Tata.ev and Statiq team at the Tata.ev MegaCharger launch in Hamzapur.

Tata.ev, the electric vehicle brand from Tata Motors, has announced that it has launched the first 10 high-speed TATA.ev MegaChargers across key urban and highway corridors. Developed in partnership with ChargeZone and Statiq, the move is part of TATA.ev’s broader plan to scale up to 400,000 public charge points by 2027.

The MegaChargers are strategically located along high-traffic routes with an aim to ease long-distance travel and daily urban commuting for EV users by offering fast, reliable and accessible charging infrastructure. This launch is a flagship initiative under TATA.ev’s ‘Open Collaboration’ framework, which fosters partnerships with Charge Point Operators (CPOs) and Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).

Balaje Rajan, Chief Strategy Officer, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, said, “At a time when EV adoption is on its growth path, ubiquitous and dependable charging infrastructure is the need of the hour. These first 10 TATA.ev MegaCharger sites in key EV corridors of the country are the first tranche of a superfast charging network that we will have across major highways. The TATA.ev MegaCharger network will increasingly connect all major cities across India to remove charging anxiety. We are on a mission to provide fast, reliable, and effortless charging that enables seamless mobility across the country – and we are just getting started.”

The MegaCharger are set up at –

• Mumbai–Ahmedabad Highway (in partnership with ChargeZone):
• Shreenath Food Hub, Vadodara – 400 kW charger supports up to 6 vehicles, delivers 150 km range in 15 minutes
• Shanti Complex, Vapi
• Hotel Xpress Inn, Ghodbunder
• Delhi–Jaipur Highway (in collaboration with Statiq):
• SS Plaza, Gurugram
• Hotel Old Rao, Kaprivas
• Asli Pappu Dhaba, Hamzapur
• Hotel Highway King, Shahpura
• Other Urban & Intercity Sites:
• Rajgurunagar (Pune–Nashik Highway) – Akash Misal House (120 kW, with ChargeZone)
• Bengaluru – Monk Mansion, Electronic City (urban fast-charging with Statiq)
• Udaipur – Ramee Royal Resort (120 kW, tourist-friendly with ChargeZone)

As announced earlier, each MegaCharger location is equipped with amenities such as restrooms, dining, Wi-Fi and lounge areas, creating a premium and user-friendly experience for EV users.

Akshit Bansal, Founder & CEO, Statiq, said, “Our collaboration with TATA.ev is a milestone in building a trusted, nationwide EV charging network. By co-branding with them, we will make EV adoption more accessible and reliable for every Indian, empowering users to easily locate and use charging stations through the iRA.ev and  Statiq app.”

Kartikey Hariyani, CEO & MD, ChargeZone, said, “We are proud to partner with TATA.ev to unveil our first co-branded SuperCharging Station on NH48, which is strategically located along key National Highway corridors. Together, ChargeZone and TATA.ev are pushing the boundaries of EV charging in India by focusing on the needs of today’s EV drivers – fast, reliable and easily accessible solutions. We are building a seamless EV ecosystem that supports innovative features including auto charge, RFID tap and charge, which meets current demands and future mobility needs.”

With 500 TATA.ev MegaChargers planned nationwide, the company is aiming to make electric mobility a serious choice for passenger vehicle customers.

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.”

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.

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.”

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.