Battery Smart, an Indian battery-swapping network for electric vehicles, announced on November 9, 2021, that it had raised a Pre-Series A round of $7 million.
The funding round was led by Blume Ventures and Orios Ventures, along with investments from Green Frontier Capital, Baring Private Equity India, and others.
TradeCred, India’s leading alternative debt platform, also participated as a debt partner with an INR 24 crore investment.
Planning to build India’s largest battery-swapping network
Co-founded in June 2020 by serial entrepreneurs and IIT-Kanpur graduates Pulkit Khurana and Siddharth Sikka, the company aims to have India’s largest battery-swapping network for electric two and three-wheelers.
The duo is targeting a $17billion swapping market by 2025 by aiming to have a swapping station at every one square km area.
Battery Smart seeks to revolutionize the EV sector by making the adoption of electric mobility simple, economic, and accessible through a unique partner-led model.
Battery Smart’s battery-as-a-service model enables interoperable battery swapping for electric vehicles (EVs) in under two minutes and reduces the up-front investment borne by a consumer by up to 60 percent.
With over 100 Swap Stations operational in the Delhi NCR region, the company has completed 3 lakh battery swaps and powered 10 million emission-free km to date.
Battery swapping demands in India
India to become a hotspot for the swappable batteries industry. As part of the National Electricity Mobility Mission Plan, the government of India has launched the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) plan.
“Given the excellent product-market fit for Battery Smart in the e-Rickshaw and fleet segment, we believe that the right player to win the market will be the one who can expand the fastest,” said Arpit Agarwal, Director, Blume Ventures.
“After the COVID second wave, Battery Smart has grown more than 10x and continues to grow at a very rapid pace to currently service more than 1000 electric two and three-wheelers daily,” added Agarwal.
The funds will be utilized to strengthen its Battery Assignment Technology, scale its operations to service 10,000 electric vehicles daily, and expand to three new states by FY22.
Why it is the best time to invest in EV battery charging and swapping in India
“With over 2 lac EVs in just the Northern Capital Region (NCR), there is no better time to invest in India’s electric mobility revolution,” said Hardik Shah, Founder and CEO, TradeCred.
The data-driven methodology and superior battery telematics have enabled Battery Smart to grow exponentially.
The IoT-enabled batteries on its network and the data generated are being utilized for effective network planning and ensuring EV users have access to two-minute swaps within a 1 km radius with zero wait time.
The company currently has 1200 active vehicles on its platform and completes 5000 swaps daily.
“Battery swapping addresses major deterrents to EV adoption like range anxiety, high up-front costs, and long downtimes. The funds raised will help us expand our presence pan-India, strengthen our technology, and make key hires,” said Pulkit Khurana, Co-Founder of Battery Smart.
