India Unveils Indigenous 30 kW Integrated Drive System for Electric Vehicles

An indigenously developed 30 kW Wide Band Gap (WBG)-based Integrated Drive System (IDS) for electric vehicles was unveiled in Chennai on Monday, marking a fresh push toward strengthening India’s domestic power electronics ecosystem. The system has been jointly developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Thiruvananthapuram, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, and automotive component major Lucas TVS under the National Mission on Power Electronics Technology (NaMPET).

The technology was formally launched by S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), at IIT Madras. The introduction of the 30 kW system is being positioned as a strategic milestone in the government’s efforts to build indigenous capabilities in advanced semiconductor-based power electronics.

Designed for India’s EV Market

At present, a significant share of high-performance EV powertrains and critical semiconductor drive components are imported. The newly launched IDS is aimed at addressing this gap by offering a domestically designed and validated solution that can support local manufacturing and reduce reliance on overseas suppliers.

The 30 kW power class is particularly suited to India’s expanding electric passenger vehicle market, including compact cars and fleet mobility platforms. As the country accelerates EV adoption, demand for high-efficiency, high-density drive systems is rising sharply.

Higher Efficiency and Power Density

Unlike conventional systems where the electric motor and inverter are housed separately, the newly developed IDS integrates both into a single compact unit. The use of Wide Band Gap semiconductor technology enables higher efficiency and power density, making the system lighter and more suitable for modern EV platforms.

Officials said the system has already been designed, fabricated and validated in partnership with Lucas TVS and is ready for commercialisation and large-scale deployment. Its integrated architecture is expected to enhance system performance while lowering overall costs through localisation.

Domestic Manufacturing and MSMEs

The Ministry of Electronics and IT stated that large-scale adoption of the indigenous drive system could strengthen India’s EV supply chain and create new opportunities for MSMEs in power electronics manufacturing, thermal management systems and control hardware.

Local production of such high-value components is also expected to align with national initiatives such as the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, supporting scalable manufacturing and export competitiveness.

Through NaMPET, MeitY has been promoting collaborative innovation between research institutions, academia and industry to develop globally competitive power electronics technologies for next-generation mobility and energy systems.

Addressing the launch event, S Krishnan highlighted that the development reflects the vision of “Make in India, Make for the World.” He noted that India’s transition from a technology-importing nation to a technology-developing and exporting nation is being accelerated through partnerships across R&D institutions, academia and industry.

According to him, design-led innovation in advanced power electronics will help create strong domestic intellectual property, strengthen the start-up ecosystem and build high-value manufacturing capabilities in the EV sector.