Exchange electric vehicles' batteries at 26 stations in Chandigarh soon

Tribune News Service

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Chandigarh, May 26

To save long battery charging time, owners of electric vehicles will soon get a facility to exchange their drained out batteries with a fully-charged one in the city.

After having successful trials of battery-swapping facility at a petrol pump in Sector 21, the UT Administration has decided to offer the facility along with normal charging stations at 26 places in the city.

“To avail of the facility, the vehicle owner will just need to scan the bar code from the drained out battery. After making the payment, the owner will get a fully-charged battery. The entire process will take hardly 60 to 70 seconds,” said Debendra Dalai, Chief Executive Officer, Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST).

A minimum of 15 batteries would be available at a battery-swapping station and more than 30 vehicle owners could avail of the facility in a day. Initially, the facility would be available for commercial vehicles, including e-autos, e-rickshaws, e-goods carriers and e-two-wheelers, he said.

To aggressively promote the use of electric vehicles (EVs) in the city, the UT Administration recently notified the draft EV Policy. As per the draft EV policy, public charging stations will be set up in every sector. In the first two years of the policy period, 100 public charging stations will be installed in the UT.

Within six months of the implementation of the policy, it will be mandatory for all petrol pumps to set up EV charging stations. Building bylaws will be amended to facilitate setting up of these stations in houses and other buildings.

In a bid to push the launch of the EV policy, the Administration is in the process to install at least 44 EV charging stations at different locations in the city. With the installation of 44 charging stations, 328 electric vehicles could be charged at a time in the city, Dalai said, adding that battery-swapping stations would also be set up along with the charging stations at 26 locations at first.

The policy intends to achieve one of the highest penetrations of zero emission vehicles (ZEV) in Chandigarh amongst all Indian cities by the end of the policy period of five years. The policy aims at fostering research and innovation in electric mobility and EV start-ups will be encouraged with incentives.

The policy also aims at encouraging the reuse of EV batteries that have reached the end of their life and setting up of recycling businesses. The Administration will promote second-life usage and recycling of electric vehicle batteries. Disposal of batteries in trash/landfills will be strictly prohibited and original equipment manufacturers will channelise battery collection for reuse.

Process to take hardly 60-70 seconds

To avail of the facility, the vehicle owner will only need to scan the bar code from the drained out battery. After making the payment, the owner will get a fully-charged battery. The entire process will take hardly 60 to 70 seconds

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