India’s electric mobility transition is entering a decisive phase with public transportation emerging as the flagship for decarbonisation. At the 4th East and Northeast Energy Conclave held in Kolkata, A.K. Saxena, Senior Director at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), laid out an ambitious yet structured roadmap for how electric vehicles—particularly electric buses—can catalyse a cleaner, more inclusive transport future for India’s eastern and northeastern regions.

The event, organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, brought together policymakers, energy sector leaders and infrastructure experts to deliberate on regional energy transition strategies. Saxena’s keynote address stood out for its clarity on India’s electric mobility outlook, emphasising that public transport electrification must lead the charge.

Data-driven rollout in Kolkata

TERI’s work with the West Bengal Transport Corporation served as a case in point. The state aims to deploy 1,200 electric buses in Kolkata and Saxena revealed how technology and granular data are at the heart of this transformation. “We carried out a comprehensive traffic survey using GIS mapping and drone analytics to understand routes, congestion points and energy demand,” Saxena said. The insights helped identify optimal locations for EV charging infrastructure across the city.

The approach reflects a broader shift in India’s energy planning—from top-down mandates to data-driven micro-planning. Saxena emphasised that charging infrastructure is not just about installation but about siting, access, demand forecasting and grid-readiness. “The efficiency of public EV fleets hinges on planning that is grounded in real-world usage patterns,” he noted.

National push

In tandem with regional projects, the event also marked the launch of a new EV web portal and a short film on decarbonising public transport, both developed by TERI. These tools aim to enhance public awareness, empower local governments and standardise best practices.

Saxena pointed to TERI’s development of the e-Amrit portal for NITI Aayog—a national dashboard for EV adoption—as another example of institutional capacity-building in the e-mobility space. The platform offers guidance on EV incentives, vehicle types, charging options and ecosystem partners. “Digital platforms like e-Amrit can help streamline decision-making for city planners, fleet operators and even individual consumers,” Saxena added.

Broader energy transition

But Saxena was clear that electric mobility cannot be addressed in isolation, it must be integrated into a larger energy transition framework. He pointed out that e-mobility needs to be powered by clean, renewable energy and not simply displace tailpipe emissions with upstream fossil fuel usage.

“India must ensure that new incremental energy demand from EVs is met through renewables plus storage, not coal,” he said. TERI’s own roadmap recommends phasing out inefficient coal plants and meeting new demand growth through clean sources, particularly solar, wind and hydro.

Battery storage and pumped hydro have been prioritised as key enablers, especially for regions with variable renewables and peak demand mismatches. Saxena cited examples such as the Purulia and Turga pumped storage plants in West Bengal and Aparindavati in Odisha as vital to integrating e-mobility sustainably.

Coordinated ecosystem

One of Saxena’s boldest proposals was the formation of an East and Northeast Energy Transition Council. This cross-state platform would allow for better coordination between utilities, transport agencies and regulators. He argued that states like Odisha, Bihar, Assam and West Bengal can benefit from collaborative planning, especially on issues like charging infrastructure interoperability, storage strategy and renewable energy synergies.

He also floated the idea of setting up solar parks and EV charging corridors specifically tailored for intercity public transport routes. “Kolkata to Bhubaneswar or Guwahati to Shillong could become future-ready with fast-charging lanes,” Saxena said.

On the urban distribution front, Saxena advocated for the creation of distribution system operators (DSOs), specialised agencies tasked with managing decentralised energy flows including bi-directional EV charging, rooftop solar integration and grid balancing. “With vehicle-to-grid technologies on the horizon, the distribution system can no longer be passive,” he asserted.

Inclusive transition

Saxena closed his remarks with a reminder that India’s energy transition must be socially just and inclusive. Electrification of transport must not leave behind regions dependent on fossil fuels or traditional automotive sectors.

“Coal mining communities and internal combustion engine industries must be given retraining opportunities, livelihood alternatives and transition finance,” he said. Public transport electrification, he argued, presents an opportunity not only to cut emissions but to create green jobs, especially in battery servicing, EV manufacturing and smart infrastructure installation.

He acknowledged that the economics of EVs, especially in public fleets, may not yet be universally favourable. “But if we keep waiting for perfect conditions, the transition will remain academic,” Saxena said. “At some point, bold decisions have to be made.”

As India eyes near-universal e-mobility by 2040, Saxena’s remarks offered a realistic yet optimistic roadmap. The push to decarbonise public transport backed by smart tools, local data and clean energy is not just about vehicles. It is about shaping cities that are cleaner, healthier and more equitable for the future.

And in the alleys and arteries of Kolkata, India’s next mobility revolution may already be taking shape.

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Nawgati has announced the launch of Aaveg Pro, an integrated operations platform for petroleum dealers, at the Petrol Dealers Association Pune (PDAP) Annual General Meeting. The system is designed to digitise fuel station management within the Indian retail ecosystem.

Aaveg Pro serves as a digital operating system to replace manual workflows in fuel retail. The platform consolidates several critical station functions into a single interface:

• Sales and Inventory: Features include shift-level nozzle reconciliation, live inventory tracking and stock variation control.
• Financial Accounting: The system supports VAT, GST, cess and surcharge handling to maintain audit-ready records and real-time balance sheet visibility.
• Fleet and Credit Management: Dealers can manage digital fleet contracts, consolidated invoicing and credit risk monitoring.

The platform is designed to integrate with existing station infrastructure, such as dispensers, CCTV systems, fuel storage compressors and vehicle-tracking systems, to provide operational oversight.

Vaibhav Kaushik, Co-Founder & CEO, Nawgati, said, “The launch of Aaveg Pro reflects our continued commitment to building solutions that solve real operational challenges for fuel dealers. Fuel retail in India still relies heavily on fragmented and manual workflows across accounting, stock monitoring, reconciliation, and customer credit management. With Aaveg Pro, we are bringing these critical functions onto one integrated platform so that dealers can operate with greater visibility, control, and efficiency.”

Aalaap Nair, Co-Founder, Nawgati, said, “Aaveg Pro has been built specifically for the day-to-day realities of fuel retail operations in India. From shift-level reconciliation and stock tracking to consolidated fleet invoicing and live financial reporting, the platform is designed to reduce complexity and improve decision-making at the station level. Our goal is to help dealers move away from manual processes and adopt a smarter, more scalable way of running their businesses.”

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Charge_iN by Mahindra and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) have signed a strategic agreement to develop electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure at HPCL retail outlets across India. The collaboration aims to utilise HPCL’s national fuel station network to increase the availability of public charging points for electric four-wheelers.

HPCL currently operates over 24,400 retail outlets and has installed more than 5,400 charging stations under its HP e-Charge brand. The new stations established through this partnership will exclusively feature 180 kW dual gun chargers, designed for high-speed charging.

The deployment is intended to support the transition to green transportation in India, currently the third-largest automotive market globally. The agreement focuses on building an ultrafast charging network to improve reliability and reduce charging times for EV users.

The partnership aligns with the government's objective of strengthening public EV infrastructure. By integrating chargers into existing fuel stations, the companies aim to provide a platform for nationwide expansion and seamless access for drivers.

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Electric mobility startup Bijliride has detailed plans to expand its franchise network to more than 25 Indian cities. Operating under a Franchise Owned–Franchise Operated (FOFO) model, the company aims to onboard 30 franchise partners by March 2027 and scale its fleet to between 10,000 and 15,000 electric two-wheelers within the next 18 months.

The expansion the startup claims is projected to drive 150 percent growth in fleet operations. Bijliride has identified several urban mobility markets for this phase, including:

• Tier 1 Cities: Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Kolkata.
• Emerging Hubs: Hyderabad clusters, Jaipur, Patna, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, and Kochi.
• Logistics Centres: Nagpur, Indore, Surat, and Visakhapatnam.

The strategy targets demand from logistics operators, gig economy platforms and urban commuters.

Under the FOFO structure, local partners own and manage the fleets while Bijliride provides the technology infrastructure. This includes real-time vehicle tracking, battery management protocols, and rental management systems.

The partners have to commit to a minimum of 50 electric two-wheelers to begin with, an initial investment of around INR 1.4-1.6 million, with a projected breakeven in approximately 15 months under stable fleet utilisation. The startup also assists partners with driver onboarding and connects fleets with demand from local delivery businesses and gig platforms.

Shivam Sisodiya, CEO and Co-Founder, Bijliride, said, “Electric mobility demand in India is growing rapidly, particularly among gig workers and last-mile delivery operators. At this stage, our focus is disciplined scale. The FOFO model allows us to grow responsibly by partnering with local entrepreneurs who understand their markets while leveraging our technology platform and operational systems. This structure enables us to expand faster while ensuring fleets are managed efficiently on the ground.”

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It’s been sometime that Donut Lab has been working on producing a battery that will address the challenging needs of EVs better than other batteries have been able to do. Claiming to be the world’s first solid-state battery ready for production vehicles measured in independent testing conditions, the company has released its third test result that dispels any suspicions that the battery would be a supercapacitor rather than a battery.
The results measure the properties of its solid-state battery, evaluating its ability to retain charge when not in use. Available for download on its site, the third and most recent test follows two other tests that looked at charging speed (the test was conducted by Technology Re) using two passive cooling configurations and evaluation of capacity performance of the battery cell in hot conditions (by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland). 
The test measuring the battery’s ability to retain charge even when not in use was carried out using a simple research setup. It was connected at room temperature to the research laboratory’s battery tester, which repeatedly measured the cell voltage every 10 seconds. Like the previous test that measured battery performance at very high temperatures, this test also began with a 1C capacity test, demonstrating that the cell was precisely the same as the other test examples.
 
After the capacity test, the battery cell was charged to approximately 50 percent charge and left connected to the battery tester for ten days. The cell was then discharged to measure the remaining energy capacity. The results show that the battery cell voltage stabilises during the first 10 hours after charging. Over the next nine or so days, the voltage curve continues to stabilise. A capacity test at the end of the test period confirmed that the voltage drop corresponds to the amount of energy in watt-hours.
The Donut Battery behaved in the test exactly as a battery should. If the test had been performed with a supercapacitor, the charge would have fallen linearly much faster during the same time period.
“Since we unveiled the Donut Battery, there has been a lot of speculation and theories about whether it is a supercapacitor. In all its simplicity, this test proves that it is a battery. Supercapacitors charge and discharge quickly, but they also lose their charge quickly when not in use. The Donut Battery behaves like a battery and can maintain a charge for significantly longer,” confirmed Ville Piippo, CTO, Donut Lab.
After the third test mentioned above, Donut Lab has carried out a special test to measure battery performance in a battery pack using the Verge TS Pro motorcycle that charges in less than ten minutes, making it the world's fastest-charging electric motorcycle.
 

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