Renewable energy solutions service provider, Magenta Power, has set up an EV charging station at Hotel Center Point in Lonavala, creating India’s first EV charging corridor through the ChargeIn network on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
In the next phase, the network will then be extended to Bengaluru and Mysuru (through the NH4), allowing electric vehicle users to travel across this stretch in their EV.
ChargeIn will be a fully integrated network of charging points including AC and DC chargers and all the ChargeIn points will be connected via a network for central monitoring and control. It 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 community.
Initially, some of the charging stations will have a fully automated payment system so that users can charge the vehicles using an online OTP based payment system via the ChargeIn app. This payment system will be deployed to all the charging stations in a phased manner.
Commenting on the announcement, Maxson Lewis, the CEO and managing director of Magenta Power, mentioned that ChargeIn, the app solution provider, plans to encompass charging stations for two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger vehicles 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 Power 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.
Magenta Power is certain that this initiative will encourage OEMs like Mahindra and Tata to deploy more EVs on Indian roads. The company had installed India’s first solar-based EV charging station in Navi Mumbai recently.
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Viraaj Bhatnagar
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