Ather Energy offers proprietary fast-charging connector to other EV makers

Business Standard Ather Energy offers proprietary fast-charging connector to other EV makers

Electric scooter maker Ather Energy on Tuesday said it will offer its proprietary fastcharging connector to other EV two-wheeler manufacturers as well for faster adoption of these vehicles.

This will pave the way for an interoperable two-wheeler fast charging platform in the country, it said.

The move would also help in reducing range anxiety by allowing all scooters to access Ather Energy's over 200 fast chargers.

At the same time, it will allow more original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to build products on a common standard, thereby, lowering infrastructure investments, the company said in a release.

Designed by Ather, the connector has a combo AC and DC charging with the same connector. Its size has been designed to be suitable for integration into two-wheelers and three-wheelers with the ability of CAN 2.0 communication with control and proximity pilot, as per the company.

Moreover, the proprietary connector has been designed for production at low costs, which allows it to be used in mass segment vehicles, Ather said.

Ather Energy has invested in building a fast-charging network, Ather Grid, and has been providing normal speed charge options to all electric two-wheelers and four-wheelers free of cost.

A robust charging infrastructure is one of the major drivers in accelerating faster adoption of electric two-wheelers, it said, adding that in order to maximise usage and efficiency of charging infrastructure, there needs to be common connectors that can be used across products, the Bengalurubased EV maker said.

According to Ather Energy, while there are global standards for electric four-wheelers like the CHADEMO, CCS, among others, there are no connector standards available customised for twowheeler fast charging, except in China.

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