This book Charging India: Developing E-Mobility Ecosystem explores various facets of this transition to e-mobility, looking at a macro level of India’s quest for 100 percent electric mobility. The book, written by Dr. Parag Diwan, who is a technologist and an energy sector academic, also delves into best practices regarding how countries across the globe transitioned to electric vehicles.

It dwells on India’s electric vehicle position and opportunities in India. In India, like most South Asian countries, car ownership is often associated to be a status symbol. This has led to a significant increase in the number of cars over the last few decades, bringing in resultant issues like increased vehicular congestion on the roads and air pollution.

Most Indian cities are exploring novel ways to integrate different types of transportation system in cities and reduce the number of single-person driven cars on roads, cleaner fuel and best technologies are being heavily explored along with mechanisms to mass-deploy them in cities. On the technology side, extensive research of systems conducive to Indian conditions is being identified. The sector is hinging towards developing an ecosystem for electric vehicles to reach critical mass. 

The book provides a one-stop source for information about the policies that inform readers about the limitations and opportunities that currently exist in the country. While many of these policy interventions - both at central and state level - have concentrated primarily on the manufacturing side of the electric vehicles, it is pivotal that policy frameworks should now turn their focus to Electric Vehicle (EV) Services and auxiliary services to garner interests amongst consumers to adopt electric vehicles. 

While government regulations and policies aid the ecosystem development, innovations in subsystems and components of EVs is a crucial aspect for the advancement of technology in the sector.

The book also provides focused inputs on different parts of an electric vehicle - starting with the battery - analogous with the heart in a human body. The dedicated chapter explores the history of battery technology, celebrates major milestones in battery development before exploring the role, opportunities, and considerations of batteries for EV application. It focuses on different types of battery technologies and the chemistry available and in use for readers to understand the nuances between battery types.

What makes this chapter essential is to understand the nuances of customer adoption and usage. Many consumers are still apprehensive about the number of kilometres they can drive on a single charge of these vehicles - giving birth to the term most associated with electric vehicles, ‘range anxiety.’ Studies show that while cars spend most of the time parked, the issue of range anxiety is currently affecting the adoption of electric vehicles. 

The book moves on to investigate the different components of an electric vehicle, while making a distinction between traditional vehicles and electric vehicles. In great depth, the book examines the basic principles of EVs, before delving into specific components. The book is written in a way that readers do not have to necessarily have prior knowledge of automobile design and mechanical energy but should be interested in knowing the role of each part and how they contribute to the effectiveness of the electric vehicle.

The chapter dedicated to the components of the EV also talks about the electric and electronic modules involved and how they play an important role in increasing the efficiency of the vehicle. Electric vehicles have integrated some technologies like the battery management system (an upgrade on the current fuel management system) and regenerative braking that puts them at an operational and cost advantage to conventional gasoline-based vehicles. 

By now, the readers would have a fair idea of the structure of EVs and the book then transitions to understanding the fuel type - in this case, electricity - for EVs to run on. The chapter introduces different charger types that are being used across the world, with information on the evolution of the chargers and how countries have institutionalized the charger type based on the current specifications of the region. The chapter also explains different charging infrastructure technologies that are being experimented globally, with a focus on inductive charging and the potential it holds for influencing trips patterns. 

With a strong foundation of the charger types, the book builds from there to understand the factors that affect the adoption of electric vehicles - the electric charging infrastructure. The book paints a picture of the global best practices of establishing a city, state, and countrywide charging infrastructure, and narrowing it down to examples from Asia to understand the contextual aspect of the development. The chapter talks about a different kind of charging infrastructure to be explored, the participation of different agencies and players, and the implications of setting up electric charging stations. A specific section of the book also briefs about India, examining the opportunities and limitations of setting up the infrastructure and the impact of increased demand for energy on the power grid.

The last two chapters delve deep into the major challenges of EV policies in India and how different industry vehicles need to adapt to this transition and comparing it to the global scenario of EVs. These chapters also discuss a different kind of business models - manufacturing, service, and disposal - that have come up recently across the globe and how India, at this moment, is perfectly placed to deploy these innovations across cities. 

The book intends to be a collection of fundamental and design principles of an EV where readers can learn the basics, methods, practices, trends, and future expectations of the EVs and as such may inspire many to develop a keen interest in the Electric/Hybrid Vehicle technologies and be more participative in this transition.

The book is useful not only for those involved in this field but also for students, entrepreneurs, armed and security forces and can also serve as an academic textbook for the university students who are taking a foundation course in electrical vehicles. 

(Charging India: Developing E-Mobility Ecosystem by Dr. Parag Diwan; Published by Pentagon Press; Pages 208; Price Rs. 995)

(The writer is a former spokesperson, Indian Army and Ministry of Defence. He can be contacted at wordsword02@gmail.com)