India-EU Workshop on Electric Vehicles Charging Technology Held in Pune on 24 Feb 2025

·         The India-EU Trade and Technology Council First Workshop on Electric Vehicles (EV) Charging Technology

·         Organised by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), with the support of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India.

 

[ABS News Service/25.02.2025]

The EU and India are deepening their partnership as part of a new strategic agenda to enhance prosperity, stability, security and people-to-people connections, to which the cooperation in the area of research brings a dynamic contribution.

The first India-EU Workshop on Electric Vehicles Charging Technology was held in Pune, India, on 24th Feb 2025 under the auspices of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) Working Group 2 on Green and Clean Energy Technologies, successfully bringing together policy-makers, representatives from electro-mobility industry, standardisation associations and technical testing facilities, to foster harmonised solutions for sustainable transport.  The workshop was attended by Dr. Monoranjan Mohanty (Adviser) and Dr Hafsa Ahmad (Scientist) from Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to Government of India, Dr. Reji Mathai (Director) and Mr. Abhihit Mulay (Deputy Director) from the Automotive Research Association of India and Mr. Nitish Kumar Jain, Deputy Director, Bureau of Indian Standards. Participants from European Commission included Dr. Liliana Pasecinic, Dr. Harald Scholz, Mr. Dirk Groβmann and Dr. Saki Gerassis, who joined online. Stakeholders from the Indian and European industry also actively participated in the workshop.

The workshop has been one of milestones in the TTC Working Group 2 work agenda and will be discussed as an achievement in the forthcoming 2nd TTC Ministerial meeting to be held in New Delhi on 28th Feb 2025.

Organised by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), with the support of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India, the workshop addressed key policy and technical aspects of EV charging, covering all size classes of electric vehicles, and focusing on standardisation, and strategic cooperation. The workshop featured expert presentations, policy dialogues, and panel discussions, covering critical topics such as:

·         The EU- and Indian charging standards, infrastructure requirements, requirements for communication and interoperability targets;

·         Insights about the future strategic directions in India and the EU in sustainable mobility, including potential synergies leading to economies of scale;

·         EV Charging system testing capabilities and pre-normative research, with focus on ARAI and JRC facilities;

·         Industry perspectives to enhance India-EU collaboration in EV-charging

The workshop provided the opportunity to deepen bilateral cooperation on harmonising standards for EV charging infrastructure, including cooperative, pre-normative research for harmonised testing solutions and knowledge exchange in the field of electro-mobility.

Additionally, the participants were provided the opportunity to visit the ARAI laboratory, gaining first-hand exposure to India's state-of-the-art EV and electro-mobility testing facilities.

About the Trade and Technology Council set up by India and the EU

The India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) was first announced by the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, and India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in April 2022. Established on February 6, 2023, this strategic coordination mechanism allows both sides to tackle challenges at the nexus of trade, trusted technology, and security, and deepens cooperation in these fields. Establishing India-EU TTC is a key step towards a strengthened strategic partnership for the benefit of all people in India and the EU.

The TTC is a key forum to deepen the strategic partnership on trade and technology between the two partners. Geostrategic challenges have reinforced the EU and India’s common interest in ensuring security, prosperity, and sustainable development based on shared values.

The TTC consists of three Working Groups:

1.    Working Group 1 on Strategic Technologies, Digital Governance and Digital Connectivity

2.    Working Group 2 on Green and Clean Energy Technologies; and

3.    Working Group 3 on Trade, Investment and Resilient Value Chains.

Working Groups are now jointly working to advance identified objectives and key actions. The India-EU TTC Working Group 2 on Green and Clean Energy Technologies is being led by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India from the Indian side and the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission from the EU side.

Both sides expect to report at the next TTC Meeting at Ministerial level, in 2025, on the progress made in this area through initiatives such as this workshop on Standardisation Strategy and trustable testing possibilities in EV mobility.