Charge+Zone, a start-up company based in Vadodara in Gujarat, has set up a fast-charging facility of CCS2 150 kW DC chargers to enable the e-mobility of electric buses.

The company aims to raise and invest ~₹7.1 billion ($100 million) to install 1,000 electric vehicle charging stations across India in the next three years.

The main component of this charging network is an indigenously built chargeCloud, an IoT (internet of things) enabled charging management system, which will help the fleet management and capture data on charger utilization as well as electricity consumption.

With more than 100 charging points now operational for its various e-mobility clients, Charge+Zone’s founder, and CEO Kartikey Hariyani, told Mercom that they have started laying the groundwork to provide fast EV charging network.

Charge+Zone is a registered startup under the Start Up India program of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), and in the early stages, the company incubated it at two institutions – the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), in Gandhinagar and iCREATE in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

According to Hariyani, the team is in touch with various original equipment manufacturers for EV chargers as well as automotive clients, “to push the envelope of charging standards and specifications to suit the Indian market.”

“We have adopted global standards such as CCS2, CHADEMO, GB/T. However, we are customizing the performance of the chargers for the Indian conditions for operating temperature, humidity, and soiling,” Hariyani told Mercom.

The company also aims to deliver customer experience through its smartphone app-driven unmanned charging stations providing remote control and monitoring, thus making them available 24×7 to electric vehicle drivers.

“Through the app, the user can locate the nearest charging station, check the availability, reserve the slot well in advance, gets a one-time password (OTP) and make a payment through a virtual wallet.  It is a seamless transaction,” he added.

In December 2019, Mercom reported that the Delhi government approved a policy for electric vehicles with an intent to make the city “the EV capital of India.”

The policy, which is valid for three years, mainly focuses on electric two-wheelers, shared transport vehicles such as three-wheelers and buses, and goods carriers or freight vehicles. These vehicles contribute to most of the vehicular pollution in the capital.

To promote clean mobility in public transportation, the Department of Heavy Industry (DHI) under the Ministry of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises, recently granted the approval for 5,595 electric buses to be deployed in 64 cities under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME-II) program.

Image credit: Charge+Zone

Anjana is a news editor at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, she held roles of senior editor, district correspondent, and sub-editor for The Times of India, Biospectrum and The Sunday Guardian. Before that, she worked at the Deccan Herald and the Asianlite as chief sub-editor and news editor. She has also contributed to The Quint, Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express, Reader’s Digest (UK edition), IndiaSe (Singapore-based magazine) and Asiaville. Anjana holds a Master’s degree in Geography from North Bengal University, and a diploma in mass communication and journalism from Guru Ghasidas University, Bhopal.