With the surge in e-mobility, startup company eChargeBays has its task cut out. Sumesh Soman goes through its range enhancing solutions.
A crossover is taking place in the automobile industry and electrification is the pivot of this change. In the process of this crossover, the range anxiety continues to remain the Achilles heel in real world scenarios. This is known to weigh on the manufacturers while building a new platform ground up or enhancing an existing one and at the same time also known to weigh on the buyer’s mind influencing his or her’s decision. Automotive and non-automotive companies including startups are well are aware of this and giving it their all to offer higher range on a single charge. Vasant Kunj, New Delhi headquartered startup eChargeBays got due recognition as a startup offering range enhancing solutions by the Department For Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India (GoI). The company’s clientele includes MG Motor India for the company’s 2020 model MG ZS EV.
Building an ecosystem
Focussed on eliminating the range anxiety from the product lifecycle, eChargeBays decided to solve the problem at its roots. The company claims to have solutions that could enhance the availability of charging infrastructure, for example. The company proposes to achieve this through a collaboration with stakeholders in the EV space. Backed by promoters well versed with the automobile and power sector, the company is known to have closely watched the developments in the EV space to translate consumer needs in to commercial rollouts. The company has identified regions to build a pan India ecosystem. For instance, its charging ecosystem must cover tier1 cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and tier-two cities like Ahmedabad, Cochin, Dehradun, Chandigarh and Pune. The long term plan includes covering tier-three cities like Kolhapur, Mangalore, Vijayawada, Ranchi, Surat, Indore, Calicut, Bhubaneswar and Aurangabad. In essence, the company aims to build a solid network of chargers across the country from the buzzing cities to the less crowded cities as well expected to have a EV population.
The strategy is expected to encourage EV owners to take inter-city and inter-state trips undeterred, much like they would venture out with the ICE counterparts. The company is working to build a cooler planet with its motto of “Never out of charge”. As part of its Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR), the company is associated with SankalpTaru Foundation, an IT-enabled NGO. For every EV charger installed by eChargeBays, the organisation will plant one tree on behalf of the customer through SankalpTaru Foundation. The company has segregated its charging solution into five sections- homeCharge, ezCharge, travelCharge, qkCharge, shareCharge. And each of them has been designed for a specific purpose.
homeCharge
This service focuses on the supply and instalment of an Electric Vehicle Supply Unit (EVSE). A wall-mounted box, homeCharge supplies electric energy for the recharge of EV battery packs. The company deploys on-site experts who are known to assess specific needs and optimise the customer’s installation experience from initial request, to on-site survey and execution. The company claims that their homeCharge specialists are well trained to meet all the EV charging related needs of the customers. eChargeBays promises to build a customised charging station according to the customer’s requirement.
ezCharge
ezCharge encompasses fast charging EVs. A normal charger is slow to charge up an EV compared to DC charger or fast charger that can be mounted on a wall or close to the customer’s workplace where the vehicle rests for the longer part of the day. A fast charger supplied by EV manufacturers is a good option though not many are known to provide these. It is here that ezCharge is claimed to fill in the void. A fast charger saves quite a lot of time and can be handy when it comes to emergencies. eChargeBays claims that the solution can be used for both commercial and passenger vehicles alike.
travelCharge
travelCharge is suited to customers travelling to nearby towns and cities for work or leisure as they look to charge their EV on the go. This primarily revolves around the crux of range anxiety. It essentially means that when an EV owner is doing an inter state or inter city travel, a mobile charging unit will be at their disposal at all point and times. This is expected to alleviate the anxiety and put the customer in a much-relaxed state of mind. If a customer is notified of a depleting charge on the battery pack, he or she can avail of this service and do away with the panic state associated with a breakdown. This service is expected to be a game changer and is currently under development. As the charging infrastructure develops and penetration of EVs solidify further into the automobile industry, solutions like travelCharge are expected to be lapped up by customers till the battery packs offer an even higher energy density in different terrains.
qkCharge
One of the most significant services offered by eChargeBays is the qkCharge service and it is short for quick charge. This is a service that will come very handy when an EV is completely discharged. Such a state is feared to hinder the progress to the nearest charge station with the only option remaining being to tow the vehicle. Around the clock, the available unit for a quick charge will be made available on standby for such unwanted, emergency response situations. The unit will be mobilised and sent to the coordinates of the stationary electric vehicle and will provide enough charge for it to be driven to the nearest electric charging station. This service not only deals with range anxiety but acts as a contingency remedial measure. In retrospect, the motive here is to instil more confidence in the EV owner.
shareCharge
Considering how the pandemic has disrupted the supply chains and there is a chip shortage along with bottlenecks in the movement of resources, raw materials and components across the globe including in India, charging units and chargers are claimed to be limited in numbers too. shareCharge is an application-based utility where customers who live close by can share their chargers with each other. Owners can list their chargers on the app along with the usage time slots and users can reserve these chargers depending on the location and requirement. Aimed at creating a pool of shared chargers or a community of EV owners, it further strengthens the whole electrification wave with a promise of being low on energy consumption as well.
Reaching out to the EV owners
The company is looking at penetrating deeper and reaching out to EV owners. With its promise to offer solutions to enhance the ecosystem, the company has some unique ideas up its sleeve. For starters, the company is looking at offering better space management to gated communities and residentials. Admitting to the practice of installation of five separate chargers in the same premise where five families own an electric vehicle being far from feasible, the company advocates the use of a combination of a fast and a normal charger as a more efficient approach. This way, it hopes to offer a charge cycle where every vehicle gets charged in a timely manner. shareCharge is a fine example of how an app. is equipped to do most of the clockwork. It’s add-ons include an alarm system to notify when the charger and the unit is free for a particular user. This solution is claimed to be scalable when EVs turn mass products as manufacturers realise economies of scale. Considering the fluctuations of fuel prices across the country, this is a very crucial time for startups like eChargeBays to make inroads and gain the early mover’s advantage. Startups like eChargeBays are finding acceptance and the backing from government schemes like the FAMEII subsidy or the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Automotive Technology (AAT). Many are known to get the right push in their early days, be it from incubators or from angel investors who fund such ventures in exchange of convertible debt or ownership equity.
