RACEnergy, a Hyderabad-based electric vehicle infrastructure startup, recently raised $ 1.3 million in a seed fundraising round headed by Micelio Fund and growX Ventures, with participation from Huddle, Prophetic Ventures, and BITSian Angels, among others.
Speaking to Mobility Outlook, Arun Sreyas, CEO and Co-Founder, RACEnergy, stated that the funds will be utilised for R&D and developing technologies for EVs. “We’re going to use the money to deploy our technologies and also scale them up,” he added.
The company’s goal is to provide a holistic solution for electric vehicles. In 2020, it unveiled the prototype of its battery swapping station. These stations contain unique features such as air conditioning to keep the batteries cool when charging and magnetic couplings for batteries within the chargers.
These stations are reported to be built in the Hyderabad factory that also produces battery packs. The company hopes to have the stations operational by the end of this year, beginning with Hyderabad. With these swapping stations, it aims to enter Tier-1, 2, & 3 cities in the future.
In addition to the station, the company is developing electric drivetrains for traditional ICE three-wheelers. For the time being, it provides one option for retrofitting. However, the CEO claims to have developed two more drivetrains ready for retrofitting.
The drivetrains are also manufactured in the Hyderabad factory, with most of the parts being sourced from Indian suppliers, claimed Sreyas. “We are working with our vendors in India to indianise the whole solution,” he added.
As per the CEO, the company is in talks with a few fleet operators and OEMs regarding retrofitting three-wheelers. Initially, it intends to use Hyderabad as a pilot model before expanding to other cities.
The company is working with the Telangana State Government and its subsidiary bodies, such as the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC), Telangana State Renewable Energy Development Corporation (TSREDCO), Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMRL) to set up swapping stations across the state to reduce vehicular pollution with the adoption of clean electric 3-wheelers, while providing economic benefits for the auto-rickshaw driver community.