PROJECT - LITHIUM

Company Profile

• Date of Incorp. : 20/10/2014• Address: No.158, 1st Floor,Seetaramapalya

Village, Mahadevapura, KR Puram Hobli, Bangalore – 560048

• Website: www.project-lithium.com

FOUNDER’s DETAILS• Name : Sanjay Krishnan and Ashwin Mahesh• Email : sanjay@project-lithium.com &

ashwin@project-lithium.com

Features The cabs have an inbuilt GPS system that cannot be tampered with by the driver, also there is a complete real time tracking of the cabs during the ride.• The electric taxis will be cloud-connected, sending more than 200 parameters including remaining charge,

location and unauthorised passengers to technology companies• The company's electric taxis will have tamper-proof GPS, undisclosed to the driver. • Also, since the cars will always be connected to the internet via wi-fi, the embedded software will be able

to alert clients about unauthorised riders or if a cab veers off course.• A mobile app will allow commuters to communicate with the driver without sharing their phone number. • All cars will also come with tamper-proof data tablets with a travel card swiping system to prevent

unauthorised passengers from using the service. The tablet will also act as the journey log for distance and payment information.

• To ensure safety, the company monitors all the all parameters related to the vehicle, trips and customers on a cloud network.

• The cabs have been fitted with GPS units, undisclosed to the drivers and panic buttons.• Other features include internet connection via WiFi, communication with commuters through app only

(without sharing mobile number) and alerts when the cab goes off-course.• The cab service is cloud operated, which means all parameters related to the vehicle, trips and customers

are monitored by the company on a cloud network. This ensures safety to a credible extent because the driver has no connection with the car, its operation, charging, maintenance, rides, booking, etc.

OPERATIONS• Under the current setup, each of the 50 Lithium cars operate

seven trips a day, running an average of 35 to 40 km. • They went from 10 cars to 100 cars in two months.• The company’s first customers in Bangalore are TESCO,

VMware and Total Environment.• Lithium aims to have 400 cars operating in the first year itself.

The company has also planned to expand to other cities along with having 2,000 all-electric cars operating nationwide in the next two years.

• An investment of about Rs 30 crore has been made in Lithium Urban Technologies.

Why B2B ?

• Sanjay says that when you look at a B2C model, you need to have a certain fleet size. “This meant we needed to have close to 200-300 charging stations, and close to 1000 cabs, which wasn’t viable,”

• Lack of Infrastructure• Lack of government support

PROBLEMS• Electric cars have struggled to become mainstream for two reasons: these cars

are more expensive than petrol and diesel vehicles, and require about three to five hours to recharge.

• The venture had to restrict itself to corporate service because of lack of infrastructure to charge the vehicles. "Demand for transportation is high and concentrated when it comes to workspaces. Also, companies are well organized in helping us with charging ports for our vehicles," he said.\

• Another problem is lack of charging points across the city. Even if I were to put up these points at some places, would Bescom provide power?" asks Krishnan.

• It is an opportune time for electric vehicles but the industry is not very enthused because of infrastructure issues… It is very difficult to register high speed vehicles. Financing them is also very difficult as banks are not willing to give loans for electric vehicles.

CHARGING• These vehicles will be charged using a MREV developed DC Fast charge

station to enable them to cover the required distance during their duty cycle.

• Do note that these DC quick charging stations will only be available inside corporate houses.Thus these stations will be off limits to the electric car community

• All e2o electric cars running in India cannot use these stations as they dont have the DC quick charge port.

• Charging stations equipped with fast-chargers – which completes a full charge in a hour – ensure that the car batteries are always prepared for a trip. Lithium has put in place 25 such stations.

• Lithium is also installing charging stations inside technology campuses.

PRICING

• It will own and operate its fleet, and charge companies monthly on a per-car basis, with no limits on the miles driven by each car.

• Lithium was born with the idea of negating both fuel costs and the degradation to the environment brought on by hydrocarbon cabs.

Screening Process• Lithium Urban Technologies owns all the vehicles and the drivers

are paid monthly salaries. • It has recruited 40 drivers and hiring is being taken up massively. • Background verifications, including visiting drivers' homes and

checking their antecedents. • Certified self-defence courses too.• Rigorous training, 5 day program on both theory and practical and

drivers are marked on their performance.• If they don’t qualify with the minimum marks, they are not hired.• The driver has no connection with the car, its operation, charging,

maintenance, rides, booking, etc

COST (Approx)

• Full Charge takes 5 hours• 5 hours charge consumes 12 units of electricity• 12 units will cost 60 bucks• Per km approx charge = 50 paise• 1 hour charge = 20% charge (25km) range from a

standard 220V 15 A socket• 100 km per day will cost 60 bucks

FACTS• India as a country has the maximum difference between the pricing of

hydrocarbon and electricity. Therefore, India as a starting ground for such an idea is great.

• "This idea has potential to save (clients) 1-2 crore every year on an operating basis, basing his estimate on companies that run a fleet of about 100 Indicas clocking about 4,000 km a month each.

• “Forty per cent of IT and ITES companies in Bengaluru depend on office vehicles to move employees from home to office and back. Since many employees work on flexi-time schedules, public transport with no last-mile connectivity is not an option.”

• If I transport 1,000 people a day, then I clock 10 million km a year. This saves me 2.5 to 3 tonnes of carbon footprint per person per year. This cuts fuel costs by a huge margin.“

• Quoting a McKinsey report, he said urbanites set aside 20% of their expenditure for office commuting.