India is about to take a step towards a greener future. Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways has disclosed that India may soon have an electric highway.
Nitin Gadkari said on Friday, September 16, that the government is already in talks with a foreign company to build an electric highway between Jaipur and Delhi.
If this highway is made as proposed, what would set this highway between the capitals of the nation and of the state of Rajasthan is the ability to charge EVs (or electric vehicles) on it, as they are driving.
If this seems far-fetched to you, maybe it would help to know that this is not a new concept. Sweden has already done something similar when it built an electric highway technology that permits the trucks to operate as electric vehicles when on the electrified road and as regular hybrid vehicles at other times.
He described this to be his “dream” project, and construction could be expected to begin very soon if the talks go well. “It is my dream to build an electric highway from Delhi to Jaipur. It is still a proposed project. We are in discussion with a foreign company,” Gadkari was quoted by a news agency as saying. He has also expressed passion over ensuring vehicles such as buses and trucks cut down the use of non-renewable fuels.
India is expected to switch to electric cars in the near future. Many expect electric models to infiltrate the market by no later than 2030. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is striving to keep up with this possible update to the status quo as they are improving highway infrastructure by installing additional electric vehicle charging stations.
According to HT Auto, in addition to the Delhi-Jaipur route, another electric highway between Delhi and Mumbai may be built. The talks with a Swedish firm are underway.
These projects are also made with an expectation to cut down travel time significantly.