Bengaluru, 14 October 2021: Bengaluru-based advanced battery technology startup Log 9 Materials has developed Log 9 InstaCharge capabilities in their proprietary “RapidX” battery-packs for electric 2W and 3W and through this association with leading charging infrastructure & service provider, Fortum Charge & Drive India, an ecosystem is being made available to 3W and 2W customers/fleets to charge their vehicles within 15-30 minutes, at DC Fast charging stations under the network of Fortum Charge & Drive India. In continuation with the ongoing project, Log 9 Materials has now announced a strategic partnership with one of India’s biggest EV charging infrastructure solutions provider companies — Fortum Charge & Drive India to deploy and provide access to their public fast chargers for two-wheeler and three-wheeler electric vehicles (EVs) in India.
The partnership – which is aimed at ensuring a smooth experience vis-à-vis providing accessible fast-charging stations to the Indian customers and/or end-users – will be for a duration of at least 24 months and can thereafter be mutually extended both in terms of period and scope. As an outcome of this collaboration, consumers charging Log 9 powered vehicles at Fortum’s EV charging stations will be incentivized in terms of a preferential tariff. The tariff scheme is currently only applicable at charging stations located in Hyderabad city and Vijaywada Highway; however it will be expanded to other tier 1, tier 2 and metro cities of our country in the near future.
Log9 is facilitating access to commercial 2W and 3W electric customers with existing public fast chargers. Enabling ready access to end customer, increasing utilization of existing chargers deployed by charge point operators like Fortum Charge & Drive India as well as incentivizing them for more deployments across the country. With Log 9’s InstaCharging (15 minutes for 2-wheelers, 40 minutes for 3-wheeler) batteries, the number of electric vehicles that can be charged in a given duration is significantly higher. Catering to a larger number of vehicles obviously allows higher per charger utilization, access to a new customer base of commercial 2W/3W on Public Chargers, provides for interoperable charging infrastructure which can now charge all types of electric vehicles, depending on their compatibility. This is a primary reason for Fortum’s C&D India’s interest in and partnership with Log 9.
Speaking about the idea behind the collaboration between Log 9 and Fortum, Dr. Akshay Singhal, Founder & CEO, Log 9 Materials says, “Availability of a widespread charging infrastructure is a key driver for EV adoption in India and forms a critical factor in terms of the customer experience too. On the other hand, to justify the charging infrastructure costs, a critical mass of EVs need to be functional on-road. Additionally, to minimize downtime and maintain operational efficiency of commercial vehicles, fast-charging is a must. Keeping these aspects in mind, our latest partnership with Fortum will attempt to make Log 9’s InstaCharging mainstream for India’s electric vehicles. It is a step in the right direction, and as Log 9’s InstaCharge batteries’ commercial rollout takes shape, we are hoping that this partnership will go a long way in accelerating the EV revolution in India – which is only possible when multiple stakeholders come together to solve the existing bottlenecks in EV adoption. Over the long term, Log 9 and Fortum will work hand-in-hand to establish Log 9’s ‘InstaCharging’ on Fortum’s DC Fast chargers as the industry standard.”
“This association has come in at the right juncture in the electric mobility paradigm, wherein the largest mobility segment of customers with 2W & 3W were devoid of fast charging capabilities & relevant infrastructure access, thereby saving them precious time & quicker turnaround to cater to their respective customers” – Mr Awadhesh Kumar Jha (Executive Director – Fortum C&D India). Fortum C&D India is excited on this unique partnership with Log 9 Materials and their partners getting access to the wide-spread DC charging network in Hyderabad & connecting highways wherein Fortum C&D currently operates 76 DC001 (Bharat Specifications) charging points at more than 45 locations. The wide-spread network would allow un-interrupted access to Log 9 InstaCharge battery enabled vehicles to not only intra-city transit in Hyderabad, and would also allow them to deliver goods/services to Vijaywada, as of now. Fortum C&D India also plans to replicate the association to other cities & highways of mutual interest specifically Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Hyderabad-Vijaywada-Vizag, Delhi NCR, Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad etc.
Notably, for the past 8 months, Log 9 has been conducting pilots for its flagship InstaCharging enabled RapidX battery packs with various OEMs like Omega Seiki Mobility, Hero Electric, among others, and B2B last-mile operators such as Amazon, Shadowfax, Delhivery, EBikeGo, Flipkart, BykeMania, etc. The conclusion of these pilots and thereafter the commercial roll-out of Log 9’s batteries will be happening by the end of October 2021. Log 9’s batteries provide 9x faster charging, 9x more battery life and 9x higher performance as compared to existing EV batteries in the Indian market. The start-up plans to deploy its Rapid Charging Battery Packs in over 5,000 vehicles by the end of FY 2022.
