Road transport is responsible for the majority of mobility-related carbon dioxide emissions in India. Adopting electric vehicles (EVs) is a crucial lever to mitigate these emissions without sacrificing fundamental access to mobility. With the EV30@30 goal as a north star — 30 percent EV sales penetration by 2030 — the government of India has allocated INR 0.6 lakh crores (US$7.5 billion) to catalyse EV supply and demand. Overall, the investment opportunity for EVs, charging infrastructure, and batteries is INR 19.7 lakh crore (US$266 billion) between 2020 and 2030. 

Startups have been leading the charge — they have developed innovative products, business models, and financing mechanisms. However, several challenges persist as they move from ideation to scaling their product or service. Supporting startups in overcoming these challenges can catalyse the EV market and help India realize its sustainable transportation targets. 

The Need for Collaborative Solutions 

The e-mobility ecosystem can realise its full potential by increasing dialogue among stakeholders and co-developing solutions to existing barriers. To this end, Micelio Mobility, NSRCEL, and RMI India Foundation designed the “Catalysing E-Mobility: India Innovators Forum” to provide a process for open dialogue among startups and other relevant stakeholders such as academic institutions and venture funds. 

The Innovators Forum was inaugurated on September 21, 2022, with a one-day workshop that included more than 35 participants from 25 startups. Together, these participants worked together to generate and detail 10 solutions across several thematic areas. The workshop focused on system-level challenges that, when overcome, will advance the entire ecosystem. 

The Catalysing E-Mobility report provides a high-level look at the state of the ecosystem in terms of innovation, funding, and emerging challenges. The report then discusses the solutions generated at the workshop. 

The Path Forward 

 The startup ecosystem in India is critical to the realisation of the country’s clean mobility goals. Hosting important conversations among stakeholders can bring forward impactful and timely solutions that can accelerate India’s transition to a clean mobility future. 

To build on the work already underway and to further develop actionable plans and pathways for implementation, Micelio Mobility, NSRCEL, and RMI India Foundation will continue to support the ecosystem by tracking and reporting on progress, hosting stakeholder consultations, collating and disseminating critical knowledge, and facilitating progress on solutions.