Indraprastha Gas Ltd, India's largest CNG retailer, has partnered with Kinetic Green, a Pune-based electric vehicle manufacturer, to establish 'Energy Cafe,' a battery-swapping station that would replace depleted two and three-wheeler EV batteries with fully charged ones.


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"Under the alliance, IGL and Kinetic will roll out a deep network of Battery swapping stations, starting with the Delhi region, where a range of electric three-wheelers and electric two-wheelers can avail battery swapping facility," the company said in a statement.


The users can effortlessly install Energy Cafe Mobile App on their phones, locate the nearest battery-swapping station, book batteries from available charged batteries, pay through a digital payment gateway and swap it with a discharged battery at any of the IGL gas stations, paying for only the amount of charge they consume.


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Battery swapping as a concept is gaining popularity and momentum in India's transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and addresses some of the critical concerns and deterrents faced by the drivers towards owning and operating EVs.


"Under battery swapping concept, EVs can be sold to customers without the lithium-ion battery and drivers can avail batteries on a pay per use concept by paying a small amount for 'battery as a fuel'," it said.


With this, the cost of the EV can be almost halved and brought, not just at par, but below the price of internal combustion engine counterparts, it claimed.


Further, range anxiety is eliminated as drivers need not worry about range anymore and they can always swap their discharged battery for a charged one like they used to fill fuel in their traditional ICE vehicles.


"Vehicle re-charging time is eliminated as battery swapping takes only 2 minutes and customers need not worry about charging batteries or even buying a new one in the future," IGL said.


"Battery swapping stations can be set up at convenient locations like we have fuel pumps, where customers can go for giving back the discharged batteries and swapping it for a fully charged one."


This technology is most suited for light electric vehicles like two-wheelers and three-wheelers, where batteries are lightweight and smaller, and thus can be easily swapped manually.


At Energy Cafe, IGL and Kinetic have conceptualised and deployed advanced technology and offered a comprehensive IoT (internet of things) based system, including a smart battery with a protocol for charging and host of swapping operation.


"The system monitors the battery and station, which are IoT enabled and linked to an app. The Smart Network provides real-time feedback of battery location and charging status to users," the statement said.


The stations are modular, intelligent and connected. Its multi-platform is compatible with e-bike, e-auto and e-rickshaw. The battery box module of the system uses special lithium-ion batteries; each battery weighs just about 12-13 kgs and thus, can be easily removed and replaced.


"Cost of one battery swap will also be less than the cost of equivalent fuel, say petrol or diesel, and thus, customers not only get convenience but also their transport cost will be reduced," the company said.


Battery swapping will be inter-operable across brands and vehicle models. IGL will play the role of providing the infrastructure. Initially, IGL's existing well-spread network of CNG stations in Delhi/NCR can be leveraged to install the Energy Cafe.


Kinetic Green will play the role of the technology partner, provide EV domain knowledge, and help create and bring EV population to the swapping stations.


Sulajja Firodia Motwani, founder and CEO, Kinetic Green Energy and Power Solutions Ltd said, "This solution reduces the upfront cost of EV by 50 per cent, and customers never have to worry about battery charging and replacement."


"Today, we have unveiled the first 2 stations, and intend to expand to set up initially 50 stations during 2022 with a focus on the New Delhi region, one of the leading states for EVs in India, with a favourable policy framework from the State Government towards battery swapping".


With inputs from PTI


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