Convergence Energy Services (CESL) is amassing information from private players for a new super energy app.
There is an increasing push from the government for electric vehicles to reduce dependency on fossil fuels. The Centre and the states have taken various measures to make this transition as soon as possible. The latest is the proposed super EV app that would show the nearby available charging stations depending upon the location of the EV vehicle. The developers, Convergence Energy Services (CESL) are currently collecting and collating information from private sector players to ascertain that it will meet their demands.
The super app should be out in the later part of the year. The software of this app will ease the problem EV owners face on the location of charging stations, rates being charged, making reservations or modifying timings at these places.
Regarding the proposed launch of the new app, CESL MD Mahua Acharya said that research conducted by CESL showed that most EV owners charged their vehicles either at home or in their offices since there was only sporadic information, mostly word of mouth, on other locations. The government is looking to create a better this state of affairs. The new proposed EV super app would, apart from information on charging points and tariffs, share information from OEMs on traffic conditions and private charging points. Acharya added that this would be a boon to consumers as they could reserve their charging slot as and when required by sourcing this information. The app would be a big blessing, especially for those who travel long distances daily and are concerned about availability in unfamiliar locations.
The proposed super EV app will be a public-private partnership model, wherein CESL will seek to work with private players who will be open to both investing and operating these charging points at different highways, enabling EV owners to not worry about charging problems on long drives. CESL plans to create around 10,000 charging stations under the FAME II initiative in the coming three years. CESL has already started the process and asked for bids for setting up prices for creating 81 EV charging points over a distance of 10,275 km covering 16 national expressways and highways.
The selected corridors are:
• Ahmedabad-Vadodara highway,
• Eastern Peripheral Expressway
• Agra-Nagpur Highway
• Mumbai-Pune highway
• Delhi-Agra Yamuna expressway
• Hyderabad ORR expressway
Keeping in mind the growing demand for EVs 50Kw and 100Kw chargers will be provided by CESL. 590 chargers of 50Kw will be made available at distances of 25 km and 220 charges of 100Kw available at a distance of 10 km.
Hemal Thakkar, CRISIL Director of Logistics and Mobility commented that EV sales went up by 50% in FY21 in the top 10 cities in the country. Indicators so far are that in FY22 even cities that are not in the top 10 are showing a 20 – 30% increase in sales. The demand for charging stations is likely to register a sharp increase, and provisions must be made for this.
According to Niti Aayog currently, only 1,827 working charging stations exist across the country which is barely adequate. The Department of Heavy Industries (DHI) has given the go-ahead for 2,877 more charging stations and allocated RS 500 crore in funds to sixty-eight cities. This consists of 25 states and Union Territories under FAME PHASE II. The process of commissioning these charging points has already started.
The industry welcomed this new app with Shailesh Chandra MD of Tata Motor Passenger Vehicles stating that it was important that charging points existed across different locations. This would help in boosting the sale of EVs among consumers and help in the growth of the industry.
Suman Mishra, CEO, of Mahindra Electric Mobility, also lauded the move and thanked the government for this initiative. He felt that this measure would come as a big relief to EV owners across the country and would ensure quicker adoption of EVs.
Rajiv K Vij, Founder, of Plug Mobility also welcomed the proposed new super app and CESL’s setting up of 10,000 charging stations as well as the proposed public-private partnership.
