New Indigenous EV Charging Standard For India, Big Boon For EV Growth

The Bureau of Indian Standards has just announced the arrival of a new charging connector standard for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers. This new connector is an indigenously developed solution that can account for both AC and DC charging. The new standard is called IS17017 (Part 2 / Sec 7): 2023 and it aims to be the new common ground for all EV players in the country.

This would potentially be very convenient for two-wheeler and three-wheeler users. Think of it like your mobile phone’s Type-C USB port. Since nearly every phone on the planet uses the same standard, it makes it easy for you to charge your device, right? And you wouldn’t need to carry a cable or charger everywhere also, as you can borrow your friend’s charger. Unless, you have an iPhone with a lightning cable or an old android with a micro-USB port. So, similar is the case here.

The biggest benefactor from this is Ather as the standard set is the same as the IP that it made public a few years ago, in order to promote efficient battery charging solutions. Considering it is available in the open source market, EV players can adopt it and use it to their liking. Simpler terms, stock Android from Google made available to Samsung, Vivo, OnePlus, Nothing and so on as well as Google itself.

What the government isn’t doing, though, is that it is making it mandatory for EV players to adopt this standard. So far, only Hero Vida has made use of the Ather standard, as Hero has invested in the company as well as the AtherGrid network is the largest two-wheeler fast charging infrastructure in the country. So, unlike the EU making it mandatory for all phones to have Type-C USB charging in the future, making Apple ditch the lightning port for the iPhone 15, the Indian EV players are still allowed to use their own charging standards.

Here’e what Ather’s Swapnil Jain had to say on this, “Taking our stride further in the EV space today, we have an EV charging standard for India with the potential to be implemented worldwide. This is a remarkable achievement because, for the first time, an India-designed and developed technology can be used globally. As a country, we have come a long way because we are no longer dependent on any EV technology transfer from outside India to create something that has a worldwide market. This could well be the tipping point that catapults India into a global league of technology-based solution providers in the EV-automobile sector that only a few countries in the world are capable of.”

Niranjan Gupta, CEO, Hero MotoCorp, said, “A home-grown connector-standard is a breakthrough achievement for the country and the EV industry, aligned with the government’s ‘Make in India’ policy. In fact, it is not just about Make in India any more, it is ‘Innovate in India and Make for the World’. Along with Ather Energy, it has been Hero MotoCorp’s constant endeavour to take the industry forward and make India the global leader in the light electric vehicle category. This development will go a long way in the pursuance of our vision. We appreciate the government agencies for passing this landmark standard that will provide convenience to customers. Congratulations to the teams at Ather Energy and Hero MotoCorp for supporting this significant government initiative.”

We have reached out to other prominent EV players as well and will update the story accordingly.