iTEC 2015 lays roadmap for electromobility in India

iTEC India 2015, the country’s first international transportation electrification conference jointly organised in Chennai during August 27-29 by the Society of Automotive Engineers India (SAEINDIA) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), received industry-wide response.

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At SAE’s iTEC 2015 inaugural in Chennai are (from left), Mr. N. Balasubramanian, Chairman, Organising Committee for iTECINDIA & Deputy Vice President, Renault Nissan Technology & Business Centre India, Dr. Tomy Sebastian, Fellow, IEEE, President Elect, Industry Applications Society, Mr. Ambuj Sharma, Patron of the Steering Committee for iTEC INDIA & Additional Secretary, Department of Heavy Industries, Government of India, Mr. Anant Gangaram Geete, Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Dr. Aravind S. Bharadwaj, President, SAEINDIA & Senior Vice President – Advanced Technology and Services, Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Dr. David Schutt, CEO, SAE International, and M. Parvez Alam, PMP, Assistant Manager – Business Development, Ucal Fuel Systems Ltd & Member, SAE

Inaugurating the conference, Mr. Anant Gangaram Geete, Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, said: “The growth and adoption of hybrid electric vehicles will be a major component of the Government’s FAME India scheme. These vehicles will reduce CO2 emissions and fuel consumption, in turn positively impacting the foreign exchange scenario since 90% of our crude oil is imported. India is unique and there are huge cost and environmental challenges. Solutions which work abroad may not work in India. iTEC India 2015 will hopefully provide an opportunity to deliberate on these technical challenges and come up with the solutions required for India’s future.”

In his address, Dr. Aravind Bharadwaj, Chairman, Steering Committee of ITEC INDIA, and President, SAEINDIA, said: “iTEC India 2015, a first of its kind conference in the country, will outline the roadmap to help the industry reach the Government’s challenging target of 6-7 million sales of hybrid and electric vehicles year on year from 2020 onwards. While monetary incentives and investments are important to realize this objective, technology innovations and advancement are even more crucial at this stage to shape the growth trajectory of electro mobility adoption in the country.”

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Mr. Anant Gangaram Geete flagging off a Mahindra e2o electric vehicle

Mr. Ambuj Sharma, Patron, ITEC India, disclosed that the Department of Heavy Industry is determined to achieve the NEMMP goals through FAME and accelerate the auto sector growth in a sustainable manner. Technocrats and entrepreneurs in general should come forward to support this initiative.

In his address, Dr. Tomy Sebastien, President-elect, IEEE, said: “Co-operation of SAE, whose focus is on mobility systems, and IEEE which is the largest professional association for the advancement of technology focused on electrical and electronic technologies, is probably the most efficient way to address the technical challenges associated with the integration of electrical technologies into automotive systems”.

Mr. N. Balasubramanian, Chairman, Organising Committee of iTEC India 2015, thanked the Ministry of Heavy Industries for its full backing for this first-of-its-kind conference in India.

iTEC India 2015 witnessed the launch of the “Lithium” project. Lithium is the world’s first provider of a 100 per cent zero-emission electric car fleet for corporate transport, including a fleet of connected cars manned by trained and certified drivers and supported by qualified professionals working in the backend. Also displayed were the latest electric vehicles such as Nissan Leaf, Mahindra e2o, etc.

Over one hundred technical papers by students and professionals from seven countries were presented at the conference.