India, EU to deepen ties towards sustainable, connected mobility systems
New Delhi, March 18
Policymakers and industry experts have highlighted the importance of deeper India-EU collaboration in research, innovation, standards and testing to support the transition towards sustainable and connected mobility systems, according to an official statement.
The India and the European Union continue to deepen their strategic partnership under the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC), with growing cooperation in green and clean energy technologies contributing meaningfully to sustainable mobility, resilient innovation ecosystems, and future-ready industrial partnerships.
Towards this goal, the second India-EU Workshop on Electric Vehicle (EV) charging technologies was held at the Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy, from Match 15-17.
The workshop was jointly organised by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA) to the Government of India, and the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) of the European Commission, in partnership with Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), and EU Delegation to India.
It brought together policymakers, technical experts, standards bodies, testing and research institutions, and industry representatives from India and the EU to deliberate on pathways for developing harmonised, interoperable, and future-ready EV charging ecosystems.
According to the statement, the programme included updates on policy and standards, strategic industry perspectives, technical sessions on megawatt charging systems, vehicle-to-grid integration and bidirectional charging, and wireless power transfer, along with laboratory visits to JRC's EV and smart grid testing facilities.
Dr Rakesh Kaur, Adviser/Scientist-'G', OPSA, underlined the importance of India-EU cooperation in creating trusted, interoperable, and future-ready charging ecosystems for clean mobility transition.
Nienke Buisman, Head of Unit International Cooperation, DG RTD EC, and Dr Christian Thiel, Head of Unit (Sen.), JRC also highlighted the importance of deeper India-EU collaboration in research, innovation, standards, and testing to support the transition towards sustainable and connected mobility systems.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Great to see focus on interoperability. The last thing we need is different charging standards for every car brand. A common standard will reduce costs and confusion for consumers. Hope the outcomes are implemented quickly.
All this talk is good, but what about the ground reality? First, we need to fix our electricity supply and grid stability, especially in smaller cities and on highways. A charging station is useless during a power cut.
As someone who recently bought an EV, the charging infrastructure is the biggest worry. Workshops like these that focus on future-ready tech like vehicle-to-grid are crucial. Hope they also consider affordability for the mass market.
Strategic partnerships like this are key. We have the market, they have advanced R&D. Combining forces can create solutions that work for Indian conditions - think of our traffic, heat, and dust. Jai Hind!
While I appreciate the collaboration, I hope our policymakers ensure that the standards developed don't just favor European companies. Indian manufacturers like ARAI must have a strong, equal say to protect our domestic industry's interests.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.