Under the partnership, the companies will establish fast-charging and battery swapping facilities at selected HPCL retail outlets, starting with key freight corridors before expanding nationwide. Initial locations will cover the Mumbai–Pune, Delhi–Jaipur and Chennai–Bangalore freight corridors over the next 18 to 24 months. Further expansion is planned thereafter.
It is not clear which sites will offer DC charging and which battery-swapping. According to EIM, the latter allows drivers to exchange a depleted battery for a fully charged one in around seven minutes. EIM has already commissioned six heavy-duty battery swapping stations in the Delhi National Capital Region and at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) area near Mumbai.
Under the agreement, EIM will own and operate the battery inventory as well as the charging and battery swapping hardware, while HPCL will provide the locations, power supply, utilities and shared facilities at its retail outlets. All charging stations will be integrated into EIM’s digital platform, enabling real-time charger availability, digital payment services and remote monitoring.
HPCL operates more than 25,000 retail outlets across India, including locations along major highways and expressways. The partners highlight that HPCL’s forecourts already offer many of the requirements for commercial vehicle charging, including existing grid connections, dedicated forecourt space, safety systems and 24-hour staffing. They argue that using existing retail infrastructure will help address two of the main challenges for electric freight transport: reliable charging availability and confidence in long-distance operations.
