ARAI takes next step toward electric mobility

The automotive industry in India – specifically comprising of vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers – has started thinking electric. Now the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), Pune, which is engaged in R&D in automotive engineering for industry, product design and development, has announced plans for setting up the E-mobility Centre of Excellence.

ARAI, in collaboration with national and international organisations, has been pro-actively taking initiatives to address the challenges of e-mobility and formulation of different regulations specific to electric and hybrid electric vehicles.

The E-mobility Centre of Excellence, located in Pune, will be equipped with an expansive range of facilities – including a battery emulator, motor test beds, battery test systems and hardware-in-loop (HIL) systems that will enable testing a range of vehicles from two-wheelers to buses.

Commenting on the new facility, Rashmi Urdhwareshe, Director, ARAI, said, “The E-mobility Centre of Excellence would be a one of its kind in India. It will have state-of-the-art facilities for development, evaluation, benchmarking, validation and certification testing of electric and hybrid electric vehicles, and related sub-systems and components. ARAI has envisaged this Centre to be the facility which will be able to offer and cater to all services and meet the requirements of the automotive and ancillary industry in India, under a single roof. This will make ARAI a preferred solution provider in e-mobility.”

The cornerstone for the E-mobility centre will be unveiled by Anant Geete, Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Government of India, during the valedictory function of ITEC India 2017 on December 15, 2017.

ITEC (International Transportation Electrification Conference) India 2017 is being jointly organised by ARAI, SAE India and IEEE-IAS. The conference is to be held at the Westin, Pune on December 13-15, 2017. It will act as a platform for all industry stakeholders to exchange ideas and work cohesively to achieve electrification of transportation.