India is finding methods to decrease its reliance on non-renewable sourc-es of energy for a sustainable way of living. Switching to electric vehicles (EVs) is one way to reduce emis-sions together with lower fuel and maintenance costs. PURE EV is the electrical vehicle vertical of the 2016 startup PuREnergy founded by Dr Nishanth Dongari, assistant professor at IIT Hyderabad, and Rohit Vadera, alumnus of IIT Bombay that launched electric two wheelers commercially in May 2019.

Besides receiving funding of twenty million rupees from government agencies, a 1672.3sqm (18,000-sqft) state of the art facility, co located with IIT Hyderabad, was established in 2018. After a lot of research and development, high performance lithium batteries were commercially launched in Renewable Energy Expo 2018, Greater Noida. With portable batteries, adapter-based lithium battery chargers are also available for their EVs. Rohit Vadera, co-founder and chief executive officer, PuREnergy, says, “We have an inhouse lithium battery manufacturing setup for very wide-ranging applications. Our batteries are designed to deliver power equivalent to three times the nominal battery capacity. This is extremely useful for fast pickup and longevity of batteries in Indian thermal conditions. We do extensive testing and quality checking before dispatching any battery from our facility.”

A number of samples were sent at a pan-India level before the launch for testing. PURE EV has launched four models of cost effective and high performance two wheeler electric scooter (Epluto), e-mobike (Etrance)and bicycles (Egnite and Etron). Etrance has a load-bearing capacity of 150kg, while Epluto has a weight carrying capacity of 180kg. Besides having a 2kWh portable battery, Epluto delivers a true range of 100km on one charge. It has a wide LCD screen with multi-speed modes. It is priced at ` 74,999.

Another model, Etrance is a unisex e-mobike weighing just 47kg, which makes it ideal for everyone. The ground to handle height is about 1.1m (3.5 feet). It has a true range of 80km and 1kWh portable battery. It is avail-able for ` 56,999.When it comes to bicycles, both models offer a true range of 60km on road and have a 500Wh battery. Egnite has a seven speed Shimano gear shifter, LED front light and a multi-functional waterproof LCD display. It can be bought for ` 54,000.

Its peer Etron has a rugged centre-stand for stability, and can hit 25kmph in seven seconds. It is priced at ` 32,999.“The vehicles can be started with a key in our models ETrance and EPluto. ETron and EGnite models can be started by a switch that is present on the e-bikes. For safety reasons, both e-bike model batteries come with a key to lock/remove the batteries. EPluto and ETrance models have inbuilt anti-theft features,” explains Vadera.Talking about availability of the vehicles, he says, “The products are avail-able in both online and offline modes.

Online these are available on Amazon platform, currently. Since the offline mode is still a work-in-progress; when a customer approaches us from the area where currently we do not have a dealership network available, we arrange to dispatch the product to the customer via professional logistics companies. We are also going to launch an e-commerce platform soon on our website.”The convenience and eco-friendly features offered give tough competition to petrol and diesel run vehicles.

These e-vehicles are being used by customers already. Vadera elaborates, “Etron’s entry level model is targeted towards individuals about thirteen years of age. Egnite is targeted towards professional bicyclists, Etrance towards teenagers and women, and Epluto towards a wide ranging audience.” With two-wheelers already launched, the company plans to partner with others to develop lithium batteries for three and four wheelers.

Ayushee Sharma