Essel Infra diversifies into EV charging business

Essel Infraprojects (EIL), part of the Subhash Chandra led-Essel Group, today announced its foray in electric vehicle charging and battery swapping infrastructure initiative under Essel Green Mobility. The company says it will invest Rs 1,750 crore in phased manner and will setup 250 charging stations and 1,000 battery swapping stations in 20 cities in Uttar Pradesh.

EIL says the project will kickstart the EV ecosystem in an effective manner, as it will also simultaneously invest in deploying 25,000 e rickshaws, which it says will create 50,000 jobs in the state.

According to Essel Infraprojects, the initiative will reduce the cost of battery charging and would help the EVs be at par with CNG or any other alternative fuel. The project will also address the issue of last mile connectivity which has been a major stumbling block in local transport infrastructure.

The project claims that it will provide battery swapping options at every 2km, which will be supported by a digital app to enable drivers locate the nearest swapping station. The battery can be swapped in 2-3 minutes.

The project will start from Ghaziabad and would cover other cities like Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Noida, Meerut, Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Allahabad among others.  

Commenting on the project, Subhash Chandra, chairman, Essel Group said “With the launch of this initiative, we have enhanced our association with the state and look forward to doing our bit in the government’s vision of clean mobility. The launch of EVs in holistic manner will augment the state’s transport infrastructure and also create job opportunities.”