First-of-its-kind battery powered EV charging station to come up near Bengaluru airport 

In a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country, Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) will now make use of second-life batteries (batteries which will be used for different applications after their initial life cycle is over) of vehicles to store solar energy which can power an Electric Vehicle (EV) charging station. 

In a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country, Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) will now make use of second-life batteries (batteries which will be used for different applications after their initial life cycle is over) of vehicles to store solar energy which can power an Electric Vehicle (EV) charging station. 

In coordination with GIZ and Nunam, German-based companies, a pilot project is being set up around 1.5 km away from Kempegowda International Airport in Devanahalli. While the companies will be investing in the rooftop solar system and batteries, Bescom will provide all other infrastructure necessary.  

“We have a 220 kV Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL) station near the airport where we will set up the station. Twenty-four vehicles can be charged in the EV station at once,” said a senior official from Bescom. 

The EV charging station will have a rooftop solar installation, which will power the station during solar hours. “There will be two stacks of batteries (each stack will have 18 batteries) with a total capacity of 45 kVA in which excess solar energy will be stored. This energy will be used to power the station during non-solar hours.“  

While solar-powered EV stations have been set up before, second-life batteries have never been used to store energy and supply it to the station, according to the Bescom official. 

The project is expected to be completed in another 15 to 20 days. “Around 80% of the work is already completed and it will soon be open for public use,” the official said. Depending on how the project works out and the response, Bescom will decide about replicating it in other places.  

The Energy Department had recently announced that Karnataka has the highest number (5,765) of public EV charging stations in the country ahead of States like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi. Out of these, 4,462 stations are in Bengaluru Urban district.