Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) on Friday announced the launch of electric vehicle fast-charging stations on two corridors in the southern region: Bangalore-Chennai and Bangalore-Mysore-Coorg Highway. In the next six months, the business will roll out 200 more EV fast-charging corridors across the nation.
According to P.S. Ravi, Executive Director In-charge (Retail), BPCL, “of the 200 stations, 60 stations would be in the southern States, and we will invest ₹500 crore in developing these EV fast-charging corridors.”
Address challenges
The company analysed three challenges in the EV sector: the distance covered on a single charge; finding a charging station; and the time taken to charge the vehicle. With these corridors, the company says it has tried to address those challenges.
According to Ravi, “Each station will have one 25 KW fast charge installed, which will take around 30 minutes to charge the vehicle. Once fully charged, it is expected to cover a distance of 125 km.” The chargers will power all four-wheeler EVs and are located at nine of its fuel stations with an approximate distance of 100 km on both sides of the routes, he added.
Digital payment
The petroleum major has also introduced a digital mode of payment for all the charging transactions, “Users can make payments via our mobile app called HelloBPCL. In comparison to the cost of petrol, the charge would be 50 per cent less expensive,” said Ravi. The fast chargers are self-operated; however, support staff help will be available, if and when needed, said BPCL.
Earlier this year, the BPCL launched the Chennai-Trichy-Madurai highway as part of the first phase. It plans to add more charging stations at fuel pumps at periodic intervals on all major national highways connecting major cities and economic centres in the country.
Emerging sectors
In the medium to long term, the company plans to intensify its focus on emerging market sectors and transform its 7,000 regular retail stores into energy stations offering a variety of fueling alternatives, one of which will be an EV charging station. Bharat Petroleum also plans to roll out its chain of In & Out convenience stores at key fuel stations on highways for added convenience to its customers.