Delhi to Jaipur on electric highway? Trial run begins

Tech trial run of electric vehicles on the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway has been flagged off today by the National Highway for Electric Vehicles (NHEV) under Ease of Doing Business (EoDB). The tech trial run, which was flagged off from Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, India Gate, will go on for one month. Through this initiative, the NHEV aims to understand the economic feasibility of the EV infrastructure along the 270-km highway.

Post successful tech trail run, the Delhi-Jaipur highway will be ready for EVs and be thrown open to public by March 2023. The longest distance trial run will majorly focus on the economic feasibility and commercialization along the highway. Further, the technical, economic, environmental, and social feasibility of the EVs will be studied. “This trial run will establish the viability of EVs and supporting infrastructure for the common people and help eliminate any glitches. For India to meet its target of Carbon neutrality by 2070, EVs need to become a common man’s vehicle," said Abhijeet Sinha, Program Director, NHEV.

The first phase of this tech-trial run was conducted by NHEV last year between Delhi-Agra on Yamuna Expressway. The previous trail analyzed the technical feasibility of the EV infrastructure on the highway.

The one-month trial run will be conducted in partnership with NueGo electric mobility coach from NHEV partner, GreenCell Mobility, and will cover all the aspects related to the EV operation on highways.

The NHEV will then present a detailed report containing findings and recommendations from the tech trial run to the government. This will be studied by Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, for inclusion of AHEM in NHAI while building future highways. The findings and experiences from these tech-trial runs will be utilized to convert 5,000 km of traditional highways into electric-highway.