India is betting big on electrification in the mobility space and that has opened the doors for global players to be a part of a grand, brand new journey. Existing players in the ICE-powered category are already developing battery-powered products too and to support this development, the ancillary space is also witnessing a lot of action.
POWER.GLOBAL, a public benefit corporation, with headquarters in California, has announced today that they are planning to enter the Indian market to expedite the transition to electric vehicles in India. The company is in the process of setting up manufacturing and engineering in India with a focus on actively cooled Li-Ion battery modules, engineered specifically for the 2- and 3-wheeler market.
Over the last year, the startup has defined solutions for various markets and developed prototypes for trials and production next year. POWER.GLOBAL’s first product is focused on the auto-rickshaw market and bringing that market to full electrification. Targeting petrol and diesel-based vehicles, they are developing a retrofit kit that can be used to convert the majority of the existing auto rickshaws to full performance electric with a high top-speed and acceleration better than existing auto rickshaws.
The patent-pending solution utilizes a mix of battery swapping and on-board charging technology and will be cost-effective for any driver that drives >60 km/per day. With a retrofit cost less than 40% the cost of a new vehicle and daily costs 25% – 30% lower than current costs, and near-zero maintenance costs, they believe this is a game-changer. The company is also looking to work with auto-rickshaw OEM’s to support new vehicle sales.
To lead this undertaking, POWER.GLOBAL has recruited Pankaj Dubey of Polaris and Yamaha fame. Pankaj is an Indian automotive industry veteran. Commenting on the announcement, Founder and CEO of Power.Global, Mr Porter Harris said, “Mr Dubey is an unmistakable leader with proven executive experience and, importantly, one who holds the same values as POWER.GLOBAL. Mr Dubey was employee number one at Polaris India, (100% subsidiary of Polaris, a Fortune 500 company) and as MD & Country Head, he built the company from its humble beginnings up to what it is today. As the National Busines Head of Yamaha, Mr Dubey was credited with the turnaround of the 2-wheeler business and created the distribution model of the Yamaha bike station. We feel that Mr Dubey is the perfect fit for POWER.GLOBAL, as the company’s mission and values, align with his in the pursuit of social entrepreneurship and focusing on ending poverty within India.”
Here’s a backstory of Mr Porter Harris, Founder and CEO of POWER.GLOBAL, in his own words:
“Since the beginning of my career, I have been fairly removed from the end-user of the products I helped to develop. With over 14 years of experience developing and working on power systems of various designs, from high-reliability batteries for a rocket and a spacecraft that docks with the international space station to a novel high-performance battery design that powers a high-end luxury EV, I vowed my next venture would have a more meaningful connection with the end-user.
In 2016, I travelled to India with my wife, spending a few weeks travelling around the country and visiting various cities. We immediately established a connection with the culture; a culture so deeply rooted with a rich history. In fact, that trip led my wife on her current path of studying Ayurveda and is now finishing up her last year of schooling for practitioner certification, and it led to my interest in Vedic philosophy. India is definitely a part of our lives now and into the future.
In 2019, I found myself at a pivotal point to pursue my dream of applying technology to enhance the quality of day-to-day life for many individuals in developing nations. I started POWER.GLOBAL, a public benefit corporation, and over the last year, we have focused on defining a solution for various markets and developing prototypes for trials and production next year. It is important to me that this company has values beyond just making money. While the company is still a for-profit endeavour, our priorities start at doing what is right for humanity and the environment. From developing a sustainable product and supply chain to supporting environmental causes and programs, doing business with consciousness is the core of who we are as a company.
We are in the process of building up the company within India and working towards 100% designed and made in India. It is important that our employees are passionate about sustainability and developing clean energy solutions for both mobile and stationary applications. We plan on having a battery manufacturing plant capable of 1GWh/yr to start (equivalent to ~10k Tesla P100 battery packs), as well as an engineering group, focused on research and development and product development within the sustainable and renewable energy technology markets.”