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Wednesday , 27 March 2024

EV Chargers Designed & Made in India, & Made for India

Being in the business of providing clean energy solutions is not an easy task in India. However, Magenta Power is working on identifying India-specific challenges and providing solutions, especially for EV charging and battery swapping.

When Magenta Power commenced its EV charging operation in India, no one thought the kind of disruption it would bring to the fore. Known for many firsts, the company set up India’s first solar-based EV charging station in June last year followed by India’s first EV highway (Mumbai-Pune EV Highway) and a “Charge Grid” App which allows a user to find out the location of EV chargers, providing an interface for payment gateway. The company also provided the first EV charging station for Mahindra e-trio in Bangalore. Early this year, Magenta set up a solar-powered EV charging station in a co-operative society in Navi Mumbai and very recently launched the hardware side of its chargers, “Charge Grid Pro”. Another step forward is the setting up of a solar-powered EV charging station in a co-operative society in Navi Mumbai and five charging stations in malls in Chandigarh.

Strategic Alliances

Speaking to Trafficinfratech, company’s Managing Director, Maxson Lewis said, “So far in this journey, we have solved a lot of puzzles, worked out partnerships with OEMs, malls, Corporations and some Fortune 500 companies as we are targeting to set up at least 500 EV charging points across India by the end of this fiscal. At present, the company has a strategic alliance with Siemens for bus chargers. We are focusing on hardware, soft ware and charging network, and are catering to individuals, fleet owners and Utility companies.”

Another strategic alliance of the company is with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd which has come in as a financial investor.

Battery Swapping Solutions

Although Magenta Power has a solution for battery swapping, according to Lewis, the company is undertaking pilot projects in this direction. However, he believes that battery swapping is suitable for a specific use case, which is e-3W and some 2 wheelers, especially for commercial use, and not for personal use.

Tech-Talk

Maxson claims that all the AC chargers manufactured by the company are designed in India, manufactured in India and made for India. Considering the climate conditions like heat, humidity, harmonics, power fluctuations, etc. which result in the failure of imported chargers in India, 100% of its components are made in India.

The company manufactures “smart” chargers. There is no switch for the chargers, instead their controlling & working is done through a mobile app. It provides a lot of information along with collecting data. The chargers monitor charging and intimate the status next morning.

“The recently launched Charge Grid’ Series is India’s first fully integrated, unmanned, convenient, payment enabled open network of smart charging solutions. The ‘ChargeGrid PRO’ series is best suited for community charging – be it offices, malls and residential societies.

The charger comes online connected, with the mobile app and command centre. The mobile app provides EV owner the convenience of locating charging stations on aerial map, book the charging slots, getting updates on charging, recommendations on time-of-day use and paying charges online. While the command centre, brings complete visibility to chargers, performance along with integration with various platform.”

Going forward, the company is planning to build up integrated EV charging and battery swapping infrastructure in India, using clean energy technology. Lewis says, “ While the issues related to basic AC charging hardware and software are being solved, we will be targeting solar-based charging for the rural market. Work on the prototype is finished and it will be lunched soon. Again, we are developing India specific DC charging solutions.”

Lewis informs that considering the importance of skill development in the EV ecosystem, Magenta Power has set up Mitra, a Technology and Research Academy to impart training in electric mobility. The company has tied up an engineering institute as well to train engineers in EV.

 

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