In a move that is set to revolutionise battery swapping in Mumbai, one-stop battery swapping start-up VoltUp today announced their partnership with Adani Electricity and Hero Electric. This is for the first time in India that a battery swapping start-up has launched operations in partnership with Infrastructure, OEM and Last Mile partners to boost smart mobility. Starting with 120 docks in 10 locations between Goregaon and Borivali, the partnership is going to add 50 locations by year-end to cover the western line from Churchgate to Mira-Bhayandar. In their effort to set up smart electric mobility stations across the city for easy access to battery swapping, the partnership looks to operationalize 500 such battery swapping solutions centres across Mumbai by 2024, catering to over 30,000 riders daily.
The lack of charging infrastructure, high cost of adoption and long charging time for Electric vehicles have been the major hurdles and challenges toward the adoption of electric mobility in India. To plug these gaps, VoltUp, Adani Electricity and Hero Electric have come together towards setting and scaling up of infrastructure – bridging the gap for network, energy and technology. With this tie-up, VoltUp will be able to provide instant energy to independent delivery partners with Zomato, for whom charging their 2-wheeler batteries prove to be challenging. In the composite ecosystem, instant battery swapping will enable Zomato’s independent delivery partners in Mumbai to have seamless experience without constantly working around the limitations of one-time charge for their electric vehicles battery.
VoltUp is a Battery as a Service (BaaS) platform and a one-stop solution for battery swapping of all electric 2-wheeler and 3-wheeler vehicles. Providing riders with smart swappable batteries, VoltUp ensures a nil downtime to the users and zero hassles for all battery related issues. Speaking at the launch of the charging station and announcing the partnership, Siddharth Kabra, Co-founder & CEO VoltUp, said – “In a fast-paced city like Mumbai where time is always of essence, enabling riders to instant battery swapping will empower them to grow economically while doing away with range anxiety. Adani Electricity’s dense network and Hero Electric’s manufacturing of advanced and affordable products resonate with VoltUp’s business model of providing a complete green solution to the EV industry. This partnership will not only act as a catalyst in pushing the envelope of Smart Mobility in India but will also integrate green energy for charging batteries.”
Keeping up with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision on Electric Vehicles and making urban cities a better place for living by reducing Carbon emissions, VoltUp is speeding up the adoption of E Vehicles in India by setting up smart battery swapping network which is hassle-free and takes less than 1 minute to swap and be on the road. The service network will provide complete maintenance and service support to all E vehicles.
Speaking about the partnership, Adani Electricity spokesperson said, “Adani Electricity is committed to enabling Electric Mobility solutions for Mumbai, powered by Renewable Energy. Our partnership with Voltup is yet another in the space, wherein we are enabling access to our dense and reliable Network, with a strong commitment to supplying 100% Sustainable Energy.”
With a mission to fully electrify its fleet by 2030 as part of its promise of climate-conscious deliveries, Zomato has been at the forefront of embracing sustainable transportation. As last-mile connectivity requires long rides without downtime, swapping is the only solution to allow independent delivery partners to cover distances without any anxiety of charging the battery. According to Anjalli Ravi Kumar, Chief Sustainability Officer, Zomato, “As we grow and create new opportunities, the environment must not bear the burden of this growth. Our engagement with VoltUp to swap batteries will accelerate the transition to EV-based deliveries furthering our promise of a sustainable Zomato for customers, delivery partners, employees and the planet.”
One of the hindrances towards adoption of EVs has been the high cost of products. As India’s leading OEM, Hero Electric has created an advanced and affordable product to help increase the adoption of EVs. Speaking about the partnership with VoltUp, Sohinder Gill, CEO – Hero Electric, said, “At Hero, we have always fostered the idea of collaboration to strengthen the EV ecosystem in India to deepen EV penetration and attain zero-emission status. This smart battery swapping association with VoltUp, Adani Electricity, and Zomato will establish a dense infrastructure encouraging more riders to switch to EVs and operate smoothly without worrying about range anxiety issues. Hero Electric is the only manufacturer to have a specific product designed for delivery partner fleets given the segment’s potential to contribute towards a clean and green future,”
Advanced Lithium batteries will be provided as a subscription to lower the initial investment in the 2 wheeler. It offers battery swapping in less than 1 minute through VoltUp’s dedicated network of charging zones to enable smooth and uninterrupted transport operations. The service networks will provide complete maintenance, service support to the battery on the platform. The smart stations will be monitored via an Ops engine to maintain battery charging temperatures and cell balancing for higher efficiencies.
