Assessment of Charging Technologies Currently Used for Electric Two and Three Wheelers in India

The commercial application of electric two-wheelers (e-2Ws) and electric three-wheelers (e-3Ws) with lithium ion batteries is growing in India. Hence, charging infrastructure for these electric vehicles (EVs) would be essential. Currently, there is no standardization of charging practices worldwide for these EVs. In view of this, an investigation is done to understand how the e-2Ws and e-3Ws in India are currently being charged. The paper presents an overview of the charging technologies associated with e-2Ws and e-3Ws with advanced batteries in the Indian market. Manufacturers, fleet operators and swapping service providers are consulted to study charging of the e-2W and e-3Ws. The study concludes that for e-2Ws and e-3Ws with battery size less than 5 kWh, the charging requirement can be met through 230 V, 16 A (3.3 kW) outlets. The paper also finds that portable chargers serve the purpose of on-board chargers in this segment. While planning the charging of these vehicles, the thermal management of the batteries should be taken into account. Detachable batteries make swapping an equally practical option for e-2Ws. In the case of e-3Ws the weight of the batteries should be managed to facilitate swapping. To estimate charging power for swapping a thumb rule of half of battery capacity can be used. The total power demand at the swapping station will depend on the number of batteries.