RACEnergy partners HPCL to launch battery swap station in Hyderabad 

Hyderabad-based electric vehicle infrastructure start-up RACEnergy inaugurated its first battery swap station in Hyderabad along with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), one of the largest energy companies in India. 

Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of the Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT) Departments of the Telangana government, and Gautham Maheswaran, CTO and co-founder, RACEnergy, inaugurated the first station at HITEC city.  

The start-ups says the pilot will see three battery swap stations being set-up at various HPCL outlets at prime locations in the city in January 2022. This will be the first step in its vision to set-up a network of battery swapping infrastructure for electric two- and three-wheelers.  

Gautham Maheswaran said “We are excited to be associated with HPCL, as they continue to make bold strides in the field of e-mobility. We would also like to thank them for giving us the opportunity to pilot our battery swap stations at their retail outlets.”

Arun Sreyas, CEO and co-founder, RACEnergy said: “A robust swapping infrastructure is essential to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles, and HPCL’s network of retail outlets will allow us to reach every corner of the state with ease.”

The company says its battery swapping stations and batteries provide a well-integrated solution that is economical and scalable, wherein drivers can simply swap their discharged batteries with the charged ones within 2-minutes, enabling them to be on the road for longer durations.  

Furthermore, to bring vehicles on-board its platform, RACEnergy is also providing retrofit kits that convert existing ICE three-wheelers into electric vehicles that will be compatible with its swapping network. By clubbing these two technologies, RACEnergy is able to provide a similar experience of re-fuelling ICE vehicles, but at 50 percent the operating cost, and with minimal upfront costs.