India’s first EV corridor has been setup by Magenta Power
India’s first EV corridor has been setup by Magenta Power along the heavily used Mumbai-Pune Expressway. In its initial phases, charge stations will be posted at Hotel Center Point, Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Lonavala. Following which it will be extended to Bangalore and Mysore, thus increasing electric car range extensively. This will help electric car drivers travel longer stretches with charging options along the way.
Magenta Power is one of the leading service providers of renewable energy solutions and they also installed India’s first Solar based EV charging station in Navi Mumbai just last month. With AC and DC chargers, ChargeIn will be a fully integrated network of charging points connected via an elaborate network for central monitoring and control. For now some of the charging station will feature a fully automated payment system so that users can charge the vehicles using an online OTP based payment system via the ChargeIn app. The system will be deployed to all the charging stations in a phased manner. ChargeIn will be an open platform for all EV charging stations; existing owners of charging stations will have the option to join the ChargeIn network and support this growing community.
Maxson Lewis, CEO and Managing Director, Magenta Power stated that ChargeIn plans to encompass charging stations for 2 wheelers, 3 wheelers, 4 wheelers and bus fleets. He believes that while this network of charging stations will open up the ‘electric highways’ in India, it will also provide a unique employment opportunity for charging station owners who can man and support the stations. He also mentioned that Magenta understands the challenges with setting up and operating EV charging stations in India given the local context and issues and is prepared with technological and ground level solutions.
An EV charging setup is very crucial in pushing EV cars in India. Magenta may be up first in setting up these stations, but they will require full support from manufacturers and the Governments to keep expanding and maintain these services. Not only will this initiative help manufacturers get more aggressive on their EV vehicle plans for Indian roads, but also solve the problem of sustainable mobility.
