RACEnergy sets up its first battery swap stations for EVs in Hyd

Hyderabad: RACEnergy, a leading electric vehicle infrastructure company, on Monday inaugurated its first Battery Swap Station at Hitec city in Hyderabad along with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), one of the largest energy companies in India.

The station was inaugurated by Telangana principal secretary (IT and industries) Jayesh Ranjan in the presence of RACEnergy CTO and co-founder Gautham Maheswaran. The pilot will see three battery swap stations being set up at various HPCL outlets at prime locations in the city in January 2022, the company said.

The battery swap stations and swappable batteries manufactured by RACEnergy provide a well-integrated solution that is economical and scalable, wherein drivers can simply swap their discharged batteries with the charged ones within two minutes, enabling them to be on the road for longer durations.

This will be the first step in RACEnergy's vision to set up a network of battery swapping infrastructure for electric two- and three-wheelers. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Maheswaran said, "We are excited to be associated with HPCL as they continue to make bold strides in the field of e-mobility. We would also like to thank them for giving us the opportunity to pilot our battery swap stations at their retail outlets."

Arun Sreyas, CEO and co-founder of RACEnergy, added, "A robust swapping infrastructure is essential to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles and HPCL's network of retail outlets will allow us to reach every corner of the state with ease."

To bring vehicles on-board its platform, RACEnergy is providing retrofit kits that convert existing ICE auto-rickshaws into electric vehicles that will be compatible with its swapping network. By clubbing these two technologies, RACEnergy is able to provide a similar experience of refueling ICE vehicles but at 50 per cent the operating cost and with minimal upfront costs, the company said.

RACEnergy, founded by BITS Pilani alumni Arun Sreyas and Gautham Maheswaran in 2018, is on a path to set up 500 battery swap stations in India by mid-2023 with 100 of them in Hyderabad.