India to build nearly 6,000 fast-charging stations along highways

India’s Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) has set a target for 5,833 charging stations along Indian highways as part of the 7,432 public fast-charging outlets it announced in 2023. These will be built by three Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).

With a total of 649 locations, the highest number of chargers will be built in the western state of Maharashtra, home to Mumbai. Second in order is the southern state of Tamil Nadu with 649 locations. Northern state Uttar Pradesh, which shares a border with the national capital Delhi, is in third place with 525 public fast-charging stations.

The MHI won’t be setting up the public fast-chargers itself. Instead, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG)’s public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) – Indian Oil (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) will be in charge of that.

MHI didn’t disclose the investment amount. However, it sanctioned ₹8 billion (approx. €88 million) to the OMCs for installing a total of 7,432 outlets under the FAME India Scheme Phase II in March last year. Back then, it expected the OMCs to complete work by March this year. Apparently, the project is running behind schedule.

According to the Ministry of Road Transport & Highway (MoRTH), India already has 5,293 charging stations along National Highways. Maharashtra has 750 locations, the highest among all states and union territories (UTs). Uttar Pradesh, with 577 outlets, is in second place. Western state Rajasthan, close to Delhi in the northwestern part of the country, ranks third with 482 charging stations.

With the significant improvement and expansion of the highway network in recent years, self-drive travel is becoming popular. Thus, the developments in EV charging infrastructure will likely push more customers to buy electric cars. Public and private transport operators should deploy more electric buses and increase their scope of coverage to longer routes.

Private companies are also working on improving the charging network on Indian highways. ChargeZone, for example, aims to cover 150,000 km of highways and install 1,000 charging stations on key routes. The company is installing high-power chargers with 360-1,200 kW capacities on popular western and southern highway routes like Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Bengaluru-Hyderabad, Bengaluru-Chennai, and Bengaluru-Pune-Mumbai.

pib.gov.in