SUN Mobility and SmartE partner to transform EV adoption in the country
500 SmartE Electric Three-Wheelers will use first-of-its-kind battery swapping system across Delhi-NCR, in Phase 1
Delhi: SUN Mobility, a leading provider of energy infrastructure and services for electric vehicles (EVs), today announced a partnership with SmartETM, India’s largest electric vehicle fleet operator, to deploy its universal energy infrastructure to support SmartE’s growing EV operations. In April 2018, SUN Mobility showcased the Interoperable Smart Mobility solution for 2-and-3 wheelers and this is the first-of-its-kind deployment in the country for electric three-wheelers. SmartE’s fleet of electric three-wheelers will make use of SUN Mobility’s solution and will be deployed at SmartE Park & Charge Hubs across the Delhi-NCR, to bolster its first and last-mile connectivity services. The month-long field trials for this solution were successfully concluded in Gurugram last week and the partnership will see SUN Mobility scaling the battery swapping infrastructure over the next 3 months to support 500 electric three-wheelers in Phase 1.
The two companies have come together, leveraging their expertise in product and solution to drive convenient, affordable and zero-emission last mile connectivity for the NCR region. The partnership is an example of collaboration between companies to address India’s growing need for clean public transport solutions and aims to rapidly transform the overall EV adoption in the country.
Goldie Srivastava, Co-Founder and CEO, SmartE, said, “The partnership underscores our commitment to make last-mile commute easy, safe, affordable and eco-friendly for everyone. SUN Mobility’s Interoperable Smart Mobility solution will enable us to rapidly scale up our vision without having to worry about the energy infrastructure.”
“As a pioneer in the electric mobility service space, SmartE plans to roll-out 100,000 vehicles by 2022. At 100,000 vehicles, SmartE will help reduce close to a million tonnes of carbon emissions, equivalent of planting 17 million trees per year,” he added.
SmartE already has an ongoing partnership with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and delivers nearly 80,000 rides to commuters daily. SmartE has served over 30 million pollution-free rides in the past three years since inception and is India’s largest electric vehicle service platform today.
By using SUN Mobility’s Smart Batteries, which use the advanced Lithium ion technology, the weight of the vehicle is reduced by ~100 Kgs improving the efficiency of the vehicle, therefore allowing for increased mileage, better pickup and higher gradients. The Quick Interchange Stations enable electric three-wheeler drivers to swap their batteries in under two minutes. The pilot results show a spike in the revenue as drivers are able to operate the vehicle for 40% longer range compared to the conventional Li-Ion battery-based vehicles and 80% more compared to conventional Lead-Acid battery-based vehicles.
“Conventional electric three-wheelers that run on lead-acid batteries usually require eight hours of overnight charging and four hours of opportunity charge during the day. The assets remain idle half of the time during the day and could only cover 60-80 km which cause a loss of potential revenue. Our solution, through swapping, enables them to realize the full potential of last-mile transport and clock more than 150 kms per day,” said Chetan Maini, Co-Founder and Vice-Chairman, SUN Mobility. “The partnership with SmartE will enable us to tangibly impact the lives of hundreds of people by making ‘refueling’ of electric vehicles faster, cheaper and more convenient for them to adopt,” he added.
SUN Mobility’s solution will aim to significantly augur the earning opportunity for electric three-wheeler drivers on SmartE’s platform, as it addresses the main challenges of high-replacement cost, low-life of the battery, limited-range, and long-refueling time. SUN Mobility’s Quick Interchange Stations’ computer controlled advanced charging and thermal management enables over 200 swaps a day and utilize less than 1/50th the real estate space for regular charging.
Speaking on the occasion, Uday Khemka, Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of SUN Mobility, said, “E-rickshaw drivers not only worry about making ends-meet, but also about saving money to replace lead-acid batteries every 6-9 months. Our pay-as-you-go solution ensures that the 1.5 million e-rickshaws plying on the roads today and the eleven thousand that are added every month are affordable and make economic sense for the drivers.”
SUN Mobility’s energy infrastructure platform comprises of SUN Mobility Smart BatteryTM that is light-weight, connected, long-life, compact and swappable. SUN Mobility Quick Interchange StationTM is compact, easy to install and ensure quick refueling of electric vehicles and are compatible with multiple vehicle platforms including: 2 and 3 wheelers (e-rickshaws and e-autos). SUN Mobility Smart Network (an IoT-based cloud platform) helps keep a constant check on the battery vitals, tracks batteries in real time, enables digital authentication, station operations and ensures service delivery optimization.
About SUN Mobility
SUN Mobility is a global leader providing energy infrastructure and services to the transportation sector that are faster, cheaper and more convenient, making mass migration to a sustainable, pollution-free future possible. It is a 50:50 joint venture between Virya Mobility 5.0 and SUN New Energy Systems, pioneers in areas of electric mobility and clean energy. The company was established in April 2017 and is led by Chetan Maini, previously founder of Reva now Mahindra Reva, and Uday Khemka, Vice Chairman of SUN Group, two of India’s leaders in the new energy economy. The organization is working with STUs, fleet operators, shared mobility providers, and automotive OEMs across all platforms including 2/3 wheelers, cars and buses to challenge the status quo with an economical, scalable and smarter way forward.
SUN Mobility’s Smart Mobility solutions combine Smart Batteries™, Quick Interchange Stations™, all linked to a Smart Network that is sustainable – largely powered by renewable energy. For more information, please visit: http://www.sunmobility.co.in
About SmartE:
SmartE is India’s first shared electric mobility service and is the largest electric vehicle operator in the country. It has served over 30 million commuters since its launch more than three years ago. Apart from building an ecosystem of partners in the electric mobility space, SmartE has also set up India’s largest EV charging infrastructure with a captive capacity to charge more than 800 vehicles concurrently. Currently operational in Delhi, Gurugram and Faridabad with a fleet of nearly 1000 vehicles on its platform, SmartE is looking to bring over 100,000 vehicles on its platform by 2022. For more details visit: www.getsmarte.in
Source: the-practice.net
