<p>Not many Bengalureans have switched to electric cars. Nor have electric buses and auto-rickshaws entered the city. Reason: High upfront cost, inconvenient battery charging and tricky range per charge. So, why not dump the built-in battery and switch to swappable, modular batteries, like those AA and AAA batteries in torches? </p>.<p class="bodytext">This is precisely the smart mobility solution developed by the Bengaluru-based startup, Sun Mobility. Here’s how this system will work on an electric autorickshaw: If a ‘smart’ battery is low on charge, the driver is alerted through a mobile app which directs him to the closest ‘Quick Interchange Station.’ Here, the driver removes the drained battery and swaps it with a fully-charged one within minutes. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The battery is owned by the swapping station operator, and the driver/electric vehicle (EV) user only pays for the energy used.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The operator recharges the previous battery for the next customer exchange. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The most expensive component of an EV is the battery system. Recharging this is the vehicle user’s responsibility. “Replacing the built-in battery of an EV with an open-architecture, modular, swappable smart battery not only reduces the capital cost of the vehicle considerably but also removes the onus of recharging,” explains Chetan Maini, Vice-Chairman, Sun Mobility. </p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>Electric smart bus</strong></p>.<p class="bodytext">At the Delhi Auto Expo 2018, Sun Mobility had showcased what it claimed to be the world’s first interoperable battery swapping station for two- and three-wheelers in Bengaluru. Automobile major Ashok Leyland had also unveiled its first electric bus, Circuit-S, powered by the swappable smart battery system. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Since the battery is separated from the bus, the upfront cost of the electric bus would drop to that of a diesel bus. The Quick Interchange Station, to be set up for a fleet of such electric buses, allows batteries to be swapped under four minutes; faster than refuelling a bus. Leyland had claimed that such stations could be set up in a day. Each station could complete 15 smart battery swaps in an hour and 300 swaps a day. The calculation for Bengaluru was this: “By setting up 30 Quick Interchange Stations at existing bus depots in a city like Bengaluru, we can cover 85% of the bus routes in the city.” </p>.<p class="bodytext">Meanwhile, Sun Mobility is ready to launch a pilot project of the system in Visakhapatnam by the year-end. It had recently inked a deal with the Andhra Pradesh government to create charging infrastructure for an EV-based public transport network.</p>
<p>Not many Bengalureans have switched to electric cars. Nor have electric buses and auto-rickshaws entered the city. Reason: High upfront cost, inconvenient battery charging and tricky range per charge. So, why not dump the built-in battery and switch to swappable, modular batteries, like those AA and AAA batteries in torches? </p>.<p class="bodytext">This is precisely the smart mobility solution developed by the Bengaluru-based startup, Sun Mobility. Here’s how this system will work on an electric autorickshaw: If a ‘smart’ battery is low on charge, the driver is alerted through a mobile app which directs him to the closest ‘Quick Interchange Station.’ Here, the driver removes the drained battery and swaps it with a fully-charged one within minutes. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The battery is owned by the swapping station operator, and the driver/electric vehicle (EV) user only pays for the energy used.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The operator recharges the previous battery for the next customer exchange. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The most expensive component of an EV is the battery system. Recharging this is the vehicle user’s responsibility. “Replacing the built-in battery of an EV with an open-architecture, modular, swappable smart battery not only reduces the capital cost of the vehicle considerably but also removes the onus of recharging,” explains Chetan Maini, Vice-Chairman, Sun Mobility. </p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>Electric smart bus</strong></p>.<p class="bodytext">At the Delhi Auto Expo 2018, Sun Mobility had showcased what it claimed to be the world’s first interoperable battery swapping station for two- and three-wheelers in Bengaluru. Automobile major Ashok Leyland had also unveiled its first electric bus, Circuit-S, powered by the swappable smart battery system. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Since the battery is separated from the bus, the upfront cost of the electric bus would drop to that of a diesel bus. The Quick Interchange Station, to be set up for a fleet of such electric buses, allows batteries to be swapped under four minutes; faster than refuelling a bus. Leyland had claimed that such stations could be set up in a day. Each station could complete 15 smart battery swaps in an hour and 300 swaps a day. The calculation for Bengaluru was this: “By setting up 30 Quick Interchange Stations at existing bus depots in a city like Bengaluru, we can cover 85% of the bus routes in the city.” </p>.<p class="bodytext">Meanwhile, Sun Mobility is ready to launch a pilot project of the system in Visakhapatnam by the year-end. It had recently inked a deal with the Andhra Pradesh government to create charging infrastructure for an EV-based public transport network.</p>
