Battery swapping network provider, Chargeup, and EV tech company, Microgrid Labs, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL) to become the latter's technology partner. BECIL is a Mini Ratna Public Sector Enterprise of the Government of India, offering advisory and consulting services to customers, supporting the transition from fossil-fuel-powered fleets to EV fleets. While Chargeup is building a battery swapping network for electric two- and three-wheelers, Microgrid Labs is a consulting and software company specialising in commercial vehicle electrification and microgrids.
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Under this new partnership, the three entities will jointly work on creating a framework, which will cover transition planning and design for fleet electrification and the EV charging infrastructure market using Battery Swapping Technology. The companies will cater to both Indian and overseas customers.
Elaborating on the vision behind the MoU signed with Chargeup and Microgrid Labs, VP Singh, General Manager, BECIL, said, "With electric mobility being the panacea of the sustainability challenges faced by the global transportation sector, we are focusing on supporting fleet electrification and EV charging infrastructure market. Alongside building charging infrastructure with Microgrid Labs support, we expect to work closely with Chargeup to integrate battery swapping services into the energy plans for the future EV market."
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The companies will work on transition planning and design for fleet electrification and the EV charging infrastructure market using Battery Swapping Technology
Talking about the partnership, Varun Goenka, CEO and Co-Founder, Chargeup said, "Chargeup aims to play a crucial role in developing pan-India design and implementation of Battery Swapping capabilities in sync with the Government of India's electric mobility plans. Through this association with BECIL, we aim to leverage our expertise to add value to their work domain in the times to come." Adding his views on the matter, Narayanan Sankar, CEO and Co-Founder, Microgrid Labs said, "Our expertise includes designing and deployment of world-class charging infrastructure and mathematical modelling services. We use EVOPT Planning and Controlling software that has been developed internally and is patented by Microgrid Labs. Through this association with BECIL, we look forward to furthering the cause of electric mobility in India and overseas territories."
Chargeup says that its vision is to build a massive pan-India network of stations and benefit the lives of millions of e-rickshaw drivers, and electric two- and three-wheeler owners. The company recently raised $2.5 million (over Rs. 19 crore) in pre-Series A round led by Capital-A and Anicut Capital. The fresh lease of funding is being used for the expansion of Chargeup's network to new cities and for building larger capacities to meet the growing demand. The company also believes that the government's Battery Swapping Policy will act as a catalyst for the faster adoption of EVs.
