TL;DR
- Open Energy opened the IndiaEV conference with a keynote, invited by Entrepreneur Magazine
- India’s battery swapping today is mostly manual, used for two- and three-wheelers
- There is a growing need for scalable robotic swap systems for fleet vehicles and four-wheelers
- Fast charging stresses the grid and faces slow permitting, making swap more practical
- Companies like Ola, Uber India, Amazon India, and Flipkart showed strong interest
- Tin sees this as a meaningful moment to accelerate India’s shift from pilot trials to real infrastructure
- After speaking at the Seoul Mobility Show, being invited to another flagship event felt like validation for the hard work of the Open Energy team
A Personal Note
Being back on stage again felt electric, no pun intended. Just a few months ago, I gave a keynote at the Seoul Mobility Show, one of Asia’s most influential automotive events. Now, standing in front of government leaders, OEMs, energy players, and fleet operators at IndiaEV, I felt both honored and energized.
India is not just a market. It is a story of scale, speed, and complexity. And that’s exactly where I believe Open Energy’s modular, robotic swap system can make the most impact.
The IndiaEV Experience
Open Energy had the privilege of opening the IndiaEV conference, organized by Entrepreneur Magazine. We were invited to set the tone for the entire event, something that means a lot when you’re building a future-facing product like ours.
As I walked through the booths and breakout sessions, one thing became clear: India is moving fast on EVs, but infrastructure isn’t keeping up. Charging stations are still limited. Swap systems are largely manual and unreliable. And yet, the energy in the room, the appetite for innovation, was undeniable.
Why Robotic Swap Is More Than a Luxury
In many countries, battery swap is still seen as experimental. In India, the need is already urgent.
- Manual swap systems are widely used for two- and three-wheelers, but they often fail under daily pressure.
- Stations built for four-wheelers or larger vehicles are practically non-existent.
- Public fast chargers are not only few and far between—they are tough on the grid and slow to deploy.
Open Energy’s robotic swap system can replace a battery in under three minutes. It handles alignment and locking with aerospace-grade precision. And it supports multiple standards so vehicle makers don’t need to build around a single format.
Interest from India’s Fleet and Delivery Giants
Companies like Ola, Uber India, Amazon India, and Flipkart are already running large EV fleets. But they face serious operational challenges:
- Charging downtime hurts productivity
- Manual swaps often misalign or break under pressure
- There is no existing infrastructure for automated, high-frequency swaps
After my talk, several fleet managers and vehicle OEMs came to discuss pilots. That alone made the trip worth it. They’re not just curious—they’re looking for a real system that works in Indian conditions, across diverse vehicles and environments.
A Glitchy Grid Shows the Limits of Fast Charging
The venue itself told a story. There were three blackouts during the event, all due to unstable grid conditions. This wasn’t a metaphor, it was a loud reminder that ultra-fast charging at scale might not be feasible in many Indian cities.
By contrast, our system:
- Operates on lower voltage
- Avoids the need for high-cost infrastructure
- Can be deployed faster, even in areas with complex permitting (in Italy, for instance, it takes over 12 months just to get approval for a public charger)
I believe India can leapfrog directly to swap in a similar way it leapfrogged to mobile payments.
Let’s Talk About Cost
Yes, India is price-sensitive. But that doesn’t mean it wants the cheapest product. It wants the most value. Manual swap might look cheaper upfront, but downtime, misalignments, and maintenance pile up quickly.
We’ve studied robotic swap deployments in China that now cost as little as 500,000 to 1 million USD per station. These are no longer science experiments. The cost curve is real, and India has the supply chain and talent to go even further.
Why This Moment Feels Important
This wasn’t just another tech talk. It felt like something shifted.
- Policy leaders asked how swap could relieve stress on public charging
- Vehicle OEMs saw our multi-standard interface as a pathway to adoption
- Fleet companies asked for rollout timelines, not just demos
For me personally, being on stage again, after Seoul, now Delhi, feels like we are building real momentum. This is not about hype. It’s about bringing something real to the people and companies who need it most.
What’s Next
After IndiaEV, Open Energy is planning:
- Pilot discussions with fleet and delivery platforms
- Dialogues with local manufacturers for hardware localization
- Collaborations with energy providers and policy groups
The future of mobility won’t be built by waiting. It will be built by teams willing to roll up their sleeves, build infrastructure where it’s hard, and make electric vehicles as seamless to refuel as topping off a gas tank.
That’s what we’re doing at Open Energy. And India just gave us a powerful reason to keep going.
