TN govt creating comprehensive EV sector roadmap: Official

Industries should come forward to build and support the electric vehicle segment, as Tamil Nadu is engaged in the creation of a comprehensive EV sector roadmap, a government officialsaid here on Wednesday.

A government facilitation centre is being launched in Coimbatore in association with 25 companies to boost the EV industry, Thiru Srinivasan, Senior advisor (EV sector) of the Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, FaMe TN, said.

“Tamil Nadu is one of the early movers in the EV space domain. It is now a logical step for companies to establish cell manufacturing units with one of the four companies committed to investing in Chennai and the other three are investing just across the borders of the state,” he said at the EV Summit organised by Tamil Nadu Technology Development and Promotion Centre of industry body CII.

“The government is also creating a very comprehensive EV sector roadmap with the aim of competing with the world and not within India,” he said.

A government facilitation centre for (electric) Vehicle Testing facility is being planned for which the location is yet to be identified, he said.

“The government is emphasising on skilling and upskilling of employees, an upgrade in the curriculum for polytechnic and engineering colleges,” he said.

Mahindra and Mahindra Vice President and Head of Technology Shankar Venugopal said, “Critical resources like lithium (for electric vehicle manufacturing) will be mined not just from the earth but from the deep sea as they have an abundance of rich minerals.””India in the recent past has announced 5.9 million tonnes of lithium deposits in the Jammu and Kashmir region,” he said.

Ashok Leyland Advanced Vehicle Programme Vice-President and Chief Engineer Gopi Sankar said, “There are two major challenges that the EV industry faces. One is the infrastructure set up by it for electric or hydrogen vehicles and the other is the development of technology.”Charging infrastructure is one key aspect that needs to be looked at. There are a range of anxiety issues when one travels in electric vehicles, unlike in ones that use fossil-based fuels.

The other challenge is developing technology for swapping of batteries, self-charging or high speed-charging, he added.

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