Pune: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a Maharatna and a Fortune Global 500 Company on Friday announced the launch of EV fast-charging stations on six highways in Western India. BPCL will convert 200 National Highways by March 31 into electric corridors.
The EV fast chargers at BPCL Fuel Stations recharges EVs in just about 30 minutes giving the driving range of up to 125 kilometers, therefore the distance between the two such facilities at highways have been kept within 100 kilometres.
BPCL has converted six highways into electric corridors and going forward, by March 2023, 200 highways will be covered with Electric Vehicle Fast Chargers under the brand eDrive to support and accelerate the EV growth in the country. The fast chargers follow the CCS-2 protocol and are a part of BPCL's initiative to address the range anxiety of electric vehicle owners.
These Fast EV Charging Corridors were inaugurated by Sanjeev Agrawal, Executive Director (Engineering and Automation, Retail) in presence of S Abbas Akhtar, CGM (Brand and PR), Subhankar Sen, CGM (Retail Initiatives and Brand), Akshay Wadhwa, Head (Retail) West, Rakesh Kumar Sinha, State Head, (Retail) Maharashtra and Goa.
Speaking at the launch, Sanjeev Agrawal, Executive Director (Engineering & Automation, Retail), BPCL said, "It's a defining moment for BPCL to energise six highway corridors in Maharashtra and Goa States with commissioning of 24 CCS2 DC Fast Chargers having requisite safety measures. Now, BPC commands 12 highway corridors across India to serve EV customers with an aspirational plan to cover 200 corridors in total with EV chargers at 7,000 Energy Stations by 2024. BPCL is on an aspirational path to charge the lives of the customer on move."
Speaking with media, S Abbas Akhtar, Chief General Manager (PR & Brand), BPCL said, "As the energy landscape changes globally, we have identified six strategic areas, including E-Mobility, as pillars of future growth and sustainability. In the Electric Mobility space, to address range anxiety of electric four-wheelers, we have come up with a novel concept of creating Highway Fast Charging Corridors. So far, we have launched 25 highway corridors and going forward, BPCL plans to grow in this space in tandem with market expansion."
Subhankar Sen, Chief General Manager (Retail Initiatives & Brand) said that today's launch is consistent with BPCL's objective of reducing range, discovery and time anxieties of current and prospective EV owners and accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles in the country.
All EV customers will be able to use the EV fast charging stations via a pay-per-use online service. The fast chargers can be self-operated without any manual assistance though support staff will be at hand when needed.
Akshay Wadhwa, Head (Retail) West, BPCL during the launch, quoted, "Maharashtra is among the top four Indian states, with most electric vehicle registrations, therefore setting up the Fast EV charging infrastructure on highway in Maharashtra will support in further growth of EV in the state."
Rakesh Kumar Sinha, State Head, (Retail) Maharashtra & Goa, BPCL, concluded with the statement, "We have the highest market share in the petrol and diesel. We are targeting a similar dominance in EV space as well, through rapid proliferation of fast chargers on Highway Corridors and in Urban Markets."
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