What is issue?
The automobile industry is planning to shift its focus from fossil fuels powered vehicles to electric powered vehicles.
What are the challenges?
- Affordability of e-vehicles (EVs) as they are presently costly
- Range they can cover on a single battery charge is currently limited.
- Finding the natural resources such as lithium, cobalt and nickel to make recyclable batteries is difficult.
- There is also the question of the sustainability of making millions of batteries that must be recycled.
What has been the progress so far?
- The technological limits of the power source are being pushed constantly i.e less material is being used to produce higher energy density, and at lower cost.
- Tesla had set its goal to mass-market electric cars that are efficient on range, and offer a minimum of 340 km on one charge.
- Many major automobile manufacturers have announced plans for electrics.
- France, announced recently that it will end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040.
What should be done?
- India, could give electro-mobility a boost through declaring its policy on EVs soon.
- Electric two-wheelers and public transport buses can be made attractive through tax incentives.
Source: The Hindu
