Often when we think about a country’s electrification journey, we’re only just thinking about the passenger vehicle segment. But in reality, commercial vehicles also contribute significantly to carbon emission levels as they plough through long distances at all hours of the day.
Founder and CEO of Chandigarh-based electric mobility startup EVage Ventures, Inderveer Singh, realised that this was a problem as early as 2014, which eventually led to the birth of this unique EV company in 2019.
“EVage stands for – Electric Vehicle Age – we want to bring the era of electric vehicles in India into the commercial EV space, a new age of efficient and innovative transportation by manufacturing commercial EVs for mid and last mile delivery. We have a fabulous team of highly skilled engineers, technologists, scientists, and designers who have worked in the aerospace industry, missile propulsion systems segments, and of course, the automobile industry,” says Singh.
“We are focused on furthering mobility or on reimagining mobility to transform lives and businesses, so for us, any movement from point A to point B represents an opportunity. The commercial EV space presented a great opportunity, and we decided to capitalise on the same. We saw a massive gap in this category that no other OEM addressed.”
EVage’s mission wasn’t just to fulfil the gap in the market. Singh explained that the fact this gap existed contributed significantly to the levels of carbon emissions.
“The transport sector accounts for 18% of total energy consumption in India. This translates to an estimated 94 million tons of oil equivalent (MTOE) energy. Moreover, the sector also contributes an estimated 142 million tons of CO2 emissions annually, out of which 123 million tons is contributed by the road transport segment alone, according to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, India.”
“Our approach was to speak to multiple personas across the commercial logistics ecosystem to understand their challenges and identify innovations for us to help them overcome them. At EVage, we want to build and create EVs that would significantly impact and transform how we look at mobility.
“Traditional commercial vehicles powered by gasoline contribute to 10% of total vehicles on the road but account for over 30% of fuel consumption. Keeping in view the climate change commitments made by the Government of India during the COP21 Summit held in Paris to reduce emission intensity by 33- 35% by 2050 from 2005 levels, it is pertinent to introduce alternative means of commercial vehicles on roads,” he adds.
To address this gap, EVage developed the Model .X, a one-tonne truck specifically aimed at the commercial vehicle segment. What sets the Model .X apart is the fact that it is a product of co-creation, where the customers of the company were actively involved.
“We are seeking their input on the insightful data derived from them to make our product more efficient, reliable, and above all else, help serve a vital purpose. We have chosen 1 tonne payload, as this is currently the most demanded requirement in the small commercial segment,” explains Singh.
“At EVage, we have looked at building our vehicle in conjunction with the needs and demands of our customers. We have not looked at retrofitting vehicles as that compromises the safety quotient, especially in the commercial space. We have built everything ground-up, from technology to design, bringing the latest technology and innovations into our product.”
Building a Modular Micro Manufacturing Factory in India
EVage is creating its very own modular skateboard platform, an innovation for the Indian market that allows the company to create purpose-built EVs to address the varying needs of its customers.
It allows multiple vehicle types to be mounted on a single platform, and was pioneered by EVage’s collective team of engineers, techies and designers. It does not just allow users to transform their vehicles as per their needs; it also creates a transformation for the industry.
“We believe that a one size fits all approach does not work, especially in India. By developing the modular skateboard platform, we can provide customers with a more extensive set of options without the resulting increase in costs. The platform allows us to manufacture at scale, in the same infrastructure setting and reduce the total cost of ownership for the customer,” says Singh.
The list of innovations doesn’t end there. EVage is also developing its own battery technology and design. What’s more is that these batteries have been specially created bearing in mind the expectations from a commercial vehicle.
“Like that of a cell phone, the concerns for an EV remain similar, like the battery’s duration, charging time, tendency to heat and explode, amongst others. Although, the implications can be much higher in the case of an EV. Here, the thermal management of the battery plays a crucial role. It looks at managing the temperature it operates in, thus leading to the battery’s life and ensuring the safety of the battery pads.
“We use a chemistry that is ultra-stable at high temperatures and it comes with a long life that is important for the use case in the logistics space. Understanding the criticality of the battery operating conditions in India, we have developed a proprietary battery technology that cools down the battery while charging. We estimate our batteries will last more than 15 years.”
EVage is currently running its pilot and testing vehicles with some of the most prominent names in industries like e-commerce, logistics and FMCG. Over the years, the company has tested more than five prototypes with thousands of kilometres on the road with potential customers.
While these pilots have given EVage rich insights to strengthen its offerings, it has also, in turn, generated a lot of demand.
But we can’t talk about EVage and not talk about its micro-factories.
“Currently, the existing manufacturing processes in the industry are highly inefficient and capital intensive. This leads to a disconnect in the aim of reducing carbon emissions. On the one hand, people are talking about Greenhouse emissions, while on the other hand, they are deforesting thousands of acres of land for setting up car plants.
“At EVage, our approach enables an extremely low footprint on the factory and still produce a higher number of vehicles with the design and manufacturing plant. Our HQ and first Modular Micro Manufacturing factory are located in Punjab, North of New Delhi,” he says.
“Our purpose is clear – to reimagine mobility to transform lives and businesses.”
EVage has recently received an investment of $28 million from RedBlue Capital. Singh is definitely excited about this investment and making RedBlue Capital a part of EVage’s journey to create sustainable, and uncomplicated mobility solutions.
“This current seed investment will be deployed to complete our production-ready factory and build our supply chain to fuel the immense industry demand in this space. Nothing excites us more than the idea of pushing forward mobility, and this investment will help us as we traverse on this journey.”
“Through EVage, our purpose is clear – to ‘reimagine mobility to transform lives and businesses,” he adds.
Currently, EVage is focusing on emerging markets, starting with India. It will soon be unveiling its first 4W commercial van and its first Modular Micro Manufacturing factory.
“Smart electric vehicles have a 15% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) per annum. We aim to capture this market and build capacity to augment our vision. We also want to develop a more robust talent pool and invite some of the best minds in the world to join us on our mission to make mobility more sustainable and efficient in the future,” concludes Singh.
