Fyn Mobility, an integrated EV ecosystem platform has partnered with Exponent Energy. The new fleet of Altigreen’s neEV Tez (outcome of the partnership between Altigreen and Exponent Energy) along with Exponent’s e^pump network will enable Fyn to operate a fleet of 15-minute full charge EVs.
With Fyn’s EV ecosystem platform and Exponent’s 15-minute full charge technology, both companies are looking at offering the EV-as-a- service industry to look at cross utilisation of EVs as a metric of scale rather than just the number of EVs deployed. With this partnership, Fyn plans to roll out these EVs to be cross-utilised making the overall cost of operations to businesses much more affordable, and open up new opportunities within the industry.
Speaking first to Express Mobility, Arun Vinayak, Co-founder, & CEO, Exponent Energy explained he potential of cross-utlising resources and the way the partnership ties in for their initiatives with Altigreen, “Obviously, there’s cross-utilizing the EVs across different form factors, different contracts, different customers. But then at the end of the day, you need a technology and a network that’s allowing you to do that. So that’s why Fyn and us sort of work together. We recently launched our first product with Altigreen. So we have the first vehicle on road called the neEV Tez, it charges, and it’s the world’s fastest charging vehicle. So completely changed the game when it comes to running logistics. And, of course, we set up the charging network as well, to support our partners like Fyn to run logistics industry. ”
Visakh Sasikumar, Founder and CEO, Fyn Mobility added his perspective on the partnership and highlighted that, “this is a big game changer that we have seen with Exponent and availability of charging stations across the places that we are working. This this is like an ecosystem coming together. We believe that a single player cannot actually win this ecosystem, it has to be group of people, group of startups or group of tech guys coming together and ensuring that there is a change in mindset that is required in this industry, that fast charging is a tech that makes it happen and through fleets, we ensure that it gets to the end customers. So there is a big synergy between both of us connecting tech to the end customers.”
Tackling the cost and convenience aspect
Sasikumar added that this partnership will enable use of a commercial EV for multiple shifts covering close to 18 hours of service and thereby increasing the RoI and improving both cost and energy efficiency.
The rise in the e-commerce and logistics sector has propelled the demand for dependable last-mile delivery methods, yet most gig workers continue to struggle with high fuel costs and long charging time. The cost of the Last Mile Logistics is 3x of everything else and the need for flexibility and more on-demand goods and services with direct connect to the customer. Is increasing
Exponent Energy’s Vinayak explained that, “most batteries today have 1000 cycle warranty. Put together, one’s paying for a larger battery, and the vehicles only get financed for two-three years. The EMI one’s paying on a vehicle can be quite high, as a result. On top of that, one’s probably running only one shift, or two shifts at best. What we’re able to do while working with someone like Fyn, is saying listen, we can put in a smaller battery because you don’t need a large battery with a 15 minute to-up, which means the vehicle price comes down, the battery price comes down.”
With a 15-minute full charge, Fyn will be able to minimise idle time and enable multiple trips with a single Altigreen neEV Tez. To support the fleet, Exponent has already installed 20 e^pumps across Bengaluru and plans to add 80 more in the next 6 months. Vinayak further highlighted the key aspects of the synergy that emerges as a result, “we’re providing a 3000 cycle warranty, which is 3x industry standard. What this unlocks is a fire financing on these vehicles. Right and that’s something we’ll talk about further. So this now means that you have a more efficient cost of owning the vehicle. And of course, you cannot top up more often and keep going now, but that only works if someone like Fyn takes a deep bet, saying listen, I will find you in my operations to work with a smaller battery.”
Adding scale to enhance efficiency
For fleets – utilisation is key. While the vehicle and network is ready to provide, FYN’s technology stack is key to extracting it. This is expected to help optimise operations & push the limits on cross-utilisation, “let’s assume it is 50,000 is for one shift, and we are able to do another seven, eight hours. So 10 hours we do 50,000 And another seven, eight hours we get another 35 40k Extra so our revenue goes to 90k right. So in that if I’m able to since I’m doing much much better utilization if I’m doing even a 5%-6% discount on the second shift. So, we are talking about if 1000 vehicles run on the ground we are talking about five six crores of profit as in savings for the customers for every 1000-vehicles, you can just do the basic math. This is the basic thought process with which we are taking a bigger bet on Exponent’s tech, so that we can run for 18 hours and the client can get the last mile cost reduced,” pointed out Sasikumar.
Commercial vehicles in India comprise about 10% of the vehicles, but consume nearly 70% of the energy on road. Energy for commercial vehicles in India is a $150 billion market. As a result both Fyn and Exponent Energy are looking to add scale to optimise value. “We have three cities live now. So, in next three months, we are adding three more cities. So, six cities by June So, overall, we plan to hit 10 cities by 2024. That is the next financial year end,” signed off Fyn Mobility’s Sasikumar.
The synergy is brought out absolutely as Vinayak too spelled out a similar expansion target for FY2024- “ I think we’re looking to do a few cities this year at Exponent, at least the top six cities. We’re now currently in Bengaluru, we have 20 locations live already and we’ve signed up another 10 this month. So by June you will see as to 100 Network points in Bangalore. Just to put that in context, Bangalore only has 450 petrol stations, right? If you count gas or CNG, it’s less than 50-60. What we plan to provide is the same refilling experience as filling up gas or for diesel.”
