Finnish clean energy giant Fortum’s Indian arm GLIDA launches largest public EV charging hub in Hyderabad – Times of India

HYDERABAD: EV charging infrastructure provider GLIDA, formerly known as Fortum Charge & Drive India, on Saturday rolled out its largest public EV charging hub nationwide in Hyderabad equipped with 102 charging points. GLIDA is a subsidiary of Finnish clean energy major Fortum.
The new public charging hub, which is located in the vicinity of the Hyderabad international airport over a nearly one-acre parcel of land, has the ability to charge 102 cars, LCVs or buses at any given point of time at a cost of Rs 13.55 to Rs 21 per unit of electricity consumed.
The hub has one 200KW ultrafast charger with six satellite dispensers, 28 dual gun DC chargers of 60KW CCS2, eight dual gun DC chargers of 30KW CCS2, 20 AC chargers of Type-2 7.4KW AC and two dual gun chargers of DC001.
The charging hub takes the total number of EV charging stations operated by GLIDA in Hyderabad to 49 with 187 charging points. The company now has around over 180 charging stations across 30 cities in 16 states with around 740 charging points.
Pointing out that Hyderabad has been a city of firsts for GLIDA, its executive director Awadhesh K Jha, said the company, which was then known as Fortum Charge & Drive India, had installed its first public EV charging station here in partnership with IOCL in the city on July 7, 2018.
From the business point of view also Jha said Hyderabad has been a frontrunner in the company’s plans as the number of four wheeled EVs has increased manifold, promising quicker returns for the EV charging infrastructure it has created. Besides, the state also has a proactive and favourable bureaucracy, he added.
While Jha refused to divulge the investment the company has pumped into the new hub, he said the costs range from around Rs 1-2 lakh for slow chargers up to Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore for the high capacity chargers.
Terming this as the decade of electric mobility not just for Telangana, special chief secretary of IT & industries Jayesh Ranjan said EVs can address various challenges that are unique to a rapidly growing country like India and lead to more sustainable living conditions by improving air quality.