Altigreen, an electric three-wheeler maker, says fast charging solutions are the way forward for the electric vehicle (EV) industry in India. The company plans to set up 100 charging points across major cities by this financial year.
“We’re going to set up 100 network points in every city that we are present. So Bengaluru will have 100 network points in this financial year itself... Altigreen has built a battery and a charging station that has made charging seamless. The next step is to ensure that there is a network so that customers can easily find these charging stations and charge and keep moving,” Amitabh Saran, Chief Executive Officer, Altigreen told BusinessLine.
The Bengaluru-based company provides last-mile delivery with its commercial electric three-wheelers. With its partner, Exponent Energy (another Bengaluru-based energy start-up), it has developed fast charging solutions with a full charge in 15 minutes and also gives 3,000 charging cycles.
According to Saran, the company’s commercial electric three-wheeler called neEV offers a range of 150 km on a single charge and it has seen demand from e-commerce platforms, and LPG cylinders, vegetables, or milk delivery vendors.
‘Forgetting range anxiety’
“We realise that we want to speed up and make energy a seamless experience. Owning an EV should be more freeing than a diesel vehicle, and it should drive and operate better. And I think that’s how we displace the whole segment overnight,” he said, adding, “But most importantly, ensuring a charge in 15 minutes makes customers forget about range anxiety.”
Saran notes that for both customers and third-party charging network partners, fast charging make a good business case. “If I go to a slow charging station, I have to pay ₹24 a unit and can charge only two or three vehicles a day, which becomes very expensive,” he said. “But with fast charging, you can exponentially bring down the cost of energy.”
Founded in 2013, Altigreen this year (February) raised ₹300 crore in a funding round led by Sixth Sense Ventures, along with Reliance New Energy, Xponentia Capital, Accurant International, USA, and Momentum Venture Capital, Singapore.