India gears up for 1st electric truck corridor on NH-66
India is gearing up for its first electric truck corridor on the 622-km stretch of NH-66 between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod in Kerala.
Supported by the ₹2,000-crore sanctioned by the Centre under PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-Drive), the project aims to boost clean transport, with ₹63.12 crore so far sanctioned to Kerala for developing an EV charging network, which can also be used for the purpose.
Kerala needs 1,939 chargers by 2050
A study by Kerala State Electricity Board and ICCT suggests a 12.5-MW charging network will be needed, costing about ₹19 crore.
Using GPS data from 13,355 trucks, they estimate 1,939 chargers will be required by 2050 as more trucks go electric.
Even then, all those chargers would use less than 0.2% of Kerala's yearly energy, making this a big step forward without straining local resources.