'All vehicles will be electric someday’: Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath on EV adoption

Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath has said that his biggest bet this year has been electric vehicles. In a social media post on Wednesday, Kamath said all vehicles will be electric someday, adding that he made investments in everything from scooters to trucks and plans to invest in air taxis as well. “The largest bet this year for me has been that all vehicles will be electric someday; we have invested in everything from scooters to buses to trucks to maybe air taxis next," he said in his X post.

He expects drop in the commuting costs per kilometre, which will offset the initial capital expenditure.

Kamath posted snapshots stating that renewable energy constitutes 46.3% of India’s total installed capacity as of October 2024. It added that this growth aligns with India’s target of 500 GW or 50% energy from renewables by 2030.

Shedding light on the Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), he shared that it can store excess energy during low demand and release it during peak hours, ensuring a stable supply of renewable energy supply.

While highlighting the benefits of BESS usage, Kamath pointed: 

- Cost-effective: BESS cuts energy bills by reducing peak demand charges and diesel use when operating off-grid.

- Reliability: BESS provides backup power during outages.

- Reduced emissions: BESS helps lower fossil fuel use and cut emissions.

- Improved grid stability: BESS stabilises the grid by balancing supply and demand.

He further stated that India is one of the largest importers of lithium-ion batteries, meeting almost its entire 15 GWh demand in FY23 through imports worth $3.59 billion, with $2.6 billion of this coming from China. 

As EV adoption rises and energy grid undergoes decarbonisation, demand is expected to reach 54 GWh by FY27 and 127 GWh by FY30, it adds.

In an earlier podcast, featuring Badshah, Kriti Sanon and KL Rahul, Kamath mentioned that the energy transition sector is a major global issue, and pointed out that the majority of wars were fought over it. He also advised entrepreneurs to steer clear of oversaturated industries.