Charge car on the go: EESL, BHEL take first step towards 'electrifying' highways

Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture under Ministry of Power has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), one of the largest engineering and manufacturing enterprises in India to set up a network of Public Charging Infrastructure for electric mobility at various highways across the country.

The push towards electric mobility has gained momentum in the past several months and both EESL and BHEL will jointly explore opportunities in the field of e-mobility and fast-track the adoption of EVs in the country under Government of India’s National E-Mobility Programme.

As part of the MoU, BHEL will offer complete EPC solutions from concept to commissioning while EESL will make the entire upfront investment on services, along with the operation and maintenance of the public charging infrastructure. The MoU covers collaboration for identifying, planning, development and installation of charging stations at suitable locations.

Installation of public charging stations will help create a sustainable EV ecosystem in the states and cities to promote local adoption of E-mobility. With installation of public charging stations, the range anxiety among public is expected to reduce, which would help in increasing the adoption of EVs in the cities across India.

A number of car and bike manufacturers have already launched products which make use of electric batteries. Hyundai Kona, MG ZS EV, Tata Nexon EV are some noticeable players in the four-wheeler space and others like Mahindra - which operates e-Verito and e2o, Maruti Suzuki and even Mercedes-Benz is expected to come up with offerings.