Shuchi Anant Virya flagship brand, PowerBank has announced the setting up of EV charging points along the Manali-Leh route in the Ladakh region, which comprises five of the highest motorable passes in the world.
Shuchi Anant Virya is a joint venture company between mobility solutions provider Lithium Urban Technologies and Fourth Partner Energy, a solar energy company for commercial and industrial businesses.
As per the media release, PowerBank has installed 18 EV charging stations along 1800 km in 10 days, of which 15 of them were set up at locations with a height of 10,000 feet - 14000 feet above mean sea level. The chargers installed were a mix of Type-I and Type- II AC chargers catering to electric two, three, and four-wheelers.
Sanjay Krishnan, founder, Lithium Urban Technologies, stated, "We set out on this journey to protect the most fragile ecosystems in India, starting with Himachal and Lakdak. As part of the endeavor, we installed 18 AC electric vehicle chargers along the route of Manali – Leh – Kargil – Nubra – Turtuk – Pangong - Siachen Base Camp which is home to not just India's but some of the world's highest motorable roads including the Khardung La, Chang La and Taglang La passes. This would not have been possible without the support of the Indian Army and the people of Ladakh, and we would like to express our deepest gratitude to them."
"Through this initiative, PowerBank's primary goal is to ensure that we convert at least 50 percent of the vehicular traffic to EVs and significantly reduce tailpipe emissions in the Ladakh regions in the next 36-48 months. We also seek to bring about a paradigm shift in how people perceive EVs – by addressing apprehensions around the availability of energy for long hauls and overnight road trips," he said.
Vivek Subramanian, Co-Founder, and Executive Director, Fourth Partner Energy, said, "Through PowerBank, we are looking to cover the length and breadth of the country with accessible, affordable EV charging points that are easy to use. Our chargers are integrated with an app that enhances the customer's EV experience. Eventually, the goal is to power these chargers using renewable energy from the grid."
The JV company has currently set up charging points at more than 50 locations across 10 cities in India including Pune, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, and Kolkata under the brand name PowerBank, and has also tied up with fuel retailer HPCL to set up more than 100 EV charging points across its retail outlets pan-India this fiscal. To date, the Powerbank network of chargers has facilitated nearly 10 million green km of travel, the statement said.