Kerala hopes to develop a model electric truck (e-truck) corridor along the National Highway (NH) 66 as part of the State’s efforts to promote freight electrification under the Centre’s PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme.
The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), in collaboration with the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICTT), organised a workshop here on Wednesday, ‘Driving E-Truck Ecosystem with PM E-DRIVE Scheme,’ for positioning the State as a frontrunner in this emerging area.
Kerala has a little over three lakh electric vehicles, mostly passenger vehicles, on its roads at present. The State is now in the process of laying the groundwork for establishing high-capacity charging infrastructure and related facilities for e-trucks along freight corridors. Electricity Minister K. Krishnankutty, addressing the workshop, said electrification of trucks and other freight carriers is imperative for controlling carbon emissions and reducing air pollution.
Next critical frontier
Puneet Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary (Power), who inaugurated the workshop, described freight and logistics as the “next critical frontier” if the State is serious about decarbonisation and long-term sustainability. The ICTT is closely collaborating with the KSEB and its EV Accelerator Cell to support evidence-based planning in this area, he said.
“This includes corridor-driven charging requirements, grid integration strategies and early pilot designs. This collaboration ensures that Kerala’s approach is data driven, internationally benchmarked and aligned with global best practices while remaining firmly grounded in local operational realities,” Mr. Puneet Kumar said.
While medium and heavy-duty trucks constitute a small share of the vehicles on road, they represent a disproportionately large share of fuel consumption, leading to greenhouse gas emissions, noise and urban air pollution. Multiple life cycle studies have indicated that e-trucks can reduce total greenhouse emissions. This firmly establishes e-trucks as a cornerstone technology for decarbonising freight transport, he said.
“For Kerala, this transition has immediate and local relevance. Our major freight corridors, the NH 66 and key State highways, pass through densely populated and environmentally sensitive regions,” Mr. Puneet Kumar said. India is projected to require approximately 9 Gigawatts (GW) of installed high-capacity charging infrastructure for electric trucks by 2030 and increasing to about 170 GW by 2050. These figures make it clear that freight electrification is not just peripheral, but foundational to India’s net zero transport pathways, he said.
Incentives offered
R. Harikumar, director, Energy Management Centre, urged the KSEB to adopt a differentiated incentive strategy for private e-trucks and Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) e-buses, based on the quality and certainty of electricity demand, in addition to the incentives offered by the PM E-Drive scheme.
Minhaj Alam, Chairman and Managing Director, KSEB; Transport Commissioner Nagaraju Chakilam; Krithika P.R., programme lead, ICTT; Pramoj Shankar, CMD, KSRTC; and KSEB Director Sajeev G. also spoke.
Published – December 17, 2025 06:53 pm IST
