9 September 2023, New Delhi: JSW Steel, IKEA and Flipkart will be launching pilots to introduce electric trucks in their logistical fleets in India. The programme will be rolled out under Climate Group’s EV100+ initiative. The evidence from the pilot will accelerate the decarbonisation of transport in India. JSW Steel and IKEA are part of the EV100+ initiative, while Flipkart is an EV100 signatory.
A Climate Group analysis found that while medium and heavy diesel trucks (MHDT) are responsible for around 45 percent of on-road emissions they are only around 2 percent of on-road vehicles in India. The number of MHDTs is likely to quadruple by 2050. The electric truck pilots will offer valuable insights into the feasibility on Indian road conditions and pave the way for large-scale adoption by Indian businesses. The announcement of the pilot comes on the back of an alliance launched by NITI Aayog’s e-FAST platform, which registered a demand of over 7,500 electric freight vehicles by 2030 earlier this year in July, at the Clean Energy Ministerial hosted in Goa.
Sh. Sudhendu Sinha, Adviser, Infrastructure, Connectivity and Electric Mobility, NITI Aayog, welcomed the development: "In our quest for sustainable road freight electrification in India, e-FAST India, led by NITI Aayog, has formed a robust industry alliance. Alongside Climate Group, a pivotal partner in our mission, we're translating ambition into action through pilot projects. These 'Champions of Change' are set to fast-track the adoption of zero-emission trucks in India. Kudos to JSW Steel, IKEA and Flipkart for their pioneering efforts in driving zero-emission trucks, steering our nation toward a greener future."
Responding to this declaration, Jayant Acharya, Joint Managing Director and CEO from JSW Steel said: “We are joining forces with Climate Group to develop a proof of concept by piloting first 50 electric 40 tonne trucks by the end of FY2024. Based on the results, we aim to scale up to 500 trucks across our operations in India and align to our EV100+ commitments by the end of 2040”. The electric trucks with JSW Steel will be deployed within the steel plants and mines to replace the IC engine-based vehicles currently in use.
“Electrification of road transport is one of the key solutions to decarbonise the transport industry. We need to collaborate to speed up the transformation and this initiative is a movement in the right direction,” says Elisabeth Munck af Rosenschöld, Sustainability Manager, IKEA Supply Chain Operations. The company has a goal to use electrified or zero emission heavy duty trucks in all road transportation in OECD countries, China and India by 2040 as part of the EV100+ initiative. In the pilot, IKEA will explore an operational model with the aim to identify efficient and scalable solutions.
Reacting to the partnership Nishant Gupta, Head of Sustainability, Flipkart said: “As India's homegrown e-commerce organisation, we remain focused on decarbonising our operations across the supply chain. As a partner of Climate Group's EV100 commitment since 2020, Flipkart has been working to transition its last-mile delivery fleet to EVs by 2030. We are also committed to piloting our first set of electrified trucks in our inter-state segment by the end of 2024. We will continue to engage with the EV community to get a better understanding of policies and infrastructure needs to support rapid electrification at a time when decarbonisation is the need of the hour in our country. As we gain higher confidence in this programme, we aim to transition up to half of our fleet to zero-emission vehicles."
“Decarbonising transport in supply chain is important in reducing major scope 3 emissions of companies. By switching from diesel trucks to electric, JSW Steel, IKEA and Flipkart continue to show leadership on climate. We are excited to join hands with them and believe that the learnings will help the wider industry in adopting zero emission trucks in their fleets at a faster pace” said Atul Mudaliar, Head of Business Actions & Lead of EV100+ at Climate Group in India.
The electric trucks as part of the pilot will be deployed on routes with a high concentration of freight transport. It will be rolled out in phases from now until 2025. Climate Group and its technical partner, pManifold Business Solutions, will co-design the pilot which will include developing the financing architecture, procurement of trucks, deployment and monitoring performance.
In its final policy recommendation to the G20, the Business Engagement Group (B20) urges the adoption of electric vehicles as a key lever for decarbonising developing countries.
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Notes to Editors:
For media enquiries, contact Avantika Shrivastava, Senior Communications Manager at Climate Group, at [email protected].
About Climate Group and EV100+
Climate Group drives climate action. Fast. Our goal is a world of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, with greater prosperity for all. We focus on systems with the highest emissions and where our networks have the greatest opportunity to drive change. We do this by building large and influential networks and holding organisations accountable, turning their commitments into action. We share what we achieve together to show more organisations what they could do. We are an international non-profit organisation, founded in 2004, with offices in London, New Delhi and New York.
EV100+: Our global initiative bringing together companies committed to switching their owned and contracted fleets above 7.5 tonnes, known as medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs), to zero emission by 2040 across OECD markets, India and China.
About JSW Steel
JSW Steel is the flagship business of the diversified, US$ 23 billion JSW Group. As one of India’s leading business houses, JSW Group also has interests in energy, infrastructure, cement, paints, sports, and venture capital. JSW Steel, certified by Great Places to Work in 2021, has emerged as an organization with a strong cultural foundation. Over the last three decades, it has grown from a single manufacturing unit to become India’s leading integrated steel company with a capacity of 29.2 MTPA in India and the USA (including capacities under joint control). Its next phase of growth in India will take its total capacity to 38.5 MTPA by FY25.
The company’s manufacturing unit in Vijayanagar, Karnataka is the largest single-location steel-producing facility in India with a capacity of 12 MTPA. JSW Steel has always been at the forefront of research and innovation. It has a strategic collaboration with global leader JFE Steel of Japan, enabling JSW to access new and state-of-the-art technologies to produce and offer high-value special steel products to its customers. These products are extensively used across industries and applications including construction, infrastructure, automobile, electrical applications, and appliances. JSW Steel is widely recognized for its excellence in business and sustainability practices.
Some of these recognitions include World Steel Association’s Steel Sustainability Champion (consecutively from 2019 to 2022), Leadership Rating (A) in CDP climate change disclosure (2022), Deming Prize for TQM for its facilities at Vijayanagar (2018), and Salem (2019). It was part of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for Emerging Markets during 2021 and inclusion in the S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook (consecutively for 2020 and 2021). In December 2022, JSW Steel was ranked 8th among the top 35 world-class steelmakers, according to the ‘World-Class Steelmaker Rankings’ by World Steel Dynamics (WSD), based on a variety of factors. As a responsible corporate citizen, JSW Steel’s CO2 emission reduction goals are aligned with India’s Climate Change commitments under the Paris Accord.
About the Flipkart Group
The Flipkart Group is one of India’s leading digital commerce entities and includes group companies Flipkart, Myntra, Flipkart Wholesale, Flipkart Health+, and Cleartrip. Started in 2007, Flipkart has enabled millions of consumers, sellers, merchants, and small businesses to be a part of India's digital commerce revolution, with a registered customer base of more than 400 million, offering over 150 million products across 80+ categories. Our efforts to democratize commerce in India, drive access and affordability, delight customers, create lakhs of jobs in the ecosystem, and empower generations of entrepreneurs and MSMEs have inspired us to innovate on many industry firsts. Flipkart is known for pioneering services such as Cash on Delivery, No Cost EMI and easy returns – customer-centric innovations have made online shopping more accessible and affordable for millions of Indians. Together with its group companies, Flipkart is committed to transforming commerce in India through technology. For more information, please write to [email protected]
About NITI Aayog’s e-FAST
e-FAST India (Electric Freight Accelerator for Sustainable Transport – India), anchored by NITI Aayog is the country's first national platform to facilitate collaboration between government stakeholders and private sector partners - original equipment manufacturers, logistic service providers, financers, producers, and charge point operators - to shape strategies and actions that support freight electrification at scale. e-FAST was born from the recognition of the urgent need to decarbonize road-based freight transportation in India to realize its 2070 net zero commitments.
Since its launch on 7 September 2022, it has harnessed the power of extensive stakeholder collaborations among the freight ecosystem stakeholders and building consensus to advance dialogues of freight electrification. The expanding network of the platform has brought together over 45 industry and 14 knowledge partners. By gathering insights from national and international experiences, e-FAST India is thriving to curate tailored e-freight solutions for the Indian context including scalable pilots and aggregation of demand, development of innovative financing and business models.