With this adoption, the Bureau is foreseeing the enablement of interoperable, multi-service and secure wireless communications networks for government, utilities, service providers and enterprises in India.

Under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme, which was introduced in July 2021, a nationwide rollout of more than 250 million smart meters is currently underway, while also large-scale smart city development is underway with the government having allocated support towards the development of 100 smart cities in the country.

“The adoption of the Wi-SUN Alliance wireless communications specification as a standard for India by the BIS is a clear signal that the national standards body recognises the role that wireless mesh technology will play in driving the growth of smart cities in India and the rapid rollout of smart meter projects over the next few years,” commented Phil Beecher, President and CEO of the Wi-SUN Alliance.

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Reji Pillai, President of the India Smart Grid Forum and Chairman of the Global Smart Energy Federation, said the Forum has been closely associated with the Wi-SUN Alliance for over a decade and described India’s adoption of the Wi-SUN FAN as a great achievement.

“In India we should ideally make it mandatory for all smart metering and smart city applications which will ensure interoperability between different systems and reduce total cost of ownership of all applications.”

Wi-SUN’s wireless mesh technology is currently supporting the Smart City Living Lab project in Hyderabad, a partnership between the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-H), the government of Telangana and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology India that serves as a test bed for smart city technologies.

The Wi-SUN Alliance is already running the Wi-SUN FAN PHY certification programme for the Indian frequency band (865-868MHz), with testing at TUV Rheinland Bangalore.

The Alliance is also working to start the certification programme for the Wi-SUN FAN specification. The test setup available for Wi-SUN FAN certification can also be used for IEEE 2857 and BIS standard IS 18010 (Part4/Sec1) compliance testing and verification.

The Wi-SUN FAN specification is aimed to support the specification and rollout of large-scale outdoor networks including smart metering projects, smart grids, street lighting and other IoT applications.

Wi-SUN Alliance member companies based in India include Cisco, Renesas, Silicon Labs, Texas Instruments, Exegin and CyanConnode.

In the analysis ICRA states that the pace of installations is expected to witness a significant jump over the next two years, supported by the progress in tendering and the government’s focus on improving the finances of the distribution companies.

As of December 2023, 222.3 million smart meters had been sanctioned by the government, but of these 98.7 million had been awarded.

However, only 8 million smart meters had been installed as of December 2023.

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The Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme was introduced by the government in July 2021 with the objectives of improving the financial and operational efficiencies of the distribution companies, including reducing the aggregate technical and commercial losses to 12-15% by 2025 – a target not far off being reached in 2023, the Ministry of Power has reported.

A key pillar of the scheme is the nationwide rollout of smart meters, with the adoption of a ‘design, build, finance, own, operate and transfer’ model to enable the distribution companies to avoid the upfront investment cost of the meters and associated communication and IT infrastructures.

Advanced metering infrastructure service providers, who supply, finance, install and operate the systems, then bid for the projects, with the service charge per month per meter being the key parameter, ICRA notes.

ICRA also comments that the viability for the winning bidders remains largely linked with the capital costs of the smart meters and their associated infrastructure.

Further, the availability of a direct debit payment mechanism, wherein online payments received from consumers are routed from the payment gateway to the AMI service providers is likely to mitigate the counterparty credit risk associated with the distribution companies to a large extent.

However, demonstration of this mechanism remains to be seen.

ICRA states in the analysis that the expected jump in smart meter installations over the next two years should improve the billing and collection efficiency of the distribution companies.

However, it advises that while choosing customers for replacing the meters, the companies should be mindful of their consumption potential to achieve net positive savings after the installation.

Among the rollouts under way, the state smart metering jv Intellismart has an order book of approximately 20 million units.

Similarly Adani Energy Solutions has an approximately 20 million smart meter order book and is partnering with telecoms provider Airtel, which will power them with its IoT platform based on NB-IoT, 4G and 2G.

According to a government-issued release, the results mark a significant improvement in the performance of Indian power distribution, which they compare with a 25.72% loss in FY 2014-2015.

They add how, due to the reforms, the availability of power supply in 2023 increased to 20.6 hours in rural areas (compared with 12.5 hours in 2015) and 23.78 hours in urban areas.

Financial losses of distribution utilities have also come down, from Rs.46,521 crore ($5.6 billion) in FY 2020-21 to Rs.31,026 crore ($3.7 billion) in FY 2021-22.

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Under the reforms, several technical measures were taken to reduce these losses, including the strengthening of the power distribution system. Specifically, an expenditure of Rs1.85 lakh crore ($22.2 billion) saw 2,927 substations added and 3,965 existing substations upgraded.

Additionally, 692,200 distribution transformers have been installed with feeder separation of 113,938 circuit km (Ckm) and 850,000Ckm of high tension and low tension lines added/changed.

Covered wire in high loss areas were also provided and works such as gas insulated substations, underground cabling and aerial bunched cable etc. were taken up.

Additional reforms and measures cited by the Indian Ministry of Power include:

• Putting in place rules to ensure payment for any subsidy declared by the government in time.
• Ensuring that tariffs are up to date.
• Reducing the legacy dues of the generation companies, under Late Payment Surcharge Rules, which have come down from approximately Rs.1.40 lakh crore ($16.8 billion) to Rs.0.52 lakh crore ($6.3 billion).
• Ensuring that the generation companies are paid on time.
• Ensuring energy accounting and audits.
• Putting in place revised prudential norms providing that no distribution or generation company of a state government will be able to get loans from the Power Finance Corporation or the REC, a corporate finance corporation, if the distribution company is making a loss.
• Putting in place an incentive of an additional borrowing space of 0.5% of gross state domestic product if the distribution company puts in place loss reduction measures.
• Providing that loss making distribution companies will not be able to draw funds under any power sector scheme unless they put in place measures for loss reduction.

The Government of India launched the reforms-based and results-linked Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) on 20 July 2021 to improve the quality and reliability of power supply to consumers and reduce the AT&C losses.

The scheme has an outlay of Rs.303,758 crore ($36.5 billion) and estimated gross budgetary support from the country’s central government of Rs.97,631 crore ($11,7 billion).

Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Adani Transmission Step-Four Limited, AESL has acquired the 49% stake in Esyasoft’s smart metering solutions arm.

The entity, which has been renamed Adani Esyasoft Smart Solutions Ltd, should cater to its current and future application software needs and lead to an expediting of the rollout of smart meters.

As such the jv will bid for and execute Indian and global smart metering orders.

It has approximately 100 experts spread across India, the UAE, UK and Saudi Arabia, serving major Indian discoms, Scottish Gas and UAE-based utilities including Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Etihad Water and Electricity, Sharjah Electricity, Water and Gas Authority and Abu Dhabi Distribution Company.

The transaction is also expected to deepen the relationship between Adani and Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company (IHC), which is a major shareholder in Esyasoft through its subsidiary Sirius International Holdings.

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“AESL is very happy to partner with Esyasoft to create a niche joint venture to provide critical and integrated solutions for the seamless national rollout of our smart metering business,” said Kandarp Patel, CEO of AESL, in a release.

“Besides giving us a strong execution edge locally, the JV will open up new vistas in international geographies where the smart metering concept is gaining traction and will aggressively pursue such opportunities.”

Esyasoft, a provider of cloud and IoT-based energy management solutions, has been catering to the energy automation sector with a repository of IP and solutions for smart utilities, including meter data management, big data analytics in load forecasting, theft analysis, consumer behaviour analysis and GIS among more.

AESL on the other hand has an order book of about 20 million smart meters from discoms including BEST Mumbai (1.1 million), Maharashtra (11.5 million), Uttarakhand (0.6 million), Andhra Pradesh (4.1 million), Bihar (2.8 million) and Assam (0.8 million).

The company’s own distribution arm Adani Electricity Mumbai has already installed a majority of its 0.7 million smart meters planned in phase 1.

“We are happy to join hands with Adani Energy Solutions to offer our cutting-edge smart metering solutions for the Indian and global markets,” said Ajay Bhatia, Group CEO of Sirius International Holding, Esyasoft’s major shareholder.

“Currently, Esyasoft is one of the leading smart metering platform and solutions providers globally, with 25+ million consumer end points serving in 10+ countries.”

India’s smart metering business market size is expected to cater to about 250 million premises, of which tenders for 80 million meters are yet to be floated, indicating significant growth opportunity in the future.

The smart metering rollout portfolio, with a value of R200 billion (US$2.4 billion), has been boosted by awards in four states, including one project each in Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Bihar and two in Gujarat.

The Uttar Pradesh project is notable for being the largest awarded so far under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme for a national smart meter rollout and should see the installation of 6.7 million smart meters in 14 districts under the jurisdiction of the distribution company Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL).

In Assam, Intellismart is to install 1.5 million smart meters for the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited.

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This joins another rollout currently under way in Assam by Intellismart for 600,000 smart meters, which is a little over 60% complete.

In Bihar, IntelliSmart has won a project to install 3.6 million smart meters for South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited.

In Gujarat, IntelliSmart has secured the Letter of Award for implementation of end-to-end smart metering solutions from Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Limited (MGVCL) and Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited (DGVCL) for a total of 5.1 million prepaid smart meters.

“From the time smart metering was conceived as an aspirational and ambitious digitalisation programme for the distribution sector, IntelliSmart has been leading from the front, working with all the stakeholders to create a viable and bankable model for rolling out this systemic efficiency programme and have been fortunate to be part of this unprecedented success story,” commented MD and CEO Anil Rawal.

“This is one of the leading most power sector digitalisation programmes across the globe and shall go a long way not only to improve the financial and operational health of the distribution companies but would also be critical for success of large-scale renewables and e-mobility in the grid. The successful implementation of our smart metering projects, shall certainly support the country in realising the net zero commitments and shall also support the energy transition endeavour.”

IntelliSmart is implementing all the projects under a totex’ mode, i.e. capex plus opex, as per the RDSS guidelines.

The RDSS programme is planned to deliver 250 million smart meters across India.

The agreement, signed under the framework of the EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC), sets out a cooperation between India and the EU to build robust semiconductor supply chains and work together on innovation.

Under the memorandum, the EU and India intend to:

• Share experiences, best practices and information on respective semiconductors ecosystems;
• Identify areas for collaboration in research, development and innovation among universities, research organisations and businesses;
• Promote skills, talent and workforce development for the semiconductors industry and facilitate collaboration via the organisation of workshops, partnerships and the promotion of direct investments;
• Ensure a level playing field in the sector, including by sharing information on granted public subsidies.

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Said Věra Jourová, EU Commission vice-president for values and transparency, in a release: “Semiconductors power the green and digital transition.

“They are also crucial to our economic security and the competitiveness of EU industry and its economy more broadly. Signing this agreement with India, a trusted and dynamic partner with complementary strengths, will foster innovation in this important area.”

Added Thierry Breton, European commissioner for internal market: “Chips are vital for our economies, and we are strengthening our resilience in the new geopolitics of semiconductor supply chains.

“I am glad we will continue to cooperate with India, a key partner, on trade and technology issues to overcome supply chain challenges. In the longer term, our cooperation on research and skills will be essential to strengthen our resilience.”

Additionally, both India and the EU agreed to add the semiconductor ecosystem as one of the sectors for cooperation under the EU-India TTC Working Group on Strategic Technologies, Digital Governance and Digital Connectivity (WG1).

The participants intend to use WG1 as a platform to enhance bilateral collaboration on: i) exchanges of experience and enhanced collaboration in the semiconductor ecosystem; ii) research and development for semiconductors, iii) advanced skills for the semiconductor industry, v) transparency of subsidies to the semiconductor sector.

Also on the radar are the closing of Gridmatics’ storage fund, Siemens’ financial safety net and the sale of a 410MW battery storage pipeline.

Norwegian investment in Indian transmission

The Norwegian Climate Investment Fund, managed by government-owned Norfund and KLP, Norway’s largest pension company, is investing approximately $9 million for a 49% stake in the Koppal Transmission Scheme.

The project is being led by Indian decarbonisation solutions company ReNew, marking their first interstate transmission project to help transmit renewable energy in the Koppal Area of Karnataka, India.

The Indian scheme was awarded in fiscal year 2022 and covers the construction of a new 400/220kV substation at Koppal along with 144km of 400kV direct current transmission line with extension of the 40kV GIS Bays at the PGCIL (Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd) Narendra substation.

ReNew said the investment aligns with their ‘farm-down strategy’, whereby developers sell stakes in renewable assets to institutional investors looking for long-term and stable yields, to add further renewable capacity to the grid.

In addition, synergies in project execution and operations with ReNew’s in-house capabilities are hoped to enhance returns and derisk completion timelines for ReNew’s core renewable energy development business.

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Through the partnership, every rupee invested by Norfund will equate to 15 rupees mobilised from private capital, said Norfund in a release.

Commented Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, Norway’s minister of international development: “To secure the necessary investments for the vital energy transition, public funding must mobilise private capital. The signing between the Climate Investment Fund, ReNew and KLP is a great example of this.

“It also shows how Norwegian investments are helping India reach its goals of installing 500GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030.”

ReNew has won three transmission projects in Karnataka to date. Central Transmission Utility (CTU), a state-owned entity and a wholly-owned subsidiary of PGCIL, will be responsible for billing, collection and disbursement of revenues for the projects.

Following the commissioning of the 1,500MW Koppal Scheme, the remaining transmission for 3,500MW (ReNew has commited to build transmission for approximately 5GW in renewable energy) is expected to be completed by June 2024.

Funding update: Gridmatic’s second closing

Gridmatic, an AI-enabled power marketer, has announced the second closing of its first energy storage fund, bringing capital commitments to $50 million.

The storage fund opened earlier this year in August, aiming to allow the Californian energy supplier to establish multi-year offtake contracts with asset owners to operate energy storage using its AI algorithms.

The fund is earmarked to oversee the management of up to 500MW of battery capacity in the ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) and CAISO (California Independent System Operator) markets.

ERCOT and CAISO run the Texan and Californian grids respectively, remaining the two strongest US energy markets with pipelines of 32GW and 43.7GW in planned project capacity.

“Successfully closing our energy storage fund now allows us to accelerate our growth in signing offtake agreements with asset owners and developers,” said David Miller, vice president of business development for Gridmatic.

“This summer showed us the major potential for battery storage in California and Texas to contribute to grid resiliency efforts. Our fund will help maximize these opportunities for batteries to play a greater role in the grid and for the market to grow.”

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ICYMI: Siemens Energy’s safety net and Indian decoupling

Germany’s Federal government is stepping in to offer a ‘safety net’ to Siemens Energy as the company reported a net loss of €4.5 billion ($5 billion) for the 2023 fiscal year and an order backlog of €112 billion ($121.6 billion).

Siemens Energy will receive a €12 billion ($13 billion) guarantee line from a banking consortium, with Berlin’s €7.5 billion ($8 billion) counter guarantee provided to the banks in order to ensure the guarantee line is successful.

Officially announced during the company’s Q4 media briefing, the financing was agreed upon to re-insure the tech company.

“The demand for our technologies and products is huge,” said Siemens Energy chief executive Christian Bruch. “It is industry practice to offer guarantees to ensure potential customer requirements are met.

“It is not a loan.” He added: “It is important to be able to cover our huge incoming orders, in particular the wind area.”

Announced at the same time as the safety net, and as part of measures to support the stability of Siemens Energy, Siemens – which still holds a 25% stake in Siemens Energy – also announced its intentions to acquire an 18% stake in Siemens Ltd India from Siemens Energy for a cash price of €2.1 billion ($2.3 billion).

The purchase will be done via a share purchase agreement with Siemens Energy, increasing Siemens’ stake in the publicly listed company from 51% to 69%, with Siemens Energy’s stake decreasing from 24% to 6%.

Read the full story covered on Power Engineering International

Emeren sells 410MW battery storage portfolio

Emeren Group Ltd, a solar project developer, has sold a portfolio of five Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in Italy to Matrix Renewables, an energy platform created and backed by alternative asset manager TPG and its $16 billion impact-investing platform TPG Rise.

Emeren called the transaction a significant milestone within the framework of a Development Service Agreement (DSA) the two executed in June, which outlines the development of a 1.5GW BESS portfolio.

The five projects feature standalone storage systems, with a cumulative capacity of 3,787MWh.

The entire portfolio is strategically located in the Italian southern region of Apulia, significantly enhancing the regional energy infrastructure. Ready-to-build status is expected to be achieved by late 2024.

Chris Matthews, managing director for Europe at Matrix Renewables, commented in a release, “Our partnership with Emeren underscores our commitment to driving renewable energy expansion and sustainability in the vibrant Italian market.

“The acquisition of the 410MW BESS portfolio significantly advances our mission to reshape the energy landscape and fortify the resilience of the power grid.”

Emeren has a pipeline of projects and IPP (independent power producer) assets totalling over 3GW, as well as a storage pipeline of over 6GWh across Europe, North America and Asia. The company focuses on solar power project development, construction management and project financing services.

Matrix Renewables’ current portfolio is comprised of 11.7GW in renewable energy and storage projects in Europe, North America and Latin America.

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Trilliant, also an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) provider, was selected for its head-end system (HES), UnitySuite.

A joint venture of India’s National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF) and Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), IntelliSmart has to date won several smart metering projects tendered by state distribution companies (DISCOMs) as part of the RDSS, introduced by the Ministry of Power, Government of India.

RDSS introduces policy measures to assist the discoms in India to improve operational efficiencies by providing them with results-linked financial assistance to strengthen supply infrastructure.

However, state the partners in a release, delivering the data needed for a smart grid under the RDSS requires a scalable HES, which is where the partnership with Trilliant comes in.

The UnitySuite manages field devices including meters, cellular network interface controllers (NICs) and more; acquires meter data automatically to avoid human intervention; and channels data to where it’s needed for real-time decision making.

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“India’s smart metering programme is one of the significant steps taken by the government to modernise the power distribution sector with increased private participation,” said Anil Rawal, managing director and CEO of IntelliSmart.

“For our projects, we are relying on important partnerships to design and deploy a robust AMI solution that will enable discoms to improve financial efficiency and digitalise the power infrastructure.

“Our partnership with Trilliant will go a long way in delivering this and help us realise our vision to become the most preferred digital partner of the utilities, and create a digitalised and resilient power sector through innovative technological solutions.”

Specifically, Trilliant will support IntelliSmart by:

• Supplying and integrating its HES application software along with annual technical services and provisioning the HES with a prepayment system;
• Providing implementation services including designing, building, testing and deploying the HES application, as well as being responsible for configuration, customisation, business process/systems integration and commissioning;
• Developing analytics reports and dashboards; and,
• Providing operation, maintenance and support services, as well as annual maintenance services for the deployed system along with customisations and upgrades for the entire project.

Eugene Loke, managing director of APAC at Trilliant, commented on the partnership, stating “we’re honoured to be one of (IntelliSmart’s) partners to roll out smart meters across India.

“Trilliant’s UnitySuite software is an integral part of the AMI integrated system. It is device-independent and highly scalable, enabling organisations to maximise the value of their network data, making it ideal for IntelliSmart’s requirements.”

IntelliSmart smart meter rollout

A week prior to the partnership announcement, IntelliSmart announced a contract with South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (SBPDCL) for 3.5 million smart prepaid meters across 13 districts of South Bihar.

Stated the company over X: “IntelliSmart is delighted to have been entrusted with the responsibility of this project by SBPDCL. We are wholeheartedly dedicated to investing our time, expertise and resources to ensure the resounding success of this project.

“With each successful project acquisition, we are making steady progress towards our vision of becoming the most preferred digital partner of the utilities and creating a digitalised and resilient power sector through innovative technological solutions.”

Earlier this year in April, the company also bagged a 6.7 million smart meter order, at the time calling it the largest of the time, from electric utility Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL), for the districts of Amroha, Baghpat, Bijnor, Bulandshahar, GB Nagar, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Hapur, Meerut, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Rampur, Saharanpur, Sambhal and Shamli.

This was the second smart metering project for the company, following a 2021 announcement of 600,000 smart prepaid meters for Assam Power Distribution Company in the northeastern state of Assam.

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According to Research and Markets’ report – titled Lithium-ion Battery Market, Size, Global Forecast 2024-2028, Industry Trends, Share, Growth, Insight, Impact of Inflation, Company Analysis – escalating consumer expenditure on electronic devices is a giant catalyst for the battery market’s value surge.

Additionally, the increasing costs of fossil fuels and gas have triggered significant adoption of electrical automobiles, propelling market enlargement.

The researcher’s predictions, they state in a release, suggest a sizeable global Li-Ion battery demand increase, skyrocketing from over 700GWh in 2022 to approximately 4.7TWh by 2030.

Notably, mobility applications like electric vehicles are set to dominate this demand, accounting for approximately 4,300GWh in 2030, reflecting the ever-expanding landscape of electric mobility.

Emergent India

According to Research and Markets, policy measures, including bans on sales of internal combustion engines (ICEs) are additional propellers.

Norway will halt sales by 2025, France by 2040 and the UK by 2050.

India targets to phase out ICE engines in 2030, while China is developing a comparable plan.

Additionally, global zero-carbon projects have turbocharged EV demand, states the researcher, driving the need for Li-Ion batteries in electric-powered vehicle power systems.

The report cites how, in India, the government aims to achieve 30% EVs by 2030. Furthermore, in July 2019, the goods and services tax (GST) on EVs was reduced from 12% to 5% and it has, in turn, also introduced an income tax exemption for prospective EV buyers.

The tech’s evolution and rising customer expectancies for extended battery existence and faster charging similarly boost the demand for global Li-Ion.

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The research also highlights projects in the country, such as FAME – an incentive scheme that encourages the adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles.

According to Customized Energy Solutions (CES), an energy advisory, software and services company, in their 2022 India Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure & Battery Swapping Market Overview Report, efforts taken by the Department of Heavy Industries through the FAME Scheme have resulted in a significant increase in the number of charging stations in the country.

State governments, they find, are also taking active steps to increase EV charging networks by providing attractive incentives in the form of capital subsidy and 100% reimbursement of state goods and services tax.

They add how annual sales of Li-Ion-based EVs are expected to be 17 million in 2030 under a ‘Business as usual’ scenario.

This, alongside the need for dependable energy storage solutions in the country, specifically in the renewable sectors, like sun and wind power, has also served to boost battery deployment.

India is thus rising as a worldwide manufacturing hub for these batteries, states the Research and Markets through their report, attracting massive investments.

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This is according to findings from data and analytics company GlobalData, which projects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.54% for the market from now to 2027.

According to the company’s report Switchgears for Power Transmission, Market Size, Share and Trends Analysis by Technology, Installed Capacity, Generation, Key Players and Forecast, 2022–2027, while the market has been seen growth across regions, market drivers are context-specific.

For example, states the report, within the growing economies of the Asia-Pacific and Middle East (EMEA) regions, the market’s growth is being propelled by the increasing demand for electricity, with capacity addition in the generation and transmission sectors.

On the other hand, in the Americas and Europe, the report finds the replacement of ageing grid infrastructure, the shift to renewable energy, grid reliability issues, improved policy and investment decisions, as well as technology innovations as key factors.

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EMEA

Overall, states GlobalData, the EMEA region was found to be the leader in the market in 2022, with a share of 44.60% and a forecast to grow to 48.24% by 2027, higher than the growth expected in all other regions.

According to GlobalData, the high voltage (HV) switchgear market in the EMEA region was estimated to be $11.16 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $14.63 billion, registering a CAGR of 5.03% over 2023-27.

An additional driver, states the research, was an observed economic boom for Middle Eastern countries, leading to an increased demand for power.

Commenting on the report’s findings was GlobalData senior power analyst Bhavana Sri Pullagura, who stated how “the growing demand for electricity is giving rise to the need for new power plants, particularly those modes of generation that have minimal impact on the environment.”

With this, stated Pullagura, countries have started looking towards eliminating barriers to deployment of renewable technologies and gas-based generation.

“The falling capital cost and low gas prices also resulted in increased development of renewables and gas power plants. This contributed to the growth of the switchgear market, which is expected to continue as countries seek to increase the share of renewables and gas in their generation mix.”

Asia-Pacific

According to the report, in 2022, Asia-Pacific’s market value stood at $10.77 billion, accounting for a share of 43.05% in the global HV switchgear market. The HV switchgear market in the Americas is expected to reach $3.11 billion by 2027, as the grid requires upgrades to replace aging assets and to accommodate the increasing sources of renewable energy.

China, one of the fastest-growing economies with the largest fleet of transmission substations, topped the report’s global HV switchgear market in 2022 with a value of $7.73 billion, accounting for a 30.0% share. The country is expected to continue its leadership during the forecast period, reaching $9.19 billion in 2027.

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Bhavana Sri added: “The need to build transmission infrastructure to deliver power from renewable sources in remote regions, the increasing domestic demand for electricity, large-scale renewable energy deployment, the projected growth in the gross domestic product and rural electrification initiatives are some of the major factors aiding the growth of its HV switchgear market in China.

“The country is the world leader in ultra-high-voltage transmission, having made considerable investments in the development of transmission systems of voltage level of 765kv and above.”

The other major countries in the Asia-Pacific gas-insulated switchgear market, states GlobalData’s research, include India and Japan. India ranks third after China and the US in the global HV switchgear market, with a value of $1.15 billion in 2022 and a share of 4.60%.

“GlobalData believes that policies established to address environmental challenges and capitalise on market opportunities offered by technologies would notably impact the switchgear market by the end of the forecast period,” states Bhavana Sri.

Backed by Innovate UK, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and government teams in India, and delivered by Energy Systems Catapult in partnership with the Indian Institute for Science (IISc), ITES will support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to test, fund and fast-track their innovations to market that help decarbonise transport in India and the UK.

ITES will offer a ‘soft-landing’ for the SMEs, helping to safely develop, test and export solutions that help decarbonise transport. The collaboration will also help SMEs tackle scalability with go-to-market support and access to potential clients, funders and investment.

This first cohort of 20 UK-based SMEs includes teams in the fields of intelligent electricity system services, battery management, charging systems, energy storage, fleet optimisation, hydrogen and rail.

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The different working areas and their respective SMEs include:

Intelligent electricity system Services

• Flock Energy, which uses machine learning to transform energy usage in factories and help them digitalise their operations. The company has developed proprietary algorithms that optimise energy consumption, improving efficiency and productivity.
  
• Terranow, which uses the potential of generative AI to unlock optimal efficiency in the generation and use of energy through focused solutions for forecasting, control and coordination.

Battery recycling and management

• Aceleron Energy, which develops advanced lithium batteries, aiming to accelerate the global shift to cleaner, more renewable energy and to drive sustainable battery technology.
  
• Faraday Battery Limited, which manufactures battery-packs up to 1MW scale for electric vehicles, including tractors, vans, buses and trucks. vehicle, it significantly reduces the lifecycle cost of the electric bus/truck.
  
• Nexmu, which focuses primarily on electric mobility and energy storage. The Nexmu team has integrated its battery management system and related capabilities in the electric powertrain into a single cloud-based platform.

Charging systems

• char.gy, which manufactures amd operatres charging infrastructure, funding, installing, operating and maintaining EV charge points for private landlords and local authorities for their residents who do not have off-street parking.
  
• Entrust Microgrid, chich specialises in smart microgrid systems that maximise user benefits from embedded solar PV, energy storage system, EV charger and other smart energy appliances, and provide the grid with flexibility.
  
• Petalite, which is a second-generation EV charging company that aims to solve the challenges impeding the roll-out of EV charging infrastructure.
  
• [ui!]uk urban integrated ltd, which is an IT consultancy advising local authorities, cities and metropolitan regions in their strategic planning and in the implementation and operation of smart city infrastructures and e-mobility solutions, such as charge point management systems and mobility service provider apps.
  
• Vertical Solar, which is a renewables developer aiming to bring to market new products that remove the traditional constraints associated with solar deployments.
  
• Voltempo, which develops ultra-high power EV charging hubs for heavy vehicle fleets and public service stations.

Energy storage and delivery

• Energineering LTD, which is a consultancy in the realm of industrial energy efficiency and project development. The last five years have seen the team concentrate on developing innovative energy storage solutions, including its patented MECHAPRES system, which uses a combination of reversible heat pumping and Composite Phase Change Material, latent thermal storage to support the needs of decentralised microgrids and DC EV Charging stations.
  
• LiNa Energy, which is developing and commercialising low-cost, solid-state sodium batteries as a safer, more sustainable alternative to lithium-ion. LiNa’s innovation is based on a novel sodium-metal-chloride planar cell, which they state unlocks the high power/energy density potential of established sodium battery chemistry.
  
• PowerUp, which provides an Energy as a Service model, replacing fossil fuel generators with battery PowerStations, using AI algorithms to predict battery behaviours and facilitate just-in-time swapping with renewable energy-charged replacements.

Also of interest:
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India’s Tata selects UK for £4bn EV battery gigafactory

Fleet optimisation

• Flexible Power Systems, which aims to address the increased complexity, risks and cost arising from EV adoption.
  
  The company’s platform provides automated EV fleet and charger management for van, bus, truck or mixed fleets that integrates data from across the business for a view of fleet operations. Part of what this enables, states the company, is the management of power constraints to avoid expensive grid upgrades.

Rail

• Riding Sunbeams, which decarbonises rail traction networks through the development and connection of unsubsidised, direct-wire renewable energy supply.
  
  Riding Sunbeams is now working to develop and demonstrate the required technology to connect solar power and line-side energy storage to feed the Alternating-Current (AC), overhead line railways that make up most of the world’s electrified rail networks.

Hydrogen

• AqSorption, which builds renewable energy systems, concentrating on biogas and combined heat and power plants. Following a series of enhancements to its gasification technology, AqSorption has successfully adapted to move into production of hydrogen.
  
  
• Innervated Vehicle Engineering (IVe), which transforms diesel vans into hydrogen fuel cell vans, offering an alternative to diesel.
  
  
• JET Engineering Services, which works with and on behalf of customers to deliver solutions to technical engineering problems. Following a recent contract award to deliver a hydrogen production system on the subcontinent, and changing priorities in global markets, the company took a strategic decision to redirect its efforts into the green hydrogen sector, and has embarked on a programme to develop a range of projects and products to support this.
  
  
• Logan Energy, which specialises in the delivery of integrated engineering solutions incorporating hydrogen technologies for production through to refuelling.
  
  The team offers a full turnkey service, from project inception & feasibility, design development, manufacturing, installation, and operation and maintenance.
  
  Logan Energy has designed, built, and installed hydrogen production and refuelling stations, and are currently constructing further stations for buses, vans, passenger vehicles, and heavy-duty vehicles.

The 20 SMEs will have access to a range of acceleration support – from start-up mentoring and incubation services, to market research and real-world pilots with Indian businesses that help prove new products on the ground.

Paul Jordan, business leader for innovator support & international at Energy Systems Catapult, commented: “It’s a real pleasure to announce such a strong cohort of SMEs to join us at the start of this major innovation initiative between the UK and India.

“They represent some of the highest-priority innovations needed to tackle transport decarbonisation – from cutting-edge hydrogen, rail, and fleet solutions, to battery storage and management, and other technologies and services that can enable an electric vehicle-ready infrastructure.

“By helping these UK innovators to collaborate, commercialise and trial their solutions in the world’s fifth biggest economy, we hope to both turbocharge decarbonisation efforts and help unleash the economic potential that innovation offers.”

The Innovating for Transport and Energy Systems initiative was launched in May this year.

Installation is being coordinated under the JV’s smart meter national programme (SMNP), which is delivering smart meters to the states of Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, NDMC-Delhi and Telangana.

The aim of the SMNP is to improve the billing and collection efficiencies of distribution companies (DISCOMs) operating in the country.

According to EESL, the smart meters are connected through a web-based monitoring system to help reduce commercial losses.

The smart meters are further hoped to enhance revenues and serve as an important tool in the country’s power sector reform.

Power sector reforms

Earlier this year in June, India‘s Ministry of Power announced ₹664 billion ($8 billion) in incentives for power sector reform across the country’s States.

The incentives will be granted in the form of borrowing permissions, aiming to encourage each state to undertake reforms to enhance the efficiency and performance of the power sector.

The financing will be made available via the 2021 to 2022 union budget.

Additionally, states the Power Ministry, ₹1.4 trillion ($17.4 billion) has been earmarked as an incentive to States for undertaking the reforms in the 2023 to 2024 fiscal year.

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To be eligible for the incentives, State governments must undertake a set of mandatory reforms and meet stipulated performance benchmarks.

The required reforms include:

• Reducing losses of public sector power distribution companies (DISCOMs) by the State Government
• Transparency in the reporting of financial affairs of the power sector, including payment of subsidies and recording of liabilities of Governments to DISCOMs and of DISCOMs to others
• Timely audits and rendition of financial and energy accounts
• Compliance with legal and regulatory requirements

The contract for the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) initiative with a value of Rs416.84 crore ($50.2 million) has been awarded to HPL Electric & Power.

The goal of the project, which is supported by funding from the World Bank, is to reduce losses and improve the revenue collection for the utility.

The proposal is that the smart meters will be deployed to high-value consumers in selected urban geographies, including Asansol and Kharagpur among others, by the end of 2026.

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The meters also are expected to improve peak load management and help in better integration of distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar in the grid.

They also should support demand side management by providing consumers with access to their consumption data and hence encourage them to reduce their electricity consumption.

The project marks HPL Electric & Power’s further inroads and broader role in India’s meter market – of which the company claims a 20% market share – with its first as the ‘advanced metering infrastructure service provider’ (AMISP) with responsibility for delivering other smart metering infrastructure and services, alongside its traditional role as supplier to the AMISPs.

“This achievement not only highlights our readiness for change, but also emphasises our preparedness to seize the opportunities in India’s smart metering evolution,” said the company’s joint MD and Chief Financial Officer, Gautam Seth, in an investor call.

As a World Bank-supported project, it is supplementary to but broadly following the guidelines of the national rollout under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).

Smart grid development

The smart meter rollout forms part of the smart grid component of the distribution grid modernisation.

Other elements include technology and capacity upgrades of the ICT systems and the deployment of distribution automation technologies and integration of communicable control devices with SCADA.

More broadly other aspects include the strengthening and augmentation of the distribution network in select districts and towns, with retrofits, new distribution and undergrounding of lines for storm protection, and the customary technical assistance for institutional development and capacity building.

The whole distribution grid modernisation is due for completion at the end of November 2026.

Also on the radar are robust earnings from an Indian company for their shunt resistors, which they claim to be the “backbone of smart metering technology and energy management systems” as well as a raised Series B funding round for Electric Vehicle (EV) services provider ev.energy, which they will use for global expansion and new EV data-driven services.

Acquisition to bolster smart metering expertise

IMServ Europe, a UK-based energy data collection and metering specialist, has acquired Power Data Associates, a specialist meter administrator providing unmetered services to electricity, gas and water utilities and non-domestic energy customers.

IMServ is calling the acquisition an augmentation of their existing proposition in energy data collection, advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) and smart metering.

According to the company, unmetered supplies metering systems will be required to upgrade to half-hourly settlement as part of a forthcoming market-wide half-hourly settlement (MHHS) rules.

IMServ has already identified MHHS as a key strategic priority and aims to ease the transition for every sector of the market.\

The acquisition of Power Data Associates is hoped to enable this goal and allow customers with both metered and unmetered requirements to meet their needs ‘under one roof.’

IMServ will be the only company to offer the full range of MHHS services across the metered and unmetered data services segment.

Power Data Associates will continue to operate as a standalone company, with all current employees and senior leadership retained.

Power Data Associates specialises in providing services to help customers manage their unmetered energy usage. Key unmetered applications include street lighting, telecommunications infrastructure and, increasingly, electric vehicle (EV) charge points.

IMServ on the other hand is one of the UK’s leading meter operators and data collectors, servicing over 25% of the UK’s electricity consumption through the monitoring of 80 billion units of energy data.

Also from Smart Energy Finances:
AMI provider acquires a narrowband communications solution
Funding for autonomous EV charging and GridBeyond’s acquisition of Veritone Energy

Robust earnings from smart meter shunt resistors

Indian manufacturer of bimetal/trimetal strips and shunt resistors Shivalik Bimetal Controls has announced robust financial performance for Q1 FY24.

The company reported operational revenue rise to Rs113.07 Crore ($13.7 million) signalling 15.74% YoY growth. According to CFO Rajeev Ranjan, this is “our highest quarterly number in history.”

The company is calling the financial growth reflective of the Indian and global shift towards electrification.

The Indian government’s RDSS scheme has been opening up significant revenue streams for smart metering projects in the aims of reducing aggregate transmission and commercial (AT&C) losses.

Stated the company’s chairman, S.S. Sandhu, “Our shunt resistors are part of the backbone of smart metering technology and energy management systems, providing the precision and reliability required for efficient energy usage.

“As India accelerates its smart meter deployment to achieve electrical energy security, we are proud to be a key player in providing critical components, contributing to the country’s electrification renaissance.”

Shivalik Bimetal Controls was founded in 1984 and is headquartered out of New Delhi. It manufactures and sells thermostatic bimetal/trimetal strips for switching components used in electrical, electronics, automotive, agricultural, medical, defence and industrial applications.

The rising demand for switchgear, battery management and smart metering systems, they state, conveys solid long-term prospects for their product lines.

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ev.energy enters grid services with successful financing

ev.energy, an EV charging software platform, has received a $33 million Series B raise, bringing total funded capital to $46M.

ev.energy connects EVs to grid networks, intelligently managing charging for more than 120,000 EVs daily by charging vehicles at grid-friendly times and connecting them to the company’s virtual power plant (VPP).

This latest funding round provides a pathway for ev.energy to access an additional 400 million energy customers by utilising their shareholders’ energy retail, fleet, vehicle and insurance networks.

The funding round was led by National Grid Partners (NGP) with support from Aviva Ventures, WEX Venture Capital and InMotion Ventures, with continued support from existing investors Energy Impact Partners (EIP), Future Energy Ventures (FEV) and ArcTern Ventures.

The funding will also enable ev.energy to expand its global operations while building on its growth across the US and UK.

Since 2018, ev.energy has won over 30 national, regional and municipal utility contracts while developing partnerships with charging brands and auto original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like the Volkswagen Group.

In announcing the funding, the company cites their offering of moving, storing and discharging energy for megawatts in flexible capacity as a crucial service in a time when utilities in the US and Europe tackle extreme weather conditions, placing significant strain on the electricity grid system.

Bobby Kandaswamy, Senior Director of Pathfinding & Incubation Investments at National Grid Partners, commented, “ev.energy’s approach to providing a convenient, compelling experience for drivers to charge at home and on the road during grid-friendly times is essential for grid operators.

“Combined with its V2G services, ev.energy positions utilities like National Grid as an accelerant to the clean energy transition.” As part of NGP’s investment, Kandaswamy has joined the ev.energy board of directors.

ev.energy will also use these partnerships to co-create services that leverage vehicle data, deliver smart charging and, in the future, more fully develop bi-directional charging.

WEX Venture Capital’s investment will support the expansion of ev.energy’s solution to bring managed charging to fleet vehicles.

For the latest finance and investment news coming out of the energy industry, make sure to follow Smart Energy Finances Weekly.

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Yusuf Latief
Content Producer
Smart Energy International

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Substation automation is a method of using data from intelligent electronic devices to control and automate substations and controlling power systems devices through commands from remote users.

The overall demand for the tech, as forecast by Future Market Insights in Substation Automation Market Snapshot (2023 to 2033), will grow by a CAGR of 6.7% between now and 2032.

The key driver of this market, states the research company, is to reduce human intervention and improve the operating efficiency of the system. Increasing developments in SCADA and communication technologies, along with rising demand for renewable energy projects, are also determinants in the market’s growth.

Smart grid investments

The report outlines how heavy investments within the smart grid space have been developing, indicating the growing recognition of this tech as much needed. Namely, it will help reduce operational as well as maintenance costs, increase plant productivity and ensure high performance, reliability and safety of electrical power network performance.

For instance, in May 2018, they state, Natural Resource Canada announced an investment of $949,000 for a next-generation smart grid project.

The grid project focuses on promoting the adoption of renewable sources of energy and the implementation of technology to integrate new sources of clean energy without compromising the stability and reliability of existing grids.

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Key market players

The North American substation automation market was forecast by the market report to accumulate the highest market share of 36.0% in 2022. On a geographic basis, North America is anticipated to be the largest market for substation automation, owing to the increasing popularity and adoption of advanced intelligent electronic device and communication technologies.

Factors such as increasing investment in energy infrastructure by different governments due to increasing urbanisation and higher energy demand is one of the major factors that is expected to boost this growth over the report’s forecast period.

In addition, increasing dependence on electricity, demand from the power system for advanced technology, requirements to reduce maintenance and operating costs and implementation of government incentives are primary drivers for the country’s market size.

In the Asia Pacific, the market is expected to accumulate a market share of 32.5% this year and is expected to continue to maintain the trend over the forecast period.

The Government of India in particular was found by the research to have launched several schemes to revive power distribution utilities and electrify villages, indicating a strong smart infrastructure vision for the country.

Such rural electrification and the presence of companies bringing in advancements in electrical equipment are expected to strengthen regional growth in the market for the Asia Pacific.

According to the report, in Europe, the market is expected to accumulate a share value of 30% this year. Specifically, the research lists increasing demand for smart grids and increasing adoption of renewable as resulting in major revenue-generating countries across the continent.

In a new white paper prepared in partnership with the Indian Energy Exchange and Australian blockchain pioneer Powerledger, the ISGF states that neither net or gross metering tariffs nor subsidies have led to the expected uptake of solar capacity, mainly due to low feed-in tariffs and unattractive yearly returns from the current market model.

In comparison, peer-to-peer (P2P) trading offers a financially attractive model for both prosumers as well as consumers in the domestic and C&I segment.

In addition, the distribution companies benefit when net metering customers switch to P2P, while the government subsidies, which are presently disbursed to install rooftop solar, can be avoided.

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The white paper states that the significance of P2P energy trading in promoting rooftop solar has been recognised by the regulator of Uttar Pradesh, which has approved a new set of regulations to facilitate the seamless integration of rooftop solar with the grid.

This follows the implementation in 2020 of a blockchain-based P2P energy trading pilot in Uttar Pradesh by the ISGF and Powerledger, which has received overwhelming interest from multiple distribution companies across India keen to replicate similar projects in their respective regions.

Subsequently, other initiatives have been launched in Delhi and West Bengal among other states.

The white paper states that P2P and local energy markets create both the right market and price signals to boost the deployment of renewable energy assets, such as rooftop solar, to meet India’s national renewables targets of 2030 and beyond.

Some benefits highlighted that can be derived from P2P trading that have emerged from pilots in India include incentivising the deployment of rooftop solar, increasing the viability for net metering prosumers to switch to P2P and trade with C&I consumers and potentially offering higher revenue than gross metering to current subscribers.

Others are reducing the losses incurred by discoms through net metering, helping them to meet their renewable purchase obligation targets, reducing energy transfer on transmission corridors – and thereby deferring capex for the network – helping to remove subsidies for rooftop solar installations and addressing energy inequity by enabling consumers without rooftop solar to purchase green energy and be part of the renewable economy.

Moreover, the suitability of blockchain technology for both low-trust environments and high-information cost environments makes it ideal for the energy sector. With a secure and transparent record-keeping system supported by smart contracts, complex transactions can be automated, ensuring efficient and reliable energy transactions.

While most blockchain use cases are in finance, supply chain management, and identity management, it holds great promise for asset registries and energy trading platforms.

The Indian conglomerate announced the battery cell gigafactory in the UK, valued at over £4 billion ($5.2 billion), which will deliver electric mobility and renewable energy storage solutions for customers in UK and Europe.

The battery gigafactory will produce battery cells and packs for a variety of applications within the mobility and energy sectors. Tata Group will coordinate the venture through its fully-owned arm, Agratas Energy Storage Solutions.

The investment is being hailed as establishing a much-needed competitive green tech ecosystem in the UK at scale.

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Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, commented on the multi-billion pound investment, which will “bring state-of-the-art technology to the country, helping to power the automotive sector’s transition to electric mobility, anchored by our own business, Jaguar Land Rover.”

UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, added: “Tata group’s decision to build their new gigafactory here in the UK – their first outside of India – is a huge vote of confidence in Britain. This will be one of the largest ever investments in the UK automotive sector.

“It will not only create thousands of skilled jobs for Britons around the country, but it will also strengthen our lead in the global transition to electric vehicles, helping to grow our economy in clean industries of the future.”

Battery factory a saving grace for UK in the EV race

The EV battery factory announcement comes in as the UK has been experiencing a slow start to their EV industry.

Earlier this year in March, the British Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) issued a call to government to respond urgently to international movements in the EV sector.

The US’s inflation reduction act, for example, has been attracting immense investment from global players as a lucrative market for electric mobility.

According to the SMMT, the UK has significant potential from the progress already made by the domestic automotive sector and supply chain, although more has been needed to capitalise.

Smart Energy Finances: EV charging to exceed $300 billion globally by 2027

Commenting on Tata’s news, Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, emphasized how the gigafactory marks “a shot in the arm for the UK automotive industry, our economy and British manufacturing jobs, demonstrating the country is open for business and electric vehicle production.

“It comes at a critical moment, with the global industry transitioning at pace to electrification, producing batteries in the UK is essential if we are to anchor wider vehicle production here for the long term. We must now build on this announcement by promoting the UK’s strengths overseas, ensuring we stay competitive amid fierce global pressures and do more to scale up our EV supply chain.”

The gigafactory hopes to utilise 100% clean power for its manufacturing processes alongside battery recycling technologies to recover and reuse original raw materials.

JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) and Tata Motors will be anchor customers, with supplies commencing from 2026.

GMR Smart Electricity Distribution Pvt Ltd (GSEDPL), a subsidiary of the GMR Group subsidiary GMR Power and Urban Infra Limited, has received a Letter of Intent (LOI) from the Indian Government to install and maintain almost 7.6 million prepaid smart meters.

The LOI will see GSEDPL implement the smart metering project in the Purvanchal (Varanasi, Azamgarh zone and Prayagraj, Mirzapur zone) and Dakshinanchal (Agra and Aligarh zone) areas of Uttar Pradesh for the respective distribution companies Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd.

They will install, integrate and maintain 75.69 lakh (7.569 million) smart meters in the given areas under the LOI over the next 10 years.

The LOI was issued in conclusion to an e-tender for different areas of Uttar Pradesh; GSEDPL participated and emerged as a winner.

An advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) project, the LOI extends to supply, installation, integration, commissioning and operation and maintenance of the smart meters.

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The project with a value of Rs75.93 billion (US$928 million) will be executed under the Indian Government’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), which has two major components:

1. Financial support for prepaid smart and system metering, as well as upgrading distribution infrastructure
2. Training and capacity building alongside other enabling and supporting activities.

The smart meter rollout is expected to reduce AT&C (aggregate technical and commercial losses) in the designated areas and improve the operational and collection efficiencies of the two Uttar Pradesh discoms.

Additionally, as reported by Mint, the announcement saw the company’s shares spike by 20% and, on the technical front, their stock price rose 17% with the order and outperformed the sector by 16.1% in the past year.

The order is the latest from the country’s government, which has been greenlighting a slew of smart meter orders to enhance the electricity system.

The same week as the issuance of the LOI, Tata Power announced their win of an order for 1.86 million smart meters in eastern central India.

Also in Uttar Pradesh, earlier this year in April, smart metering company IntelliSmart won an order for 6.7 million smart meters, claiming the largest order of its kind the country had seen.

Updated 24 July 2023

The installation of the smart meters will be in the city of Raipur, the state’s capital, and surrounding areas.

The contract with a value of Rs17.4 billion ($212 million) also includes the operation and maintenance of the smart meters over a 10-year period.

“[The project] is a testament to our execution expertise in delivering high value and specialised projects which are aimed at transforming the power distribution domain,” said Praveer Sinha, CEO and MD of Tata Power, about the award.

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The project is being executed under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) and is expected to improve the losses within the designated area and increase the revenue collection for state owned discom, which is responsible for providing electricity across the state of Chhattisgarh.

The award to Tata Power is one of three smart meter tenders covering different areas being made by CSPDCL, although the other two have so far not been publicised.

They nevertheless indicate the scale of awards which are required to meet India’s 250 million smart meter rollout by 2025/2026 target in India.

In order to accelerate projects and control their costs under the RDSS, they can be executed on a ‘totex’ basis, which looks at the total costs over the operating life with no distinction between capex and opex.

Other smart metering rollouts Tata Power is involved include a 750,000 unit deployment for its customers in Mumbai.

In other recent news Indian smart metering company Genus has partnered with Singapore based investor GIC to set up a jv funding platform with a $2 billion initial pipeline.

Genus Power & Infrastructures and Gem View Investment, an affiliate of wealth fund GIC, signed an agreement to set up a platform for Advanced Metering Infrastructure Service Provider (AMISP) concessions.

GIC will hold the majority 74% stake in the platform with Genus holding the remaining 26%.

Genus will be the exclusive supplier to the platform for smart meters and associated services.

The agreement also includes a INR5.2 crore ($63.1 million) investment from GIC’s Chiswick Investment for 15% in the Indian smart metering company.

According to GIC in a press release announcing the JV, the agreement represents the largest transaction in India’s smart metering space.

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Speaking on the development Jitendra Kumar Agarwal, joint managing director of Genus, in an interview with BQ Prime stated that the platform was created to fund the coming smart meter projects over the next three to five years.

“GIC comes as a financial partner and Genus comes as a technical and system integrator partner.”

When it comes to projects seeking funding, Agarwal states “the platform will have an exclusive arrangement with Genus Power as a system integrator (for AMISPs)…for manufacturing of meters, technical solutions and installation (etc.).”

The platform also is the prime bidder of the contracts to the state electricity boards.

The Government of India is implementing its National Smart Metering Project under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), with plans to install the 250 million meters by 2025 at an estimated investment of $30 billion.

With technical and commercial losses exceeding 15% for all major Indian utilities leading to high financial losses, smart metering projects under the RDSS scheme are hoped to reduce such losses, improve operational efficiency of DISCOMs and improve their financial sustainability.

AMISP concessions are awarded by the various state utilities under the RDSS with a concession life of up to 10 years. Concessionaires receive a monthly service charge during this period for installing and maintaining meters and the associated infrastructure.

With the JV, Genus will supplement its manufacturing and execution capability with access to new capital. Genus has also stated it will scale up smart meter deployment in the country in its bid to support energy security and transition through grid optimisation.

According to the Economic Times, Genus Power Shares hit the 20% upper circuit after the platform agreement.

The transactions are subject to the approval of Genus shareholders and fulfilment of customary closing conditions to the satisfaction of the GIC affiliates.

This is according to the WEF’s report Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2023, which finds that equity is being side-lined as countries continue shifting their focus to energy security.

States the report: “The window of opportunity for the energy transition is closing fast. The limited number of countries simultaneously advancing across all aspects of the energy triangle highlights the challenges that countries face in progressing along their energy transition pathways.”

The report, published in collaboration with Accenture, draws on the Energy Transition Index (ETI).

This year’s WEF report used an updated framework to benchmark 120 countries in the trilemma triangle of equity, energy security and environmental sustainability; as well as the readiness of the enabling environment for the energy transition.

Muqsit Ashraf, senior managing director and global strategy lead for Accenture, commented on the report’s findings: “The window of opportunity for reaching net-zero targets is closing and countries must move urgently to cleaner energy systems. Leveraging technology – both physical and digital, including data and AI – will be essential.

“By pushing the boundaries of disruptive technologies, like generative AI, countries and companies can realize what was previously thought impossible and simultaneously bolster not just sustainability but also better enable energy security and affordability.”

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ETI rankings

Over the past decade, states the report, global ETI scores have improved by 10%, supported by an increase of 19% in transition readiness scores, but only a 6% increase in system performance scores.

According to report, Nordic countries, including Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, continue to maintain their top ETI rankings, scoring highly on both system performance and transition readiness.

Despite their diverse energy system structures, states the report, the countries share common attributes. These include high levels of political commitment and stable regulatory frameworks, investments in research and development, increased renewable energy deployment and carbon pricing schemes to incentivise investments in low-carbon solutions.

A few countries, such as Kenya and Azerbaijan, jumped significantly in rank this year for making aggressive efforts and improving their regulatory environment and infrastructure.

Importantly, adds the report, in the last decade the world’s largest energy consumer, China, gained 43% – approximately double the global average – in its transition readiness scores, making its way into the top 20 as the only Asian country.

An equitable window is closing

However, only two countries – India and Singapore – were found to be making advances on all aspects of energy system performance. Broadly speaking, ETI scores have plateaued in the past three years; the WEF warns that this speed of transition is not sufficient to meet the Paris Agreement targets in an inclusive and secure way.

Geopolitical and macroeconomic volatilities that prompted the recent global energy crisis, they cite, have shifted countries’ focus to maintaining secure and stable energy supply at the expense of universal affordability and challenge progress observed in the past decade.

ETI scores declined for approximately 50% of the countries in the past year, which has disproportionately impacted vulnerable consumers, small businesses and developing economies, finds the report.

“The recent turbulence in energy markets has exposed how interconnected energy prices are with macroeconomic and social stability. This can, and has, put developing countries at risk of losing their momentum gained before the energy crisis on access to affordable, sustainable energy,” said Roberto Bocca, head of energy, materials and infrastructure for the World Economic Forum.

“It further demonstrates the importance of balancing improvements in energy security, sustainability and equity – at the same time – to enable an effective energy transition.”

High fuel prices, the report adds, have affected the cost-competitiveness of energy intensive industries, and the rising subsidy burden poses a risk to economic growth.

Additionally, low-income countries have been disproportionately affected, facing simultaneous challenges from fuel price inflation, food inflation and rising debt burden.

The WEF report states that, while performance on environmental sustainability has grown the fastest and countries are prioritizing energy security after lessons from the energy crisis, inclusiveness and equity considerations need to be addressed for a robust and resilient transition.

While the drive for smarter grids, initially led in North America and Europe, has expanded across the world, it has lagged in many emerging markets and developing economies as other challenges such as meeting growing demand with limited resources and ageing infrastructure have taken priority.

But a new report from IEA’s Digital Demand-Driven Electricity Networks Initiative (3DEN) suggests that digital technologies need a higher priority in these countries, with delays in their implementation having considerable costs.

According to the study, digital technologies could save $1.8 trillion of grid investment globally through 2050 by extending the lifetime of grids, while also helping to integrate renewables and minimise supply interruptions.

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Smart grid drivers in Latin America

However, failing to upgrade and digitalise network infrastructure properly could cut the economic output in emerging and developing countries by almost $1.3 trillion as reduced productivity, lost sales and wasteful outlays on backup generation push up costs and put net-zero targets at risk.

“Power grids are among the unsung heroes of the energy transition, but they need massive investment,” says IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

“While much attention goes to solar panels and electric vehicles, it is grids that connect everything together. By digitalising our grids, our power systems become more reliable and secure and our utilities can better manage the balance of electricity supply and demand. The longer we wait to upgrade and digitalise our grids, the more expensive it will get.”

Digitalisation of the grids

The report highlights the need for digitalisation of the grids as crucial for efficiency and decarbonisation and as one of the keys to the success of the clean energy transition.

For example, the IEA estimates that digitally enabled demand response could reduce the curtailment of variable renewable energy systems by more than 25% by 2030, thereby increasing system efficiency and reducing costs for customers.

Decarbonisation can be further supported through enhanced supply and demand forecasting, enabling integrated energy planning and providing better visibility and greater electricity demand flexibility.

Other roles for digitally enabled technologies highlighted include managing the growing penetration of distributed PV systems – countries such as Brazil, India and South Africa are seeing rapid uptake, for example – expanding clean energy access in remote communities and enabling better management of the growing demand due to end-use electrification.

The report notes that overall current global investment in grids is far short of what is required for net zero emissions by mid-century. Annual investment will need to more than double to around $750 billion by 2030, from around US$320 billion today, the IEA estimates.

Policies to support smart grid implementation

The IEA suggests five policy areas beyond targeted actions to facilitate investments to support smart grid implementation and continuous improvement in emerging markets and developing economy countries.

These are:
● Create a coherent vision of how digital grid technologies can help meet country priorities and modernise planning with updated policy and regulatory frameworks.
● Co-ordinate implementation across government departments, regulators and the digital and electricity industries.
● Facilitate rules and regulations that adequately value digital solutions and incentivise and de-risk digitalisation investments.
● Integrate resiliency and security across all electricity policy domains, including through long-term planning and for example climate strategies.
● Track, evaluate and disseminate digitalisation progress to ensure policy implementation and knowledge sharing.

According to people familiar with the announcement, the project marks the first V2G system deployed in the country, which has been seeing surging investment in the EV market.

Just two weeks ago, Siemens became one of the latest companies to tap into the Indian e-mobility market with a €4.3 million ($4.6 million) acquisition.

“There is a desperate need for energy storage solutions to cater to sudden peaks in demand, especially during summer when the need for cooling solutions [increase],” says Sheru marketing manager Kavin Aadithiyan, who is involved in the project.

“However, standalone energy storage solutions are expensive for power utilities to install and have long payback periods. Distributed V2G networks help with supporting the grid as it offsets the need for expensive capital upgrades.”

According to Aadithiyan, the country has been experiencing a major need for distributed energy storage solutions due to the influx of renewable energy sources coming online. “Over 92% of new installed power capacity in 2022 in the country was solar and wind power,” he said.

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India V2G: Unstable grid backdrop

A consequence of this – similar to the situation in the Netherlands, where grid connections sometimes have to be halted due to the lack of capacity on the grid – when combined with a lack of energy storage options, has been an unstable electrical grid.

According to the Indian publication Mercom, one of the latest signs that the country’s grid risked blackout came in December last year, when frequency oscillated between 50.55 to 49.41Hz, rather than the allowed 49.90 to 50.05hz.

And this, adds Aadithiyan, is where a V2G solution can help by supporting the grid through both solutions; energy storage to get through periods of high demand alongside a supply of renewable energy to add to the grid.

According to India Times, the system was announced in partnership with BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL). Shikar Sharma, Sheru’s chief operating officer, commented on how the V2G collaboration between Sheru and BRPL will ensure a “constant supply of renewable energy for round-the-clock power.

“Traditional standalone battery storage entails significant capital expenditure. However, [our] solution taps into the untapped battery capacity of electric vehicles, thus resolving the CAPEX challenge faced by BSES, while also generating income for EV and battery owners.”

Distributed and scalable

A distributed network, through the V2G system batteries will be brought online from idle EVs and used to create an energy storage network.

The company is working alongside New Delhi utilities and has entered partnerships with EV fleet owners and operators in other parts of the country.

The hope of these partnerships is to enable a scalable system, as the V2G market in India, which has otherwise been nascent, picks up.

“As we collaborate with more players, we bring online greater storage capacity while also increasing the geographical presence of the storage network across India.

“Our V2G network is not a short-term project [and] we expect to onboard a significant amount of electric vehicle battery capacity onto our network. And this would only be increasing as the electric vehicle fleet in India increases,” added Aadithiyan.

Also on the radar are announcements from Siemens Gamesa of a wind divestment and Siemens Limited, which is expanding its global portfolio via an Indian acquisition.

$49.5 million into Indian smart meter manufacturer

Smart meter maker Genus Power Infrastructures has received $49.5 million from the US International Development Finance Corporation, according to Times of India reportage.

The funding will be used to scale up their capacity to manufacture new smart meters, the company’s managing director Jitendra Kumar Agarwal told the Press Trust of India.

“Genus has partnered with the US International Development of Finance Corporation for an initial commitment of $49.5 million loan to scale up the deployment of electric smart meters across India, supporting energy security and transition through grid optimisation and efficiency.”

The announcement comes as the country has been making several moves to advance the digitalisation of its infrastructure, namely through smart metering initiatives and policy.

The government’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) in particular has seen several announcements of smart metering rollout, one such being IntelliSmart’s contract for 6.7  million smart meters, which they state to be the largest order to date the country has seen.

Said Agarwal:

“With this partnership…Genus is well poised to become a leading player in the AMISP (Advanced Metering Infrastructure Service Provider) market. Smart metering projects under the RDSS will not only reduce technical and commercial losses exceeding 15% for all major Indian utilities leading to high financial losses, but also improve operations efficiency of DISCOMs and improve their financial health by providing results linked financial assistance.

Genus Power Infrastructures, which has operations in smart metering, smart city and smart grid technologies, forms part of the Kailash Group.

SSEN sustainability RCF

British utility SSEN Transmission has signed its first ever sustainability-linked Revolving Credit Facility (RCF), valued at £750 million ($926.4 million), which includes four key performance indicators:

• Reduction in Scope 1 & 2 emissions;
• Suppliers setting science-based emission reduction targets;
• CAPEX spend on connecting renewables; and
• Biodiversity net gain delivery commitments across major terrestrial projects.

The north of Scotland’s electricity transmission network, states the electric utility, has a major role to play in supporting the delivery of Scotland and the UK’s 2030 climate change targets.

SSEN Transmission has ambitious plans to invest more than £10 billion ($12.3 billion) in its network in the decade to 2030, to enable the delivery of more renewable energy to the UK grid. 

In 2019, SSEN Transmission was the UK’s first electricity networks company to have its GHG emissions target externally validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), in line with a 1.5°C global warming pathway.

Siemens Gamesa divests Windar

Grupo Daniel Alonso, owner of 68% of Spain-based wind tower manufacturer Windar Renovables, and Siemens Gamesa, which owns the remaining 32%, have reached an agreement to sell Windar to Bridgepoint, a British private investment company.

Details on the purchase price and structure have not been released.

“The sale of Siemens Gamesa’s stake in Windar is a natural decision for us, as part of our strategy to focus on our core business: wind turbine design, manufacturing including blades, installation and maintenance,” said Jochen Eickholt, Siemens Gamesa’s CEO.

Orlando Alonso will continue as President and CEO of Windar and will retain an indirect minority stake in the company.

The closing of the transaction is expected to take place before year end. Final transaction closing is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Earlier this year Siemens Energy, according to Wall Street Journal reportage, Siemens Energy, which owns a 97.79% stock in Siemens Gamesa, opened its first green bond of €1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) to re-finance Siemens Gamesa debt.

Siemens Gamesa ended a challenging fiscal year 2022 with what they called “record backlog”. The company had to cut 2,900 jobs in a pitch to boost profitability, which included a Mistral strategy programme to restructure their operating model, a strategy which came into effect in January this year. 

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Siemens taps Indian EV market

Siemens has confirmed the acquisition of Mass-Tech Controls’ EV division, aiming to expand the German giants’ range of e-mobility solutions in the country and expand its global portfolio.

Siemens Limited signed an agreement to acquire the division, which is engaged in design, engineering and manufacturing of a wide range of AC chargers, and 30 to 300kW capacity DC chargers for various end applications for EVs.

The cost of the acquisition is approximately €4.3 million ($4.6 million) on a cash free and debt free basis and subject to other adjustments agreed to between the parties.

While Siemens has been active globally in the e-mobility infrastructure space for more than a decade, this addition is hoped to complete Siemens India’s portfolio of e-mobility solutions and address the needs of the Indian market, which they state has unique requirements such as lower power rating and parallel charging.

“The fast-evolving e-mobility infrastructure market in India is important for Siemens due to its high growth potential. The enhanced portfolio will enable Siemens to meet market requirements such as homologation and local value-add with cost-competitive solutions. With this acquisition, we now have a strong platform to address our customers’ needs with locally designed and produced products,” said Markus Mildner, CEO of eMobility at Siemens Smart Infrastructure.

Closing of the acquisition is subject to fulfilment of condition precedents as agreed between the parties and receipt of requisite regulatory, statutory and other approvals.

Post the acquisition, the EV division of Mass-Tech Controls will be fully integrated into the e-Mobility Business Unit of the Smart Infrastructure Business, Siemens Limited.

Encouraged by the FAME-II policy of the Government of India and electric vehicle policies notified by various state governments, the electric vehicle market in India is in the midst of a transformation.

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The order is being touted as the latest in the company’s robust pipeline of pending smart meter orders in the country, a strategy they are pushing as India continues to roll out state-led schemes for smart metering, such as the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).

HPL’s strategic focus on the smart meter sector, they stated in a press release yesterday, is yielding positive results, with a noticeable upsurge in demand. HPL currently has an order book worth over INR1250 crores ($152.6 million).

“We are delighted with our ongoing success, driven by the strong demand for smart meters and our commitment to technological excellence,” said Gautam Seth, joint managing director of HPL.

The order is being touted by the company as in line with a modernisation and process automation vision, which involves the company upgrading its infrastructure to integrate advanced tech and automating key processes.

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This guiding objective, they state, has resulted in higher productivity levels and a reduction in manual dependency.

“The implementation of government schemes has significantly helped the industry, and we are witnessing tangible results. Our robust pipeline of pending orders, combined with our R&D and process automation initiatives, positions us strongly for sustained growth and continued market leadershi,” added Seth.

Details on the order, such as sectors, ordering parties, smart meter types and amounts ordered have not yet been released. HPL and Electric coordinates metering solutions across domestic, commercial and industrial applications.

This marks the latest in Indian smart metering. Two weeks ago, Indian smart metering company IntelliSmart Infrastructure won an order of 6.7 million smart meters, marking the largest order to date in the country.

In that same week, companies Airtel and Secure Meters announced the deployment of 1.3 million NB-IoT enabled smart meters in the country, which marked the first of such tech being deployed with a 2G and 4G fall-back option to ensure continuous supply.

Under the agreement, the two companies intend to create a demand for green hydrogen in India with the exploration of potential business opportunities and the promotion of its adoption by customers.

The companies also intend to explore the opportunity of setting up hydrogen generation plants including the setting up of electrolysers to blend hydrogen into Indraprastha Gas’s existing pipeline networks suppling gas to households and industrial and commercial operations as well as compressed natural gas for vehicles.

Pawan Kumar, Director (Commercial) at Indraprastha Gas, says the company is in a continuous process of business diversification.

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“Recently, the government has released several incentives for production of green hydrogen, which will help to attain [its] commercial viability in future.”

Indraprastha Gas has previously piloted hydrogen-enriched compressed natural gas in a project in Delhi with the Indian Oil Corporation.

With hydrogen nascent in the automobile sector, the company intends to explore its potential.

Green ammonia production from green hydrogen is another potential business opportunity that will be investigated.

Ashwani Dudeja, President and Director (Green Hydrogen and Ammonia) at ACME Group said the company would offer its experience and expertise, while Indraprastha Gas has a ready-made network to blend hydrogen.

“We will also cooperate on policy matters and help the industry and government to bring in enabling regulatory framework that facilitates and incentivizes the customers to provide long term offtake commitments for green hydrogen and green ammonia.”

Indraprastha Gas is headquartered in New Delhi and supplies natural gas to more than 2 million domestic households and almost 10,000 I&C operations there and in other areas in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The company also supplies compressed natural gas for more than 1.7 million vehicles.

The approximately $2 billion green hydrogen incentive scheme, which is yet to go into operation, is proposed to give producers initially around 10% of their costs.

Earlier in the year ACME Group entered an agreement with Japan’s heavy industry manufacturer IHI Corporation to explore the potential business opportunities of green hydrogen, including production, handling, transportation, distribution and power generation. Under the agreement, IHI also is able to participate as an investor or take offtake in one or more of ACME’s projects in Oman, India, the USA or Egypt.

The company’s new RH1NS200 is an LTE NB-IoT modem chipset that is designed to operate seamlessly on the networks of all major Indian telecommunications carriers.

The company is calling it an ideal solution to serve the Indian smart metering market, which some estimates put at roughly 250 million units over the next five years. The chipset aims to enable customers to build complete NB-IoT modules and satisfy “Make in India” requirements.

The new chipset also can be used in asset tracking, lighting, security and numerous other applications, states Renesas.

Sailesh Chittipeddi, Renesas’ executive vice president and general manager of their infrastructure business unit, commented on the chipset being designed specifically with the Indian market in mind: “Renesas recognies India’s enormous potential in terms of both market size and design talent and we are committed to taking part in future growth driven by the Digital India Act.

“This leading-edge NB-IoT solution is a prime example of tailoring our design and manufacturing strengths to meet the unique needs of this market.”

According to Sony, cellular IoT (both LTE-M and NB-IoT) present an ideal solution for smart meter connectivity due to its lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), high-efficiency and global reach, among others.

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Renesas cites the RH1NS200 chipset’s offerings, which include 1uA power consumption in deep sleep mode and an integrated EAL5+ (Evaluation Assurance Level) Secure Element (SE), aiming to ensure the safety of end applications, particularly power and water metering systems.

According to ResearchAndMarkets, the global NB-IoT chipset market size is expected to reach $7.7 billion by 2028 with a 51.6% CAGR during their 2022 to 2028 forecast period.

Additional research from Persistence Market Research shows that, although the US and European regions are dominant in the market, from 2023 to 2033, the tech’s Indian market will grow by approximately 23%.

Indian smart metering company IntelliSmart Infrastructure has been awarded a contract by electric utility Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) to install 6.7 million prepaid smart meters in 14 districts of West Uttar Pradesh.

According to Intellismart, the project is the largest of its kind in India so far and marks the second smart metering project for IntelliSmart after Assam.

The project will take place in the districts of Amroha, Baghpat, Bijnor, Bulandshahar, GB Nagar, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Hapur, Meerut, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Rampur, Saharanpur, Sambhal and Shamli.

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Speaking on the announcement, Anil Rawal, the company’s managing director and CEO, said, “We are cognizant that, being the largest of the smart metering projects tendered this far in the country, its timely delivery will be the benchmark for the success of the RDSS programme.

“This becomes our second smart metering project after Assam. At this juncture, when smart meter tenders are being rolled out by the states, this win reinforces the sector’s confidence in the capabilities of IntelliSmart to deliver large projects while ensuring cost advantages essential for the improvement of the operational and financial efficiency of the discoms.”

The project falls under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), which has two major components:

1. Financial support for prepaid smart and system metering, as well as upgrading distribution infrastructure
2. Training and capacity building alongside other enabling and supporting activities.

Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided to distribution companies to upgrade infrastructure and smart metering systems, based on pre-qualifying criteria and reform benchmarks.

This marks the latest in Indian smart metering, a priority for the country due to its role in data communication across assets.

Earlier this week, companies Airtel and Secure Meters announced the deployment of 1.3 million NB-IoT enabled smart meters in India, which marked the first of such tech being deployed with a 2G and 4G fall-back option to ensure continuous supply.

The installation of smart meters will be accompanied by service cabling and auxiliaries, implemented in TOTEX (Capital Expenditure and Operational Expenditure) mode under the Design Build Finance Own Operate and Transfer (DBFOOT) arrangement, a project mode appointing one contractor to design, construct and arrange financial resources.

According to the IEA, this explosive growth means electric cars’ share of the overall car market has risen from around 4% in 2020 to 14% in 2022 and is set to increase further to 18% this year.

In a press statement on the report’s release, IEA executive director Fatih Birol commented: “Electric Vehicles (EVs) are one of the driving forces in the new global energy economy that is rapidly emerging – and they are bringing about a historic transformation of the car manufacturing industry worldwide.

“The trends we are witnessing have significant implications for global oil demand. The internal combustion engine has gone unrivalled for over a century, but electric vehicles are changing the status quo. By 2030, they will avoid the need for at least 5 million barrels a day of oil. Cars are just the first wave: electric buses and trucks will follow soon.”

Market concentrations

According to the report, the overwhelming majority of electric car sales to date are mainly concentrated in three markets – China, Europe and the United States.

China is the frontrunner, with 60% of global electric car sales taking place there in 2022. Today, more than half of all electric cars on the road worldwide are in China. Europe and the United States, the second and third largest markets, both saw strong growth with sales increasing 15% and 55% respectively in 2022.

Ambitious policy programmes in major economies, such as the Fit for 55 package in the European Union and the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States, are forecast by the IEA to further increase market share for electric vehicles this decade and beyond. By 2030, the average share of electric cars in total sales across China, the EU and the United States is set to rise to around 60%.

During a press debriefing on today, Birol added how: “In the years to come, even with existing policies of today in the three top car markets – China, US and in Europe – 60% of all the cars sold will be electric. Developments outside these top markets are slower, but I know that India, Indonesia, Thailand and other countries are moving.”

These encouraging trends are also having positive knock-on effects on battery production and supply chains, the report finds.

It highlights that announced battery manufacturing projects would be more than enough to meet EV demand by 2030 in the IEA’s Net Zero Emissions by 2050 report. However, manufacturing remains highly concentrated, with China dominating the battery and component trade – and increasing its share of global electric car exports to more than 35% last year.’

Domestic industry

Several economies have announced policies to foster domestic industries that will improve their competitiveness in the EV market in years to come.

The EU’s Net Zero Industry Act aims for nearly 90% of annual battery demand to be met by domestic battery manufacturers. Similarly, the US Inflation Reduction Act places emphasis on strengthening domestic supply chains for EVs, batteries and minerals.

According to the report, between August 2022, when the Inflation Reduction Act was passed, and March 2023, major EV and battery makers announced investments totalling at least $52 billion in EV supply chains in North America.

Despite a concentration of electric car sales and manufacturing in only a few big markets, there are promising signs in other regions. Electric car sales more than tripled in India and Indonesia last year, albeit from a low base and they more than doubled in Thailand.

The share of electric cars in total sales rose to 3% in Thailand and to 1.5% in India and Indonesia; a combination of effective policies and private sector investment is likely to increase these shares in the future, states the IEA. In India on the other hand, the government’s $3.2 billion incentive programme, which has attracted investments worth $8.3 billion, is expected to increase battery manufacturing and EV rollout substantially in the coming years.

In emerging and developing economies, the report states that the most dynamic area of electric mobility is two- or three-wheel vehicles, which outnumber cars. For example, over half of India’s three-wheeler registrations in 2022 were electric, demonstrating their growing popularity. In many developing economies, two- or three-wheelers offer an affordable way to get access to mobility, meaning their electrification is important to support sustainable development.

EV supply chains and battery production

According to their analysis, the increase in EV demand is concurrently driving demand for batteries and related critical minerals.

Automotive Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery demand was found to have increased by about 65% to 550GWh in 2022, from about 330GWh in 2021, primarily a result of growth in electric passenger car sales. In 2022, about 60% of lithium, 30% of cobalt and 10% of nickel demand was for EV batteries.

Only five years prior, these shares were around 15%, 10% and 2%, respectively. Reducing the need for critical materials will be important for supply chain sustainability, resilience and security, especially given recent price developments for battery material.

New alternatives to conventional lithium-ion are also on the rise, they state. The share of Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LFP) chemistries reached its highest point ever, driven primarily by China: around 95% of the LFP batteries for electric LDVs (Light Duty Vehicles) went into vehicles produced in China.

Additionally, supply chains for (lithium-free) sodium-ion batteries are also being established, with over 100GWh of manufacturing capacity either currently operating or announced, almost all in China.

Although the EV supply chain is expanding, states the report, manufacturing remains highly concentrated in certain regions, with China being the main player in battery and EV component trade.

In 2022, 35% of exported electric cars came from China, compared with 25% in 2021. Europe is China’s largest trade partner for both electric cars and their batteries. In 2022, the share of electric cars manufactured in China and sold in the European market increased to 16%, up from about 11% in 2021.

The Indian telecom provider yesterday announced the partnership with smart metering company Secure Meters to deploy Narrow Band (NB-IoT) services that will power 1.3 million homes in Bihar through a smart meter solution.

According to Airtel, this will be the country’s first NB-IoT solution on a narrow band with a fall-back option that will work on 2G and 4G, aiming to ensure real-time connectivity and uninterrupted transfer of critical data.

NB-IoT is a low-power, wide area, radio network technology developed by 3GPP which enables a wide variety of IoT devices and services including smart meters.

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According to Airtel, their NB-IoT platform is future-ready and scalable to 5G. Their proposition also includes an advanced IoT platform ‘The Airtel IoT Hub’ which has been customised to suit the needs of Advance Metering Infrastructure Service Providers (AMISPs) and includes a Feasibility Tool to help AMISPs plan their meter deployments.

Other functionalities, states the telecom provider, include customer life cycle management and advanced analytics tools like diagnostics, live sessions check and real-time data usage among others.

Airtel touts its network as ready for pan India NB-IoT deployment and designed for superior coverage to address the specific needs of the IoT market.

Ananya Singhal, joint managing director of Secure Meters, said: “We are thrilled to have partnered with Airtel for the implementation of NB-IoT services in our smart meter rollout in North Bihar.

“With Airtel’s support, we were able to seamlessly connect and monitor our meters, resulting in greater efficiency and cost savings for Secure and for our customers in North Bihar…We highly recommend Airtel to anyone looking to implement NB-IoT services in their IoT solutions and look forward to a growing partnership.”