In conversation with Akshay Kashyap, founder and MD, Greenfuel Energy Solutions

In conversation with Akshay Kashyap, founder and MD, Greenfuel Energy Solutions

The rise of electric two wheeler and three wheeler start-ups in the country has led some of the companies to branch out and grab a share of pie in the EV market. One of the companies to do so is Greenfuel Energy Solutions, the manufacturer of CNG kits in India. Now, the company has diversified and entered into the EV battery segment to cater to the electric two and three wheelers that are on the rise in the country. We chat with Akshay Kashyap, founder and MD of the company, on why he chose not to outsource battery cells from China, the company’s future plans in the EV segment and more. Here is the full interview:

Fast Bikes India (FBI): What will be different about your set up from any other Li-ion battery assembly unit?

 Akshay Kashyap: I think the question here should be first the difference in design of battery pack compared to others and then the assembly unit itself. Greenfuel is the only company in India that has applied for four patents on its battery pack, and in that sense “owns” it’s own technology. Most of the others are just importing Chinese cells and using that same technology to import into India and assembling. Greenfuel does not use Chinese cells. A lot of the others are also importing packs in CKD form and then just white labelling. This is not suitable for either the Indian conditions nor the automotive Industry. We have spent two years in R&D understanding Indian environment and consumer behavior and then extensively validating the performance of the battery packs for the temperature conditions here. Based on that we have designed optimal thermal solutions for Indian conditions.  The Greenfuel Battery system is modular – it can be scaled up or down in 48V modules depending on the energy requirements of the vehicle without having to design a new pack. This sets our design apart from any of the others. The manufacturing unit itself today uses the best welding techniques, end of line testing machines and is semi – automated. As the volumes go up we plan to have fully automated lines for E-mobility.

What’s the current market size for Li-ion batteries in India? Are the applications going to be automotive only?

AK: The size is very difficult to predict as it is an extremely fragmented industry and as stated before mere assemblers vs technology owners is difficult to judge. However Li-ion has been used in stationary applications like telecom and solar storage but the conditions and needs of battery packs is totally different from E-mobility.

 Where will you be setting up the Li-ion battery assembly unit?  What will be the production capacity of the assembly plant?

We have already set-up the same in Manesar. The production capacity today is for 100 kwh / month.

When are you planning to start production of the battery packs? What is the plan for expansion in the next five years?

Battery packs are already production ready and we formally inaugurated the plant on October 17 This year. We will begin supplies from January 2019. Our expansion plan depends on the volumes we are able to gather from the market. The trend is extremely positive from the response we have seen this far.

What is the battery capacity for two and three wheelers? Can you tell us the tech specs of the Li-ion battery pack for both two wheelers and three wheelers?

The battery capacity depends on the type of range and type of vehicle. Usually these are designed on 48V systems using 4Kwh to  8Kwh for three wheelers and 1kwh to 2kwh for two wheelers. There are also 60V and 72V design requirements from some customers. We have designed the packs in 48V 40 AH modules for three wheelers which can be connected in series or parallel depending on the energy needs of the vehicle.

Mahindra has recently launched its electric technology manufacturing hub in Bengaluru for making electric three wheelers and other powertrain components for EVs. Any chances of collaboration with them for battery pack supplies?

Mahindra, like other OEM’s in India will be designing their own battery packs so we have no collaboration with them. We are however happy to engage with them and other OEM’s for their battery pack needs.

Li-ion battery packs are expensive. Has the government provided any subsidies for developing the battery systems? If yes, what kind of support have you received from the govt?

The government, as you know is extremely keen to promote EV’s in India. As of now they have provided subsidies both for import duties on cells as well as on the EV’s using Li-ion batteries under the FAME scheme.

As a manufacturer of automotive components of CNG kits for vehicles, what prompted you for battery assembly?

Greenfuel is a company the believes in sustainable mobility and alternate fuel in all forms. We believe both gas vehicles as well as EV’s will drive the future of sustainable Mobility. Therefore it is a natural progression for us to get into the business of battery for EV’s as well. Personally I have been following this since 2011 and have visited several countries to see the progression of battery technology and EV’s. In 2016, I felt it was the right time for us to set up our battery assembly unit in India.

Electric mobility is yet to catch up in majority of the cities in India. Are you planning to export the battery packs to other countries as well?

Yes we do plan to export out of India as well.

Any plans of making powertrain components for electric vehicles in the future?

Right now we don’t have plans for other powertrain components for EV’s. We want to specialise in battery packs and technology around the same. It has always been Greenfuel’s Mantra to specialise and provide customers the best value product. We will focus on providing the safest, most reliable and high technology battery packs.

What will be savings / cost benefits for the customer who buys your Li-ion battery packs?

Li-ion Battery packs offer a substantial cost saving over the life of the vehicle. The ROI is faster based on the number of kilometres driven per day. It’s difficult to put an exact number given so many use cases but in cases of fleet transportation savings will be highest with fastest ROI.

Are you planning on venturing into the EV charging infrastructure business? For instance, things like battery swap at recharging stations or even recharging stations themselves?

We would not like to comment on future strategies but we can say that we will encourage higher penetration of EV’s including swapping infrastructure where economically viable.

What is going to be the likely price of a Li-ion battery manufactured in India?

A battery pack can cost anywhere from USD 300 to USD 450 per kWh depending on the type of cells and the life expectancy out of the same. This is for e-mobility.

If there is a price gap with imported batteries is there any corresponding gap in quality or range or charging duration, etc?

Like I said earlier, Greenfuel tested Chinese cells in the past with huge quality variations which will eventually compromise the life as well as performance of the battery pack. Therefore we chose to have better quality of product even if it meant using slightly higher priced cells not sourced from China.

Why did you decide to focus on two and three wheelers?

We believe that early adoption will happen in two and three wheelers in India as they are the best use case for EV’s.

Infrastructure that may come up for charging of three-wheelers?

We think swapping Infrastructure will play a huge role here. But the government is working on a standardized charging method for three wheelers as well.

Has the government given them any facility to dispose or recycle lithium-ion batteries?

The standard for disposing or recycling Li-ion cells does not exist today. Therefore we have got no facility from the government for the same as yet.

As communicated to Ganesh Murthy

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