“Future is dynamic and so is the powertrain,” said Pamela Tikku, Chief Business Officer, International Centre of Automotive Technology (ICAT).
Participating in a panel discussion titled ‘Towards a Sustainable Future: Avoiding Short-Term Gains For Long-Term Holistic Energy Provision’, at a webinar on Powertrain of the Future, organised by Mobility Outlook, Tikku said as the focus on achieving net-zero emission intensifies, “we see the emergence of more and more alternative fuel options.”
During the last few years, the automotive industry has seen the growth of various alternative fuel options, including CNG, LNG, EVs, and FCEVs, among others, earning the decade the nickname of ‘Decade of Alternate Fuel’, she said.
Supporting this, Saurabh Saxena, Head of Powertrain, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, said that the automotive industry in India contributes to about 15% of the total CO2 emissions in India. Although the government is taking steps to accelerate the lowering of emissions with various norms like CAFE, he noted that improving upon ICE vehicles wouldn’t be enough to have a greener future. “We need to look at more greener solutions like BEVs or Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles to reduce the carbon footprint,” Saurabh added. However, in the current state, the transition towards greener mobility can be aided by ICE vehicles using methanol and ethanol, he added.
Sanjeev Saxena, President - Automotive Division, Schaeffler India, noted that according to projections, India will see an increase in vehicle production. He believes that with the rise in production, the country will see a certain amount of hybridisation, and this technology will play a role in India. Besides hybridisation, another option that the industry is working on is biofuel. Tikku noted that biofuel technology in India is evolving today.
Dr Saravanan Muthiah, Vice President - Engineering/ R&D, NRB Bearings, noted that the OEMs are currently trying to stretch what they already have with technologies like conversion of ICE to flex-fuel or CNG/LNG.
Sanjeev noted that India will probably be the last country to see ICE engines with sensor technologies.
What’s In Store For The Future?
Although the Indian OEMs are trying to push the limits of what they currently have, Dr Muthiah believes that ICE as a technology will not sustain for more than 10-15 years. “With the Euro-7 regulation, as it is discussed, the vehicles will practically be close to zero emissions. Now, if the industry goes ahead with Euro-8, the outcome won’t be good if we continue to look at ICE vehicles,' he said.
The latest EU goals suggest that by 2030 it aims to produce vehicles that will release 59 grams or less of CO2 per km. If this has to happen, about 35-40% of the total vehicles on the road have to be EVs, Dr Muthia said. With this, he believes that the other countries will follow in the same footsteps and thus forcing India to follow the same (with 35-40% electrification in the mobility sector), as the country has always been inspired by others.
However, Saurav noted, “We cannot electrify the whole world with the available resources and raw materials. Definitely there must be parallel solutions to co-exist. Hydrogen is one such solution.”
India should also focus on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to get around the emissions. He added that the technology will be a boon for India as it does not need to depend on others for raw materials, as is the case with EVs.
Sanjeev termed hydrogen as the long term fuel and stated that hydrogen fuel cells will play an essential role in India, especially in the CVs and the stationary use cases. “FCVs will surprise the industry,” he added.
According to a study by NITI Aayog, only 6.6% of the total electricity consumed in India is consumed by EVs,while the majority of the electricity is consumed by industries and air conditions, Dr Muthiah noted. With this data, it seems that hydrogen economy is possibly a good thing to look at at this stage, both for the mobility sector and stationary use.
Roadblocks Ahead
The panellists noted that although the country sees a lot of emerging technologies to attain sustainability and zero emissions, the ground reality is different.
Sanjeev noted that none of the OEMs is willing to invest in a new powertrain or transmission at this stage. Dr Muthiah explained that with investment in developing a powertrain going up, at this stage, no OEM is willing to invest in a new powertrain or transmission as there is no clarity for the future.
From the testing agency's point of view, Tikku said that until and unless the testing agencies have the infrastructure to test the new technologies, none of them will see the light of the day. She added that the testing agencies plan their investment based on what is happening in the industry and what is about to happen, and at this stage, ICAT doesn’t see a market for hydrogen in the next four to five years. Before hydrogen sees the light of the day, it is very important to create an infrastructure for it, not just for storing but also for transporting.
“Hydrogen is a different ball game altogether. Hydrogen transportation is not that easy and we need to create an infrastructure for transporting hydrogen and also dispensing it,” Tikku stated.
Conclusion
With the numerous technologies emerging in the sustainable mobility sphere, the panellists believe that every segment will have different powertrain options. Sanjeev exclaimed that it’s not like one size fits all.
Saurav said the big picture will not be successful if the country sees only tank to wheel solutions rather than well to wheel. He continued that BS-IV to BS-VI in three years was very challenging for India, but the Indian automotive industry did it, and a similar approach is needed for the transition to hydrogen. “But the question is do we take one big step or small steps to reach the goal. We are on the right path but can’t take a giant leap. EV retrofitting will also emerge as a business model, as we currently see with CNG retrofitting. However, with EVs, we need to be careful; these vehicles are made with high voltage solutions,” Saurav said.
From a supplier point of view, Dr Muthiah stated that the suppliers need to provide better value to the OEMs. ICE sedans have about 60 bearings, but it will be half the number in their EV counterparts. However, the challenge of lubrication for bearings in EVs is huge as they produce high torque that can break the bearings.
“The challenges in friction reduction are huge, it is one of the aspects, but the main focus is to enhance performance. The bearings and their placement for EVs will be very different from what we have in ICE,” Sanjeev concluded.