• Opportunities
• StartUps

In 2007, two boys watched An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore’s documentary on climate change—and a green button went on in them. These Auroville born and bred boys, Akash Heimlich and Auro Sukrit, now spend their days and nights in a garage workshop, working with batteries, controllers and spare parts. In sync with Auroville’s utopian, idealistic way of life, these two biker boys set up Electric Vehicle Future (EV Future) in September 2007, a company that creates eco-friendly vehicles.

During the 1980s, electric vehicles had made a small entry into the eco-town of Auroville. That particular model, however, had no speed control and hence never quite took off. “We saw those bikes rusting away and decided to do something to rev up the technology,” says Heimlich. Auroville’s eco-race in April 2007 showcased electric cycles and the likes, generating a lot of interest among people—most importantly, in Heimlich and Sukrit.

It didn’t take long for Heimlich and Sukrit to get together and start testing such technology. Within a month of starting out, they had imported 30 motors from China, which cost them Rs. 3 lakh. In a span of two years, EV Future developed 15 prototypes of electric bikes. It is currently looking for a partner company to license its technology.

“A year ago, Auroville saw a boom in electric vehicles. However, everything remained the same [since then],” claims Heimlich. What was needed, adds Sukrit, was an electric vehicle that was robust, economical and could easily adapt to different kinds of roads. EV Future’s motorbikes, although still in the prototype phase, have already hit Auroville’s roads. Priced at Rs. 50,000, they have a top speed of 60 kmph and a mileage of 35 km per charge. “We are trying to bring the cost down to Rs. 35,000,” says Sukrit.

Its 40 models of electric bicycles currently fall in the range of Rs. 16,000 to Rs. 40,000 and are custom-made as per individual needs. About a half of these are rented out, and the rest bought by the Auroville folk. “Our high-end cycles, which use lithium batteries, can run at 40 kmph with a mileage of 35 km per charge,” says Sukrit. He adds that for a small town like Auroville, where you don’t have to commute over long distances, such cycles allow people to exercise without having to spend much time in the heat.

But what sets these electric chariots apart? Well, to begin with, Heimlich and Sukrit point out that most of the electric scooters available today are mass-produced in China, imported, and assembled in India. “For Rs 14,000, you can get a knocked down version of the vehicle that can be easily assembled anywhere in India,” says Heimlich. However, these boys are working on the futuristic side of the thin line between manufacturing and assembling. They design the frames of the vehicles in-house, and have created bikes and cycles that have power adequate for two people: 850 watts with a peak power of 2,000 watts.

Through its website, EV Future also sells ready-to-assemble cycle kits that comprise a motor, a controller, an accelerator, a battery and a charger. “These kits are so easy to use that we can explain the process to anyone on the phone itself,” says Heimlich.

Integral to their potential success is the simplicity of their technology. But more importantly, Heimlich and Sukrit feel their technology has built a platform for others to explore renewable energy in the eco-town of Auroville. “Our solar charging station can be used to charge multiple devices,” says Heimlich. So if Chris Paine documented the fall of the electric vehicle in his movie Who Killed the Electric Car?, these biker boys just might be rewriting the script with EV Future.

SET UP AN EV BUSINESS
• Research, research, research, research and then research some more.
• Ask existing scooter users what is most important to them – mileage, speed, etc.
• Identify the criteria for your ideal vehicle.
• Compare products on the web to find the right manufacturer.
• Contact them and find out more about  the vehicle.
• If you want to take on servicing, take a course with them or send your mechanic.
• Identify the failure areas.
• Find out if spares are easily available and what the battery life is compared to other vehicles.
• Get a showroom.

©Entrepreneur January 2010

Tags:
Akash Heimlich, Auro Sukrit, electric, Electric Vehicle Future, EV Future, vehicle