BHEL Inaugurates 5 Solar EV Chargers on Delhi-Chandigarh Highway

India’s largest power equipment manufacturer BHEL is expanding its footing in the electric mobility business. The Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is setting up a network of solar-based electric vehicle chargers (SEVC) on the Delhi-Chandigarh highway.

Five charging stations in the series were inaugurated by Arvind Ganpat Sawant, union minister of heavy industries and public enterprises, in the presence of Dr. Nalin Shinghal, chairman & managing director of BHEL. The chargers are located at the resorts of Haryana Tourism Corporation Ltd. at Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat and Samalkha (Sonepat) on the Delhi-Chandigarh highway. Senior officials of DHI, BHEL and Haryana Tourism were also present on this occasion.

According to BHEL “each SEVC station will be equipped with a rooftop solar power plant to supply green energy and EV chargers.” The company has already installed DC chargers at Udyog Bhawan in New Delhi. According to the official statement, BHEL is also executing another commercial order for installation of DC chargers across various locations in the country.

The project of EV chargers installation along the Delhi-Chandigarh highway is covered under the FAME scheme [Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) & Electric Vehicles in India] of the Department of Heavy Industry (DHI).

To bolster user confidence and lessen range anxiety, the government wants to set up EV chargers at regular intervals over the entire 250 km stretch between Delhi and Chandigarh. As part of the project, BHEL has also developed a Central Monitoring System (CMS) for EV Chargers with a user-friendly Mobile App.

BHEL has been diversifying its business in electric mobility and plans to manufacture EV chargers, electric buses and related critical components, as a part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative. In May it signed an MoU with electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure developer Exicom to help state-owned BHEL set up electric vehicle (EV) charger manufacturing facility for e-mobility business.

Exicom Power Solutions claims to offer a comprehensive range of solutions for all EV charging infrastructure projects and has extensive experience of installing EV charging equipment on highways, public sector and private land. BHEL signed an MoU with ARAI too for cooperation on various projects related to e-mobility.