Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), a Navratna public sector undertaking, has inaugurated a solar-based electric vehicle charger on the Delhi-Chandigarh highway.

The charging station, located in Haryana’s Sonepat, is the first in the series of such stations that BHEL is setting up.

The project is covered under the FAME program [Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) & Electric Vehicles in India] introduced by the Department of Heavy Industry.

This project would include the establishment of EV chargers at regular intervals over the entire 250 km stretch between Delhi and Chandigarh.

As part of the project, BHEL has also developed a Central Monitoring System (CMS) for EV chargers with a user-friendly mobile app.

Each station will be equipped with a rooftop solar power project which would supply the energy to the EV chargers.

The company has already installed DC chargers at Udyog Bhawan in New Delhi and is also executing another commercial order for the installation of DC chargers across various locations in the country, BHEL said in a media statement.

Moreover, BHEL has also signed an agreement with the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), an autonomous body affiliated to the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, for cooperation on various projects related to e-mobility.

The partnership is expected to generate synergies in implementing solutions for electric and trolley buses, EV chargers, battery, and charger testing.

Recently, to make  the  National E-Mobility Program viable,  the Ministry of Finance announced the approval of a corpus of ₹40 billion (~$0.58 billion) as a subsidy to be disbursed under the second phase of FAME program.

With the goal to facilitate the widespread adoption of EVs in the country, the Ministry of Power announced guidelines and standards for the development of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in December 2018. These guidelines are expected to bring clarity to consumers and businesses such as EV charging station providers and equipment manufacturers in creating their respective development strategies.