market is flooded with electric scooters being assembled by a myriad of companies in India, this company is making a fast, furious, and sexy electric motorcycle. They are producing a world-class product for consumers, designed and made here in India. In this episode, we speak with Kapil SHELKE, Founder & CEO at Tork Motors.
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In today's episode, we are changing the pace and diving into the world of hydrogen. If you have been curious about the global hydrogen industry, how it works, and what it involves, this episode is especially for you. Today we go to Sweden to meet Nilsson Energy, a company that has developed a small-scale off-grid solution for generating hydrogen using solar or wind energy. This solution can help schools, communities, or even small towns to go off-grid and generate power 24/7 using 100% renewable energy using hydrogen electrolysers and fuel cells. Nilsson Energy's solution also generates hydrogen from the sun, which is used for clean mobility in cars and buses in the charming city of Mariestad in central Sweden. Today, we speak with the co-founder of Nilsson Energy, Martina Wettin, who is recognized as one of the global women leaders in hydrogen.
On our program, we have the opportunity, or perhaps the word is providence, to speak with some of the major protagonists and decision-makers in the electric mobility sector in India. More than ever we have enjoyed speaking with the senior team at MG Motor India, who so often bring an unfiltered and refreshing viewpoint on clean mobility.
Today we welcome back to our program Gaurav GUPTA, Chief Commercial Officer of MG Motor India. His team recently commissioned a very interesting study through Nielsen in India exploring driver behavior and road use challenges as a run-up to the launch of their latest EV in India... the MG Comet.
Our host Ravin MIRCHANDANI spoke with Gaurav this week where the conversation covered the findings of the Nielsen study and some teasers on the new Comet soon to be launched.
Over the last two years of this program, we have had discussions with industry leaders and key protagonists from the electric and clean mobility sector in India. We have gained insightful knowledge about what makes this industry tick and why some companies are successful while others struggle to find a breakthrough. Often, there have been golden nuggets on how they continued to find success in a market full of uncertainty and adventure in these early years of energy transition.
During our deep dives in this program, we occasionally have special moments like today where we get to chat with a super user of EVs in India. We uncover the perspectives of the most important person in the entire electric mobility value chain - the driver of the vehicle.
Today, we had a conversation with Priyans Muraka, an EV superuser who owns an MG ZS EV and has completed more than 20,000 KMs using it on work trips across India. We discussed why he chose the MG, his experience with not just fast chargers, but also the various charge point operators, and the pain points of early adopting EV users. Priyans also has his own blogs on using his EV across India and brought a wealth of information for CPOs and EV car manufacturers.
In this episode, we’ve got to do something that is very unique and not normally possible. We were fortunate to have four opinionators- all CEOs of charge point operations companies in India, who visited our Artemis studio on the very same day. They were in Pune to be a part of the energizing India summit, an annual event held every November bringing together key CEOs and decision-makers from the entire clean mobility sector in India. It was one of the most special episode so far!
On 2nd January 2021, as the world was still grappling with the strict Corona lockdowns, limited flights, and hotels being open, we at Energizing India had the opportunity to travel to Delhi to meet with Reji Pillai, President of India Smart Grid Forum. When we asked Reji what is the route to the quickest adoption of clean mobility in India, he responded with amazing clarity. A strong government policy focused on converting intra-city buses from ICE to fully electric. Reji suggested a government mandate and ban on new ICE buses for public transport, but in two years since that conversation, what has happened is classically Indian. There was no government ban and no overt government policy to change all public transport to fully electric in cities. But as everything beautiful and magical in India, it just started to happen.
Today most Indian megacities like Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, amongst others already run more than a hundred electric buses each as part of their public transport system. The miracle happened while the rest of the industry was tracking the launch of the Kia EV6, the Mercedes EQS, and the Ather scooters. Quietly and all of a sudden people in the big cities of India are traveling in greater comfort. Air-conditioned buses that are safer and don't pollute the air while millions commute to and back from work every day.
So today we decided to focus on this public intracity bus sector, and we spoke with Ravi Panga, CEO of the Causis Group. A very interesting company that has acquired an electric bus tech company in Europe and whose electric bus operates in Kyrgyzstan, Mauritius, and even in Qatar for the FIFA world cup and now the new Bombay double-decker electric bus that has us all so very excited.
Over the last 2 years, our program has focused relentlessly on the clean MOBILITY sector in India. So, for this episode, we decide to take a break and examine the clean ENERGY sector instead. Today, we feature a conversation with the CEO of one of Schneider Electric's companies in India. The conversation proved incredibly refreshing not only because we spoke about the energy transition that we are all witnessing across our daily lives and how Lithium would play a predominant role in the future of static energy applications, but also because we had the privilege to speak with a global women leader of Indian origin who has spent the bulk of her career in leadership roles in North America and Australia and who is now is back in India on a new business and technological challenge. Today we speak with Preeti BAJAJ, CEO & MD of Luminous Power Technologies (P) Ltd
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This episode proved very interesting as we returned to the charge Point operations sector to speak to one of Europe's largest CPOs, Fortum.
Following its successful domination of the European market, the company is focusing on expanding its network in India, the world's fourth-largest automobile market. Fortum is among those who believe that infrastructure is required to conclude the Chicken and Egg narrative and facilitate the transition from ICE to electric vehicles.
We speak to none other than Awadhesh JHA, Executive Director for Fortum Charge & Drive India.
The Indian electric vehicle ecosystem is perhaps the most interesting case study demonstrating how the evolution of the clean mobility sector in developing economies differs from mature economies.
While the Electric 2-wheeler industry is experiencing breathtaking growth, particularly due to the impact of electric last-mile delivery services, sales of electric cars were lagging. This is starting to change. 17,802 cars were sold last year. of which 15,198 were Tata EVs.
A local Indian OEM leads the race over global automotive giants. What gives? Has the world changed whilst we were sleeping during the corona lockdowns?
Early adopting EV owners have created EV communities to support each other with learnings and hacks. In this conversation, we speak with members of one such EV user community - the Tata Nexon user group, who talked about the bitter & sweet experiences of using their TATA Nexon EVs. We discuss the cost of ownership in relation to the cost of acquisition.
We also learned that today, Made In India vehicles can stand on their own feet when compared to other vehicles produced globally and win the race of customer delight.
In this episode, we speak with one of the most interesting startups started in South India. A fast-growing charge point operations company, in fact, given its pace of growth, the company can perhaps no longer be called a startup. Zeon Charging is rapidly building the infrastructure needed to enable the EV Revolution in India. We speak with Karthikeyan Palanisamy, CEO and Co-founder of Zeon Charging.
Vijay VAITHEESWARAN, Global Energy & Climate Innovation Editor, of The Economist, London magazine was traveling through India to work on an article featuring the green hydrogen sector in India. We took the opportunity to have him on our podcast on a whistle-stop visit to learn about the electric mobility sector in the US and why China dominates this sector globally.
In this episode, we go back to the OEM sector, but we examine electric cars from a very different and unique perspective as we are featuring a bold and adventurous company that is designing an Indian-made premium EV that will only be available to luxury hotels and tourism fleets. The company is also designing and will manufacture its own battery packs. Already funded by Groupe Eren of France, their first batch of 2,500 limited edition cars will only be available in Bangalore and Delhi as a start.
The car is said to be powered by a single electric motor, that it claims will go from 0-100 km/hr in 5.4 seconds. Energized by a 96-kWh battery pack which it says will have a range of 500 km. We speak today with Dhawal Khullar, CTO of Pravaig Dynamics.
The automotive industry is going through a revolution. India has already established aggressive emission reduction objectives, and the vehicle sector is one critical area where emissions can be dramatically reduced. As EV adoption increases, the attention is shifting to building the infrastructure, such as charging as well as battery swapping stations. It’s clear after the recent budget that the government aims to establish battery-swap service standards, focusing on electric two and three-wheelers that ferry customers and cater to last-mile delivery.
In this episode, we explore the intricacies of battery swapping, and government incentives and arrive at a conclusion on its role in accelerating EV adoption in India.
In this episode, we go back to the OEM sector and speak to none other than Uday NARANG , Founder & CEO of Omega Seiki Mobility. Uday is nurturing this company to become the Tesla of the east for cargo EVs. Driven by data and analytics and a relentless focus on quality, Omega Seiki Mobility has become synonymous with India’s sustainability solutions for last-mile delivery. Uday is having a wonderful time making the rest of the industry uncomfortable. Listen here to find out why!
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In this episode, we go back to the charging infrastructure sector and speak to a unique new startup charge point operator co-founded by a team of people who bring a myriad of experiences from the consulting, advertising, manufacturing, and even the film industry. The one thing that this team has in common is a passion for clean mobility and cleaner air in our cities.
Their operating model for charging infrastructure is different as well, as they use their chargers as outdoor digital advertising opportunities, generating alternative revenue streams for the business. We speak today with two of the co-founders of Sunfuel Electric, Gul Panag and Sudhir Nayak who together with their team through in-depth usage accessibility and ergonomics research have designed what could become one of the most unique chargers designs in the country.
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During the last 18 months on this program, we have covered conversations with the entire EV ecosystem in India including regulators, grid operators, vehicle manufacturers, battery manufacturers and charge point operators. What has become very evident is that the various elements of the EV ecosystem dance to their own tune and are not yet at the point of working in cohesion. For example, the reason it takes so long to charge an EV today is because we need the battery manufacturers, BMS software developers, vehicle OEMs and charger manufacturers to all dance together in a delicate symphony, in order to design a vehicle powered with batteries and managed by BMS that would safely take a super fast charge.
This very unique problem is what a Bangalore-based start-up, Exponent Energy, is furiously working to address. In this episode we speak with Co-founder Arun Vinayak on how Exponent plans to change the world of super fast charging.
For years, the idea of electric vehicles ruling our highways seemed like a far-fetched dream. However, electric vehicles are now in high demand worldwide, and their popularity is only expected to grow in the coming years. Electric vehicles have seen rapid adoption as a result of Li-ion battery price reductions and improved performance. Despite the fact that electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular due to their lower emissions and lower long-term costs, many people are unaware of their potential fire hazards.
Global EV sales reached 2.1 million in 2019 with an overall stock of 7.2 million, indicating that the global EV fleet could grow to 116 million by 2030. EVs with Li-ion batteries are the most common; however, this well-established technology has safety issues related to thermal runaway, a phenomenon caused by cell abuse with fire and explosion consequences. A series of exothermic reactions causes the cells to overheat and emit flammable gas, which can spread from the cell level to the entire battery pack, resulting in fire. This effect can be triggered by a variety of root causes, including cell mechanical abuse, thermal abuse, or electrical abuse.
Unlike ICE vehicles, where the ecosystem was built over the last 100 years, the Electric Vehicle sector is still waiting for all parts of the ecosystem to talk to each other. Until that happens EV drivers and fleet owners will not have a seamless mobility experience. We often hear of the concept of range anxiety, in order to address this we don't just need more chargers or charging stations on the road, instead, the entire ecosystem will need to dance in harmony for the end-user, the power grid, the charging infrastructure, the charging protocol and standards that are implemented, ChargePoint operations the possibility of customers roaming between CPO's and then, of course, the GSM connectivity and paywall software operations.
We have a chicken and egg conundrum today in India with each part of the ecosystem making leaps forward, but in isolation rather than in harmony. Having said that an important layer addressing range anxiety today is in fact the size and the reliability of the ChargePoint Operator. The CPO sector has seen a significant amount of investment in the last 12 months in India, with numerous fast-charging stations being installed around the highways in the country. This is just the beginning; the best is yet to come.
Today we welcome back the CEO of one such ChargePoint Operator Kartikey Hariyani, Managing Director of ChargeZone, who has visited our studios only a year ago but today manages a business that is radically different from the one we have examined at that time.
During the recent annual budget presented by the finance minister in February 2022, she made firm policy announcements on battery swapping infrastructure and it's evident that policy objectives are clearly towards massive swift to clean mobility by 2030. We already have determined that the present buying cycle for ICE vehicles is likely the last one where EVs marks the logical procurement choice and that when the vehicles bought this year come up for a replacement in 3 or 5 years; the natural buying decision will likely be an EV rather than an ICE vehicle unless the EV industry itself messes up the golden opportunity presented to it.
As of February 2022, India has a few million electric Rickshaws of varying battery technologies including lead-acid and lithium-ion chemistries. There are some 200 thousand electric scooters, a few thousand electric buses, but less than 20,000 personal electric cars. The passenger car segment, in particular, has a low level of penetration in India with only a few OEMs offering electric vehicles. New launches planned in 2022 this year includes at the top-end the Mini Cooper Electric, the Volvo XC40 Electric, and the Mercedes-Benz EQA. At the other end of the spectrum, TATA, and MG plan to launch new electric vehicles models in the 10 to 15 lakhs price spectrum, but the choice for buyers for electric cars continues to be very limited and the disconnect is looming. So, what's the go? What is the industry doing wrong? What is hampering OEMs from keeping up with the hype that they themselves have created?
To help examine this subject, today we speak with Cyrus Dhabar, Head of Content of Powerdrift; India's biggest automotive media house.
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Around the world, the sustainable energy revolution is rapidly gaining traction and zero-emission mobility is now a stated target for many economies as well as vehicle manufacturers. In India, the Electric Vehicle sector is still in a nascent stage but going at an astonishing pace. This is facilitated by the union and state governments implementing forward-looking EV policies addressing regulations, rules, standards as well as providing financial incentives.
India's electric vehicle financing market is expected to be about 150 Billion US dollars by 2030, which is nearly 80% of the country's present retail vehicle loan volume. This opens a lot of room for a new financing methodology and for companies in the vehicle financing sector to understand and underwrite EV ownership at lease financing. Beyond the simple loans though there is the opportunity to finance both start-ups as well legacy industry players for a host of opportunities within the ecosystem, such as, for example, battery manufacturing, battery swap technology, various software applications for charge-point operations, interstate roaming, integration of payment apps and even charger manufacturing. Significant risk-related investments by venture capital funds and private equity players are going to be required in each element of the EV ecosystem in India in order to ensure that move to zero-emission mobility is not constrained by various bottlenecks over the next 10 years.
In this episode with Vasudha Madhavan Founder at Ostara Advisors, we look in-depth at the impact that the finance sector in India will have on the electric mobility sector and how it needs to be a crucial pillar of the very foundation of India's move to zero-emission mobility.
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Post COP26 most major economies have set themselves aggressive targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with many releasing objectives to achieve zero-emission mobility through battery-electric and hydrogen mobility within this decade. Even the big oil companies are jumping on to surf this new energy wave. Notice how French oil company Total subtly changed its name to Total Energies and how Reliance + British Petroleum (now referred to as Beyond Petroleum) have come together in India to create Jio-BP, a joint venture that will also roll out a large EV charging network.
With over 15,000 electric cars, a few hundred thousand electric bikes, and some 2 million electric rickshaws on roads in India already, the big move to electric is well underway. But new EV buyers continue to have doubts when making the decision to switch wondering for example, are EVs truly 100% clean mobility? What happens to your new EV after the useful life of the battery? Does one need to buy a whole new set of batteries for example? When will the finance industry get their heads around financing electric vehicle procurement and most importantly how can the EV industry address the issue of sustainability and the second life of the batteries?
These are some of the issues that we will dive into with an industry leader best place to answer some of these questions. In this episode, we speak with Rajeev CHABA, President & Managing Director of MG Motors India.
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Today our show meets someone very interesting as we feature a senior policymaker and regulator for the transport sector in one of India's most progressive states, Kerala. In this very engaging conversation, we cover how the great CORONA lockdowns impacted mobility and the economy of the state. We also discuss why Kerala has some of the most progressive EV implementation policies in India and how the state expects to achieve its target of 1 million vehicles converted to Zero-Emission Mobility within the next 3 years. We also talked about why Kerela has embarked on hydrogen mobility for public transportation including buses and boat ferries.
We talked today with the Principal Secretary Transport for the state of Kerala Mr Jyotilal who has had a distinguished career across India as part of the Indian Administrative Service or IAS and has a reputation for pushing the boundaries of what is possible on all fronts, policy, regulation as well as technology and it happens.
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Our program has now been running for twelve months now, and we have covered a host of subjects including battery chemistries, the potential for Giga-factories in India, charging standards, government policies, mobility technologies and the challenges for the ChargePoint operators.
In this episode, we have a great conversation for you examining the electric mobility industry in India from a completely different perspective. This is going to be a fun episode as today we talk to Alisha Sachdev, a journalist and TV anchor with CNBC TV-18. Alisha was a former news anchor with NDTV and writes for the business pages of The Hindustan Times. She is one of India's preeminent media experts covering the auto sector, given that she has interviewed almost every business and every CEO in this industry. Enjoy!
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Today we attack the subject of conversion towards electric mobility in India from a different perspective. We have so far talked to original equipment manufacturers both Cars and 2-wheelers, ChargePoint operators, Electricity distribution companies. But today we focus on Research & Development and Government Policies.
We speak with Mr. Sajid Mubashir, who is a Scientist G with the Department of Science and Technology the Government of India, with the Ministry of Science and Technology since 2016, reporting directly to the principal secretary. Sajid’s team is working on creating a Road map for Research and Development in all of the sectors of Electric mobility including battery and Charging Infrastructure, vehicle system integration, electric components, materials, and manufacturing. Enjoy!
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Today we focus on mass public transport, the electric bus sector and speak with Nishant Arya Vice Chairman & MD, JBM Auto Ltd., the flagship company of the $2.2B Indian conglomerate JBM Group that recently under his stewardship enter the electric vehicle sector and is finding significant success. Nishant studied at Bradford University and then the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom and worked with multinational corporations in both Europe and Japan before returning to lead the JBM group’s foray into the Electric Vehicle sector in India. Their investments now include not just manufacturing Electric buses, but also Lithium batteries, charging infrastructure, and ChargePoint operations. In effect, JBM will operate in all parts of the EV ecosystem in India. JBM has introduced the ECOLIFE Electric bus in both 9 and 12-meter length variants and these are already redefining the dynamics of public transports in many cities in India.
In this episode, we discuss our world beyond the need to rely on Lithium. After the invention of the wheel, innovations in transportation barely evolved over 4,000 years. The arrival of the Internal Combustion Engine (or ICE technology) changed all of that during the late 1800s and it was the lead-acid battery that enabled the growth of the ICE mobility era, powering the electric starter and the other onboard systems for over 90 years. A competitor to the lead-acid emerged when commercially viable lithium batteries were launched in the mid 1908s. The age of Lithium arrived, powering our phones, personal portable electronic gadgets and even underpinning the electric renaissance that we are witnessing today.
But there is a dark side to Lithium, the need to rape & pillage entire hillsides to power our mobility + communications using a finite source for an ever-hungry and growing human demand, is frankly not sustainable. If all of us on the planet move to electric mobility today there would just not be enough Lithium to power our hopes and prices would soar, resulting in all of us making choices to keep polluting and staying with ICE technology. Moreover, Lithium mining requires significant water resources and as of 2020, it takes 2 million litres of water to mine enough Lithium to power just 90 cars.
Hydrogen is often thought of as a panacea to this problem as an FCEV uses one-tenth amount of Lithium for mobility. But there may be an exciting new development that has popped its head up over the horizon. It's a battery technology that's been going rounds over few years and now seems to finally be landed on a firm footing and could help save the future of our hopes and aspirations for a cleaner planet that is not built on the premise of humans pillaging scarce natural resources. This surprising technology could be Sodium-ion batteries.
Faradion, a British company based in Sheffield in the United Kingdom is pioneering the next generation of advanced low-cost battery materials, implying sodium-ion technology which itself is extinguishable from leading other technologies for energy storage in terms of performance, but can be far cheaper than Lithium-ion batteries. We speak today with James Quinn, CEO of Faradion and a key global technology executive in this sector as well as an entrepreneur in both public and private companies.
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Range anxiety is one of the primary causes of dissonance in the minds of potential buyers of Electric Vehicles and it always ends up with the same chicken and egg story. Which comes first? Electric Vehicles or long distances charging infrastructures.
Fast chargers are expensive and yet without the network, only the early adoptive adventure seekers will lean towards driving an Electric Vehicle. Charge-point operators or put more simply companies that invest in the infrastructure to provide EV users with the ability to charge at multiple locations will play a very important role globally not just in India in facilitating the penetration of EV’s to the point that they are ubiquitous in our lives.
The CPO space globally is made up of either the nimble or very fast-growing start-ups or the other end of the spectrum large investments made by power utility companies to ensure they can keep or sequester this sector directly for themselves.
In India, we are yet to see how this will play out and the market is experiencing so very exciting investments right now in all forty small start-ups already operating in the country as CPO’s, but will reliance create a jio wave in the sector or will Adani come to dominate it soon that’s what we need to find out.
Today we explore the CPO sector in India and speak to the CEO and managing director of one of India’s largest charges point operators TecSo Charge Zone.
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In this episode, we cover one of the automotive world's romantic icons which in its new avatar is also working to rapidly contribute to a greener future for India. Founded in 1924, MG had a rich history in racing and set numerous land speed records, pioneering its way through a bleeding-edge performance. After a roller coaster journey, today MG is cutting a path-breaking journey in India with the MG ZS- EV, arguably one of the best-looking EVs in India. We grabbed the opportunity to talk with Mr. Gaurav GUPTA, COO at MG India during an evening commute in Delhi in an MG EV. The conversation covers MG’s plans for electrification, focus areas for growth in India, the brand's aspirations in India, and also recreating the golden era of MG.
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A few months ago we featured a conversation about the impact that Electric Rickshaws have had in Delhi & Gurgaon, that conversation was about what used to happened a few years ago with street-level handling of lead-acid batteries, the lack of safety of these 3 wheeled transit vehicles which were mostly imported from China and the impact on the grid from the power that was stolen to charge them.
It created a sort of response & comments online that normally are reserved for incendiary statements. People commented that we were being unfair to these Chinese imports as we were calling them unsafe and that we haven’t done our research on street level Battery Charing & handling of lead which had improved in the last few years in Delhi.
So we decided to check it out ourselves and unravel the drama behind Delhi’s E reaction to uncover the number and data that makes this sector tick.
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Today we speak to one of the crucial lynchpins of the entire EV movement in India.
As an entrepreneur, he is widely recognized for his role in shaping the Indian Electric scooter industry and also for his contributions to various forums in the Electric Vehicles sector both in India and globally.
He completed his Master’s in Business Administration from Huron University in London, and apprenticed with Land Rover in West Midlands, UK, before returning to India and becoming the first entrepreneur to introduce the electric vehilces to the country in 2001. His EV venture was already selling vehicles in 2007, before Tesla has even sold its first car commercially.
He has held various key positions in organizations such as the YPO or Young President’s Organization and EO, Entrepreneurs Organisation and was previously also Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry’s New Delhi State Council.
He is the Managing Director of Hero Electric. Naveen MUNJAL.
You sure don’t want to miss this one!
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In today's episode, we talk to two interesting entrepreneurs, twin sisters Nikita & Nishita from Bhubaneshwar, who are working to create disruptions for the lithium-ion battery sector. Listed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for India, they have invented a battery with the same energy density as lithium-ion but is made from farm waste. Their peptide crystal batteries have been charged 8 times faster than Li-Ion in lab conditions. If this technology takes off, it could address the sustainability challenges of electric mobility globally.
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In today's episode, we decided to change track and feature a conversation with interesting insights from the perspective of an EV end user. Aakash drove his Tata Nexon 1500 km from Jaipur to Longewala and back and we go over the challenges and joys of an EV on long drives, including tow charging, issues with earthing for AC charging, and how ordinary drivers may be able to do long drives Atma Nirbhar with their own AC chargers today
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In today's episode, we change focus completely and move to the grid, the charging standards and the ability of the power network to be able to accommodate the growth that the government hopes to achieve in E-mobility within this decade, We really enjoyed recording this conversation for you which was with an imminently likeable and iconic personality driving change within the regulatory and policy spheres for E-mobility in India
Our conversation today is with Reji Kumar PILLAI, President of the India Smart Grid Forum and chairman of the Global Smart Energy Federation, known across the E-mobility and power sectors globally as a result
Working behind the scenes quite like Batman, Reji has been able to influence key policy changes to allow the charge point industry to come about in India and for the convergence in opinions on charging standards in the country
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Today's episode features one of the companies that has taken the largest risks in the EV space, and now through its acquisition of Reva has in fact also taken on the mantle of being the oldest player in the EV space in India is Mahindra.
Mahindra Electic has sold over 32,000 electric vehicles in India. Yes, you heard right, there are already over 32,000 electric vehicles on the road in India today - and these are just from Mahindra, who plan to sell over 500,000 electric vehicles in India by 2025.
To kick off our 2021 series, Energizing India podcast co-hosts, Trivikram APTE and Sunil BHAMBHANI speak with the MD & CEO of Mahindra Electric, Mahesh BABU. This insightful conversation covered Mahesh’s own journey with Mahindra, the company’s plans to sell 500,000 EVs in Indian within 5 years, and the fact that Mahindra is focusing these to be 3 and 4 wheeled EVs, the journey so far with the challenges posed by varying charging standards and an ecosystem that has yet to evolve for EVs, battery swap versus charge strategies and how EVs can help provide emergency powers to homes as well
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Today's episode features four experienced thought leaders from the E Mobility sector in India discussing what the industry will likely experience once the first lithium-ion Gigafactories arrive in the country. Mahesh Godi, CEO Godi Energy, Vikram HANDA, MD Epsilon Carbon Pvt Ltd, Stefan LOUIS, CEO Nexcharge (the Exide/ Leclanche JV), and Dr. LN Satapahty, Additional General Manager, BHEL.
In this fireside chat, we discuss Niti Ayog's initiatives to facilitate investment establishing over 50 GWH manufacturing capacity in India in the next few years, covering in detail what will happen to battery prices, the geopolitical challenges of importing the raw materials in such large quantities when China dominates the value chain to its advantage, as well as their forecasts for when such a major uplift in capacity will happen in India. Tune in to hear perspectives from different parts of the lithium value chain.
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In today's episode of Energizing India Podcast, we feature India's most iconic brand.
Sulajja FIRODIA Founder & CEO at Kinetic Green Energy is a pioneer of electric vehicles in India, staying true to her family heritage that pioneered the iconic LUNA in the 60s and India's first gearless scooter, the Kinetic Honda in the 80s. Sulajja is one of India's well-recognized women entrepreneurs presently working to change the passenger transit and light goods transport segment and how this important aspect of mobility in India is being decarbonized through innovative electric solutions.
Listen in to hear the journey of Sulajja from her days at Carnegie Mellon to today leading the electric revolution in light goods transport and what is her dream for Kinetic Green.
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In today's episode, we feature the one and only Tarun MEHTA Co-founder & CEO at Ather Energy
Innovations in India typically lean towards the E-commerce & service sectors with multiple start-ups springing up in these sectors over the past decade. However, there is one start-up that went against the trend and ventured into the more capital intensive sector of design & manufacturing, leading the path toward decarbonized mobility in India, but also making that mobility really very cool.
Ather Energy is changing the game in India, changing the game in the Indian two-wheeler market with its Ather 450x scooter which is completely electric and runs on lithium-ion batteries. Ather is in effect the Tesla of the two-wheeler mobility market in India, demonstrating that an electric bike need not compromise on its looks, range, speed, or safety.
Listen in to hear the journey of Ather from 2013 to today and what is planned for the future. Tarun is candid about the secret of their success and also about policy changes that will help the industry grow faster.
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Stefan LOUIS, CEO of Nexcharge speaks with Ravin MIRCHADANI on the evolution of the lithium industry in India. Nexcharge is a joint venture between Leclanché of Switzerland and Exide Industries of India and is focused on manufacturing the latest technology lithium batteries in India. Stefan covers his experience establishing a factory in India, an analysis of government policy on fostering EV growth, and attracting lithium battery manufacturing to India. He covers a deep analysis on what India needs to do in order to catch up with China on lithium and EVs, how the sector will evolve in India based on the application use case differences in India versus global benchmarks, and also the reality of building an industry in India based on a supply chain that is presently dominated by China. Tune-In to the Energizing India podcast to hear the opinions of key opinion leaders on lithium-based energy storage.
Maxson LEWIS is the Managing Director of Magenta Power, one of India’s largest charge point operators. Magenta focuses on clean mobility & clean energy. In this conversation, Maxson covers his journey establishing a start-up in India that is focused on clean mobility and offers deep insights into a possible road map for full electrification of the mobility sector in India. The conversation touches on the need for the entire EV ecosystem to move forward in a coordinated manner simultaneously, building trust with consumers and also the impact of the hydrogen economy on E-mobility in India.
Tune in to the whole podcast to learn from one of India's largest charge point operators.
Today we have a conversation with Maxson LEWIS, on the government policies for EVs in India, the future of hydrogen & the 2030 dream of complete electrification
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Welcome to the pilot episode of our Energizing India Podcast, a podcast that focuses on electric vehicle mobility in India, the E - mobility industry, and how change can be brought about to grow this industry as quickly as possible.
Today in our Pilot Podcast, we talk about people & culture and the impact of the Covid-19 at Ador Digatron, one of the pioneers of battery formation, charging, and testing equipment in India.
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