BSES, Ola to partner on New Delhi battery-swapping stations

BSES is to deploy battery-swapping stations across Delhi to accelerate the adoption of electric rickshaws, bikes and cars. Under a three-year memorandum of understanding with Ola Electric, BSES Rajdhani Power will launch stations in South and West Delhi, and BSES Yamuna Power will cover the centre and east of the city. In addition, Ola Electric will offer cloud-based operations and management, and BSES will identify ideal locations for stations.

Delhi’s DISCOM BSES has announced signing a memorandum of understanding (MoUs) with Ola Electric to set up battery swapping and charging stations in parts of New Delhi in a move to boost electric vehicle adoption in the national capital.

The agreement, which is valid for three years, will see BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) set up the station in South and West Delhi while BSES Yamuna Power (BYPL) will set up its stations in East and Central Delhi.

Two and three-wheeled electric vehicles and e-rickshaws will be able to charge or swap their batteries at these stations, BSES said. They will also have a provision for charging electric cars.

Ola Electric will be in charge of managing and operating these stations through cloud-based software, while BSES will work on identifying strategic locations for the stations.

“Setting-up of battery swapping stations will virtually eliminate the wait-time for charging, thus removing a major impediment preventing the adoption of EVs,” BYPL’s CEO PR Kumar said in a media statement.

In battery swapping, a fully charged lithium-ion battery replaces a depleted one at a swapping station in a few minutes, which in turn reduces the time to charge the electric vehicles. This is a likely incentive for potential EV buyers to switch over from combustion engines as it eliminates the inconvenience of waiting hours for the EV batteries to charge.