Log 9 Materials Partners with Fortum India to Develop EV Charging Infra

Bengaluru-based advanced battery technology startup Log 9 Materials has partnered with the Indian subsidiary of Finnish clean energy company Fortum to deploy and provide access to public fast chargers for two-wheeler and three-wheeler electric vehicles (EVs) in the country.

The partnership will be for a duration of at least 24 months and can thereafter be mutually extended both in terms of period and scope. Log 9 Materials has developed Log 9 InstaCharge capabilities in their proprietary “RapidX” battery-packs for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers.

Through this association with 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, said the companies.

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.

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, said the company.

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, added Fortum.

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.

In August this year, Log 9 announced an equity partnership and collaboration with Amara Raja Batteries (ARBL), one of India’s largest manufacturers of industrial and automotive batteries.