Shuchi Anant Virya installs 18 EV chargers between Manali and Leh

Shuchi Anant Virya, a joint venture company between Lithium Urban Technologies a leading EV based mobility solutions provider and Fourth Partner Energy, one of India’s largest solar energy companies for commercial and industrial businesses has set up a network of electric vehicle charging points along the Manali-Leh route in the Ladakh region. This makes one of the highest motorable passes in the world to be EV-ready. 

The PowerBank team has installed 18 EV charging stations along 1,800-km in 10 days, of which 15 of them were set-up at locations with a height of 10,000 feet – 14,000 feet above mean sea level. The chargers installed are a mix of Type-I and Type- II AC chargers catering to electric two-, three- and four-wheelers. 

Sanjay Krishnan, founder, Lithium Urban Technologies said; “Shuchi Anant Virya, through its flagship brand PowerBank is proud to be a catalyst in accelerating green mobility transformation across the country. We set-out on this journey with the aim of protecting the most fragile ecosystems in India, starting with Himachal and Lakdak, and as part of the endeavour, we installed 18 AC electric vehicle chargers along the route of Manali – Leh – Kargil – Nubra – Turtuk – Pangong - Siachen Base Camp: home to not just India’s but some of the world’s highest motorable roads including the Khardung La, Chang La and Taglang La passes. This would not have been possible without the support of the Indian Army and the people of Ladakh, and we would like to express our deepest gratitude to them.”

Through this initiative, the company aims to ensure to convert at least 50% of the vehicular traffic to EVs and significantly reduce tailpipe emissions in the Ladakh regions in the next 36-48 months.

The charging stations have been installed at key locations where travellers can charge their electric vehicles overnight at these facilities.  

Vivek Subramanian, co-founder and ED, Fourth Partner Energy said, “India is making significant strides on the EV manufacturing front, but there is a lot of ground to cover on the infrastructure front. Through PowerBank, we are looking to cover the length and breadth of the country with accessible, affordable EV charging points that are easy to use. Our chargers are integrated with an app that enhances the customer's EV experience. Eventually, the goal is to power these chargers using renewable energy from the grid. For the PowerBank team, the successful installation of these chargers reflects our execution expertise - if we can electrify India’s toughest terrain, the rest of the country is just work-in-progress.”   

At present, the JV has set up charging points at more than 50 locations across 10 cities in India including larger footprint charging hubs in Pune, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bangalore and Kolkata under the brand name PowerBank, and has also tied up with fuel retailer HPCL to set up more than 100 EV charging points across its retail outlets pan-India this fiscal.