Lack of charger standardisation is said to have affected plans.
Pune-based Belrise Industries (formerly Badve Engineering) has abandoned its plans to invest $2.5 billion (over Rs 20,000 crore) as part of the tripartite agreement with the Maharashtra government and Taiwanese firm Gogoro to build a battery swapping infrastructure.
The three parties had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in January 2023, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, which called for the establishment of battery swapping stations and smart charging stations to promote the growth of EVs in the state, particularly two- and three-wheelers.
When the MoU was signed in January 2023, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state is partnering with Gogoro and Belrise to deploy the world’s largest battery swapping network.
Lack of charger standardisation affected plans
At the sidelines of the CII Next Gen Mobility Show 2023, Ranjit Shelke, head of Corporate Strategy and business head EV at Belrise Industries said, “We are no longer pursuing the battery swapping plans.” “The lack of standardisation of batteries and connectors in the existing environment has rendered the project unviable, limiting interoperability to maximise usage of the swapping stations,” he added.
Autocar Professional reached out to Gogoro and their spokesperson clarified that “the offer letter from Maharashtra has moved forward without the inclusion of Belrise,” and the initial announcement was a non-binding MoU. The spokesperson further added that “Horace [CEO of Gogoro] and Shrikant Badve [the founder of Belrise] remain friends and continue to discuss different matters, including future collaboration.”
Centre’s battery swapping policy yet to come into effect
The battery swapping policy, which Niti Aayog had drafted and was announced in the 2022 Union budget by Nirmala Sitharaman, has not come into effect on the back of the industry’s opposition to battery standardisation and other interoperability standards outlined in the draft scheme.
Indian manufacturers, battery makers and a majority of the players, save for Honda and Gogoro, have opposed the scheme’s main interoperability proposal as it would have required them to modify not only their existing infrastructure but also the production-ready prototypes.
Belrise’s Shelke explained that they exited this space as the “project was not getting favourable response from the industry”. A Gogoro spokesperson clarified, “Gogoro has had many discussions with the Indian Government on the subject of standardisation in safety.” The Nasdaq-listed firm’s India operations had announced that it has immediate plans to start its swapping network in Delhi and Goa, with plans to expand to Maharashtra in the first half of 2024. However, the company has not clarified how many stations it plans to install in Maharashtra or pan India.
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