Fortum Charge & Drive India commissions 50 points public EV-charging hub in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: In line with its vision to make Electric Vehicle charging accessible to all EV (Electric Vehicle) users to enable mass adoption of EVs in India, Fortum Charge & Drive India has commissioned a public EV-charging hub with 50 Charging Points at the Forum Neighbourhood Mall in Bengaluru. The charging hub will cater to all types of electric cars as well as compatible 3W & 2W. The facility has 10 (ten) 60KW CCS charging points, 4(four) 15 KW DC001 charging points, and 36 (thirty-six) 7.4KW Type-2 AC charging points which allow 50 cars to be charged at one point in time.

The facility offers greater convenience to EV owners who can enjoy their time at Neighbourhood Mall while their vehicles get charged. An EV user can locate EV-charging installations through the Fortum Charge & Drive India mobile app and use the app for charging their EV and paying digitally for it. The app is available on both Android & iOS platforms.

Shree Arvind Limbavali, MLA from the Mahadevapura Constituency, inaugurated the hub and addressed media personnel present on the occasion along with the spokesperson from Fortum Charge & Drive India. Delivering the inaugural address, Shree Arvind Limbavali said, The city of Bengaluru has over 45,000 electric vehicle users, indicating that the demand for EVs (ELECTRIC Vehicles) are increasing. Consumer behaviour is likely to be affected by the rising operating costs of ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) automobiles. Karnataka is unquestionably one of the states in the country that is paving the way for electric mobility. The charging station set up by Fortum Charge & Drive India will undoubtedly benefit EV drivers in the city, and I believe it will be the first of many such public EV charging stations to be built in the coming years."

Speaking on the inauguration, Mr Awadhesh Jha, Executive Director, Fortum Charge & Drive India, said, “We started our journey in India in 2017 with operations in Hyderabad and subsequently expanded to other cities. Bengaluru has always been one of our key focus cities. We plan to install more than 200 charging points in the city by the end of 2022. The charging hub at Forum Neighbourhood Mall is the major milestone in Bengaluru in its journey towards electrifying its mobility and ushering into sustainable transportation.”

Mr. Anant Patil, Center Head, Forum Neighbourhood Mall, said “At Nexus Malls we are focused on working towards mainstreaming Environmental, Social, and Governance aspects into our Business Model. By entering a long-term partnership with Fortum Charge & Drive India and creating this facility just depicts our commitment towards a sustainable future.”

Forum Neighbourhood Mall serves as an example of how public places can be used for EV-charging installations. Fortum Charge & Drive India is expanding the public charging network in the country. Fortum has installed a base of  188 public charging points –across 8 states & 13 cities and growing which are accessible to any EV user.