ARUN VINAYAK co-founded Exponent Energy — a fast-charging ecosystem for electric three-wheelers — during the pandemic in 2020, just when he was exiting the founding team at Ather Energy, the premium electric bike maker. “I realised my job at Ather was done. The products we built were ready to scale. I decided we need to double down on the energy problem statement. We realised commercial vehicles need this solution,” says Vinayak.
Exponent sells battery packs to OEMs that can be fast-charged in 15 minutes. “Our dollar per kilowatt hour pricing for battery packs is 10% more because we give rapid charging. But we put a 30% smaller battery. When you do that entire math, the sticker price comes down and we end up being a little cheaper,” says Vinayak.
The three-year-old start-up rolled out its first electric cargo three-wheeler by tying up with Altigreen last year. In April, it tied up with Omega Seiki Mobility to launch a passenger three-wheeler for ₹3.25 lakh. “With passenger vehicles, we are going to see a huge uptick in volumes,” says Vinayak. The start-up is looking to set up 40 charging stations in Delhi. It also plans to roll out batteries for electric buses this year.
“We are not just a battery supplier. We are an energy partner. We work with OEMs to create a demand ecosystem,” says Vinayak. Exponent says its charging stations top up 20-30 vehicles every day. “We charge ₹16 per unit to the end user while our cost of electricity is ₹6-7,” says Vinayak. It costs ₹5 lakh to set up a charging station, he adds. The TDK Ventures-backed start-up has raised $44 million so far. — Karan Dhar