SUN Mobility and SmartE partner to transform last-mile connectivity in Delhi-NCR

In the first phase of operation, shared electric mobility service provider SmartE will deploy SUN Mobility's 'Interoperable Smart Mobility' solution on 500 of its electric three-wheelers across Delhi NCR

SUN Mobility, a renowned name in the transportation sector for providing EV energy infrastructure and services, has partnered with shared electric mobility service provider SmartE to deploy its 'Interoperable Smart Mobility' energy infrastructure to support SmartE's growing EV operations in Delhi-NCR. SUN Mobility first showcased this new infrastructure in April 2018 and SmartE is the first company to officially debut this solution on its electric three-wheelers. Month-long trials of this new infrastructure were concluded in Gurugram last week and this radical, 'battery-swapping', infrastructure will be applicable to support 500 of SmartE's electric three-wheelers over the next three months.

On the occasion, Goldie Srivastava, co-founder and CEO of SmartE, said, 'The partnership underscores our commitment to making last-mile commute easy, safe, affordable and eco-friendly for everyone. SUN Mobility’s Interoperable Smart Mobility solution will enable us to rapidly scale up our vision without having to worry about the energy infrastructure.'

'As a pioneer in the electric mobility service space, SmartE plans to roll-out 1,00,000 vehicles by 2022. With 1,00,000 vehicles, SmartE will help reduce close to a million tonnes of carbon emissions, an equivalent to planting 17 million trees per year,' he added. SmartE has an ongoing partnership with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and delivers nearly 80,000 rides to commuters on a daily basis. Over the past three years, the green mobility service provider has served over 30 million pollution-free rides.

SUN Mobility’s radical 'Interoperable Smart Mobility' solution comprises of three key factors: the SUN Mobility Smart Battery, their Quick Interchange Station and their Smart Network. To briefly describe how the entire system works, an electric two- or three-wheeler can come and make a stop at any of the Quick Interchange Stations. Through an RFID tag, the driver can take a fully-charged battery from the Station and can replace the charging slot with his used, discharged battery. The station then calculates the amount of charge used from the battery inserted and deducts credits from the driver's account accordingly. The setup mimics the 'pay-as-you-use' model. The driver can simply plug in the charged battery into his vehicle and the 'refuelling' takes no more than five minutes. SUN Mobility's Smart Network (an IoT-based cloud platform) helps keep a constant check on the battery vitals, tracks batteries in real time, enables digital authentication, station operations and ensures service delivery optimisation.

Explaining the advantages of this new energy infrastructure, Chetan Maini, co-founder and Vice-Chairman of SUN Mobility, said, 'Conventional electric three-wheelers that run on lead-acid batteries usually require eight hours of overnight charging and four hours of opportunity charge during the day. The assets remain idle half of the time during the day and could only cover 60 – 80 km, which causes a loss of potential revenue. Our solution, through swapping, enables them to realise the full potential of last-mile transport and clock more than 150km per day.' 

Chetan Maini is also a renowned figure in the global EV industry, as he is also the founder of Reva Electric, a company which he founded in 1999. (Now known as Mahindra Reva)

With this, SUN Mobility aims to significantly increase the earning opportunity for electric three-wheeler drivers on SmartE’s platform, as their solution addresses the main challenges of electric mobility, such as high replacement cost of batteries, limited range and long hours required for recharging.