E-ChargeUp Solutions has setup two battery-swapping stations in Delhi-NCR region for electric three-wheelers. Akshay Kashyap, founder of GreenFuel and Varun Goenka, founder of Atlanta Energy (E-ChargeUp Solutions) came together to solve the issue of EV charging. The company claims that their indigenously developed lithium-ion battery technology is more of a ‘Battery as a Service’ to e-rickshaws from their battery swapping stations.

Furthermore, E-ChargeUp has confirmed that the two stations serve over 50 registered vehicles, that ply over 7,500 km per day under their given subscription plans. The company plans to open 500 more stations under their dealer model to support over 50,000 EVs. ChargeUp was formed with a vision to create the largest network of battery swapping stations for two- and three-wheelers in the country.

Varun Goenka said: “Battery swapping is an idea whose time has come. Such stations are a quick and effective way for e-rickshaws to operate without the loss of time in charging batteries. They don’t lose fares because the batteries in their vehicles can be replaced quickly and their used ones are left behind to charge for others to use. This is the ultimate expression of a sharing economy in which assets are shared to facilitate business operations. Internet is a prime facilitator in this 21st-century business model."

Goenka says the first BSS has been operational over the past six months with 35 registered e-rickshaws covering 6,000kms daily on advanced indigenously developed lithium-ion batteries from Greenfuel Energy Solutions, a company focused on alternative fuels and transport.

ChargeUp is targeting 1.7 million e-rickshaws through this unique franchise model, where it offers battery swapping and related services to rickshaw owners. Goenka added there was an inherent efficiency in the model because there is no waiting interval for charging the batteries, a much better range, a hundred percent increase in driver revenue, and reduction in battery weight from 120 to 28 kilograms.

Akshay Kashyap, managing director, GreenFuel and provider of batteries to E-ChargeUp Solutions, said that for e- rickshaw ecosystem, battery swapping is right for these vehicles. “This basically means that an e-rickshaw owner can go in for a battery swapping option in which he goes to a charging station and replaces his discharged battery with a new, fully charged battery in under one minute and can be back on the go, without sacrificing income.”