India’s ChargeZone to invest $360 mn in EV charging network
The charging network operator ChargeZone plans to deploy 25 new supercharging stations and aims to create a network of 500 HPC outlets. The superchargers will have capacities ranging from 360 kW to 1,200 kW (1.2 MW), allowing customers to rapidly charge EVs with high-capacity batteries, especially buses, trucks, and other commercial vehicles. The company plans to use renewable energy to power the supercharging stations.
ChargeZone will install superchargers on popular western and southern highway routes like Ahmedabad-Mumbai, Mumbai-Pune-Bengaluru, Bengaluru-Chennai, and Bengaluru-Hyderabad. It says the average charging time at its new supercharging stations is 15-20 minutes, less than half that of a typical DC fast-charging station.
ChargeZone conducted a pilot rollout of superchargers for six months and noticed that many electric car and electric bus customers used them for inter-city journeys. During the first test round, the company drove nearly 1,500 km between supercharging stations, showing that EV customers can now enjoy inter-city trips without range anxiety.
“Our new supercharging network marks a significant step towards a sustainable and electrified future integrated with micro-grids comprising of Solar PV and energy storage,” explained Kartikey Hariyani, Founder and CEO of ChargeZone, adding: “Our six-month pilot rollout of the supercharging network yielded remarkable results with the strong utilisation by inter-city electric cars and electric buses as the prime customers. We received excellent customer feedback, with power utilisation exceeding previous levels and significant traffic volumes recorded.”
ChargeZone has a strong presence in India’s western and southern locations and operates a small network in the north as well. It now aims to cover 150,000 km of Indian highways. Internationally, the company is setting up an EV charging network in the UAE as well. So far, it has installed over 4,000 charging points and covered more than 480+ locations. A partnership with Hyundai was announced in early 2023.
Established in 2018, ChargeZone is a company headquartered in Vadodara, a city in India’s western state of Gujarat. The company has partnered with prominent automakers like Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Audi, Hyundai, Kia, Ashok Leyland, and VE Commercial Vehicles for EV charging solutions.
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