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Magenta Power with its motto ‘Democratising power generation….1KW at a time’ aims at promoting affordable renewable energy solutions and ideas across the country. Maxson Lewis, Managing Director, Magenta Power, spoke to BE’s Ankit Singh.

Q. Tell us about your business model? What are you addressing?

A. Magenta Power is into the business of clean energy solutions, which includes the elements of clean energy generation, adoption, and utilisation. We have distributed these in three business arms namely Magenta rooftop power solutions, EV charging under the ChargeGrid brand and Energy Infomatics. Under EV charging, we have made a charger which is universal for 2W, 3W & 4W electronic vehicles (EVs). It can also be integrated with solar power for charging. Our ChargeGrid app helps the user to find EV chargers closest to him, to book the charger, use it and pay for it online.

Q. What have been your major collaborations and projects?

A. Given the pioneering work we have been doing in the clean energy space, we have technology collaborations with most of the dominant EV OEMs in India. We also have collaborations with multinational corporates in the core power sector. This is a growing ecosystem and we are aware that we need the support and backing of many entities to make this ecosystem a reality. Fortunately, we have got immense support from our partners and collaborators.

Q. What do you aim to achieve through your business ventures? Tell us about your expansion plans for the FY20.

A. We aim at developing an ecosystem favourable for adoption of clean energy especially in the EV charging space. We want to spread awareness of adopting clean energy solutions marking global presence of Magenta Power in the coming years. Talking about our expansion plans, we are currently present at 53 locations in India and we are inclined to cover the whole of India. We are investing in a research and development (R&D) centre which will go online in January, 2020. We will also launch our international presence in 2020 which will be a key part of our growth strategy and expansion plans.

Q. How does technology influence the brands and business of Magenta Power?

A. We believe that large-scale adoption of clean energy in India requires a disruption which is only possible through technology and innovation. Hence from the inception, we have conceptualised Magenta Power as a technology driven company. This is evident from the solutions that we have developed in EV charging and energy management. Even in a so called commoditised rooftop solar space, we have infused R&D and engineering solutions which allow maximising output from limited rooftop areas.

Q. Could you please tell us about the company's EV charging infrastructure and its first charging station?

A. We spent almost the year of 2017-18 to understand the Indian and international EV market and the EV charging requirements. We travelled across Indian states to see how the adoption of EVs will face bottlenecks and the solutions required across market segments.

We decided to launch our EV charging infrastructure services in 2018. On June 13, 2018, we set up our first charging station which was also India’s first solar based EV charging station. On August 13, 2018, we set up India’s first EV highway with a relay of charging stations on the Mumbai-Pune highway. We launched the ChargeGrid – India’s first Integrated EV charging app in Sept 2018 and India’s first EV billing meter in Oct 2018. Early in 2019, we developed and launched the universal AC charger built specifically for India. Last month, we also supported India’s first housing society with solar based EV charging.