Aditya Thackeray inaugurates power bank's EV Charging Hub in Kohinoor Mills, Mumbai

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 18 (ANI/NewsVoir): Maharashtra's Minister of Tourism and Environment Aditya Thackeray today inaugurated the EV Charging Hub at Kohinoor Mills in Dadar, Mumbai.

The charging infrastructure has been set up by Power Bank, the EV charging solutions brand from Shuchi Anant Virya - a joint venture between corporate sustainable mobility solutions provider, Lithium Urban Technologies and Fourth Partner Energy, India's largest solar energy company for commercial and industrial businesses.

Located at Kohinoor Square Building MCGM Parking, the charging hub can service both electric fleet service providers and individual EV owners. The parking space is managed by Ashutosh Enterprises. The charging hub can accommodate six electric vehicles at a time, consisting of four fast chargers and two CCPS chargers for privately owned EVs.

With a capacity of 15 KW (DC001) each Fast Charger, the fast chargers are ideal for an electric vehicle fleet that includes models like eVeritos and eTigor and the Type 2 AC Charger is ideal for models like MG-ZS EV and eNexon (CCPS). Apart from that there are two slow charging points designed to charge all types of e2w, e3w and e4w vehicles.

While inaugurating the charging hub, Aditya Thackeray, Minister of Tourism and Environment, Maharashtra, said; "It is heartening to witness great efforts being put in from all key stakeholders to make Maharashtra Electric Vehicle friendly. We had announced our state's EV policy about a month ago and it is encouraging to see the active participation from all fronts to bring this goal into being. Today's Power Bank EV charging hub inauguration is one of the many steps that we as a government will take for the greater good of our planet."

The charging hub will be maintained and operated by Shuchi Anant Virya's brand Power Bank. It is estimated that more than 2000 vehicles, monthly, will avail the facility installed in one of the busiest business centres in Mumbai Its close proximity to IndiaBulls Finance Centre will also aid in driving usage of the hub. Power Bank as a brand manages 5 hubs in Mumbai and 10+ independent charging points in Mumbai.

Commenting on the inauguration, Sanjay Krishnan, Founder, Lithium Urban Technologies said, "We are committed to driving sustainable mobility in the country by bridging the gaps when it comes to charging infrastructure. Transition to green mobility is no longer an aspiration but has become a necessity. Lithium, through its joint venture partnership, Shuchi is working towards making EVs accessible and affordable to the masses. It is equally imperative that we become conscious of the energy sources, wherein a brand like Power Bank can make a positive contribution towards India's EV agenda. This new hub will be a starting point for people to transition to EVs, without dwelling on the range anxiety that plagues the sector."

Speaking about Shuchi's plans, Saif Dhorajiwala, Co-founder, Fourth Partner Energy added, "In addition to charging hubs across Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Kolkata, Pune and Bengaluru, the partnership with HPCL to set up EV chargers in select retail fuel outlets pan-India will help in easier access and quicker penetration of electric mobility. Eventually the idea is to power these chargers using renewable energy thereby deepening India's commitment to decarbonization. Although commercial fleet operators, logistics and public transport will drive the initial wave - we believe affordable, reliable infrastructure will be imperative in promoting adoption of personal passenger EVs."

Lithium Urban Technologies owns the largest fleet of EVs in the world outside of China. It is India's first zero emission service, with its own fleets of Electric Vehicles (EVs) and associated charging infrastructure, backed by a strong technology platform that involves telematics, fleet management systems, scheduling, rostering and analytics-based optimization; and trained and certified drivers. Lithium also owns and operates India's largest EV charging network spread across 7 cities in India.

As a socially conscious company, Lithium is the only transportation company to have received the ISO 26000 guidance on social responsibility. Having covered almost 100 million kilometers to date it has abated about 20,000 MT of Co2e. Lithium's institutional investors include LGT Capital and International Finance Corp (a World Bank Group Co). Lithium is a recipient of several national and global awards including the prestigious Financial Times/IFC Transformational Awards 2019 in London.

Fourth Partner is India's #1 ranked solar energy company, catering to commercial and industrial businesses. The firm has an installed capacity of over 550 MW across both distributed and open access portfolios; and a presence across 24 states pan-India with 2000+ projects executed for over 150 marquee clients. 4PEL commenced international operations in FY20 and is present in South and Southeast Asian countries including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nepal and Singapore.

Fourth Partner Energy's access to green financing is unparalleled in the industry - some of our equity partners and lenders include TPG Capital, The RISE Fund, Norfund, Bank of America, Symbiotics, ASN Bank, Triodos Bank, responsibility, OIKO Credit, SBI, ADB, HDFC and RBL Bank. The firm offers in-house, end-to-end capabilities including Evaluation, Design, Planning, Procurement, Construction, Operation, Maintenance and Financing of critical solar infrastructure.

4PEL has now embarked on its journey to expand beyond distributed solar and into a variety of clean energy solutions including EV charging infrastructure, storage and floating solar. Through its operational portfolio, 4PEL has helped reduce annual carbon emissions by over 8 lakh tons.

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