New Delhi: The Centre has tasked Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) with manufacturing 360 kW fast chargers for long-haul and large commercial electric vehicles, according to the company’s FY26 annual report.
These would be the first completely indigenous fast chargers to be developed as part of India's efforts to build a local ecosystem under the Electric Vehicles Sub-systems flagship programme of the ministry of electronics and information technology.
State-owned BHEL already manufactures 60 kW and 122 kW chargers, which are used by large cars and sports utility vehicles. Higher capacity chargers—over 240 kW—are preferred to rapidly charge electric trucks and buses, the company noted in its annual report, filed with the stock exchanges on 10 July.
Fast charging and high-capacity chargers are crucial for electric trucks and buses in India as these vehicles cost at least twice as much as their diesel counterparts and need to run with minimum downtime. Without an extensive network of fast chargers on major freight corridors, it may not be viable to operate electric heavy commercial vehicles.
BHEL has previously supplied and installed EV charging stations on highways. These stations were equipped with 15 kW Bharat DC chargers and 3.3 kW AC chargers—lower in capacity than the 240-360 kW chargers required for intercity electric buses today, according to a ministry of heavy industries parliamentary reply dated 2 April 2024 and BHEL tender documents.
The company’s work on chargers for e-buses and e-trucks comes as India’s EV policy shifts gears towards supporting the rollout of non-fossil-fuel vehicles amid energy security concerns over high crude oil imports and the environmental impact of carbon and greenhouse gas emissions.
Government incentive schemes aimed at increasing the adoption of electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers and cars have either lapsed or are in their final stages. The ministry of heavy industries said in April that it is working on a new scheme to increase access to finance for businesses that want to procure electric trucks and buses.
Rival manufacturers
With work on an indigenous 360 kW fast charger commencing, BHEL enters a competitive market dominated by Indian companies Servotech and Exicom as well as global rivals Zurich-based ABB and the Indian arm of Taiwanese manufacturer Delta Electronics.
ABB India has its manufacturing facility in Nelamangala near Bengaluru, while Delta Electronics makes its chargers in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu. Exicom has a manufacturing facility in Hyderabad and another in Gurugram, while Servotech makes its chargers in Sonipat, Haryana.
"Heavy vehicles are the clearest example (of 360 kW charger use-cases). An electric bus or a commercial truck carries a battery big enough to genuinely use this power, and for those operators every minute at the plug carries a cost,” Anant Nahata, managing director and CEO of Exicom, said in a written response to Mint's query. “The same logic applies to high-traffic sites such as highway corridors, fleet and bus depots, and public hubs busy enough to see several vehicles arrive together."
According to Nahata, high-power charging is becoming more relevant every year because battery packs are getting larger and their ability to accept power safely is rising alongside. He added that most passenger cars today require 180-240 kW capacity chargers, but cars that can draw 360 kW will soon enter the market.
Mint's queries emailed to the ministries of heavy industries and electronics and IT, BHEL, ABB India, and Delta Electronics on 15 July remained unanswered.
Diversification path
Experts said the development puts BHEL firmly on the path of diversification. The company has been in the engineering, procurement and construction business, manufacturing boilers and turbines and setting up power plants.
“By working on a fully indigenous high-capacity EV charger, BHEL is deepening its diversification," said Reji Kumar Pillai, president of the India Smart Grid Forum, a power ministry-backed think tank.
Successfully developing an indigenous 360 kW charger would make BHEL the first Indian company to do so. However, component-related challenges prevail, since specialized semiconductors, converters and other parts are not made in India.
Arun Handa, chief technology officer at Servotech Renewable Power System Ltd, said the company's DC fast chargers are 80% localized. “However, certain critical technologies, including high-power IGBT and SiC semiconductor dies, advanced semiconductor packaging, specialized PLC communication chipsets, high-frequency magnetic materials, and select automotive-grade electronic components, are still sourced globally. These components depend on highly specialized semiconductor and advanced electronics manufacturing ecosystems that are still evolving in India,” he said.
Handa also said fast chargers are increasingly augmenting new features. “One feature I believe adds tremendous value is dynamic power sharing. Instead of allocating a fixed amount of power to each charging outlet, the charger intelligently distributes available power among multiple charging guns based on the charging requirements of connected vehicles,” he added.
A DC fast charger of 360 kW capacity can charge a 360-kWh capacity EV battery in one hour.
An EV charging unit has two main parts – the behind-the-meter infrastructure that brings power from the grid and ensures it is operational and the supply equipment, the body of the charger that contains a charging gun to be plugged into the vehicle.