JUNE 20249TOP STORIESMARUTI SUZUKI ALLOCATES RS.450 CRORES FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY INITIATIVESMaruti Suzuki India has announced plans to invest Rs 450 crore in renewable energy initiatives, including solar power and biogas, over the next three years, starting from the current fiscal year. This investment aims to enhance the company's environmental sustainability efforts and make its operations greener. In the fiscal year 2023-24, Maruti Suzuki invested Rs 120.8 crore in renewable energy projects.As part of its renewable energy strategy, Maruti Suzuki has commenced production at its biogas plant located at its Manesar facility. This plant utilizes in-house food waste and Napier grass to generate biogas, aligning with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy's `Waste to Energy' program. The insights gained from this pilot project will be applied to the company's future manufacturing facilities.Maruti Suzuki aims to double its production capacity to four million units by 2031. This expansion includes two new greenfield manufacturing sites in Kharkhoda, Haryana, and Gujarat. The pilot biogas plant at Manesar is designed to produce 0.2 tons of biogas daily, with an expected output of approximately 1 lac standard cubic meters in 2024-25. This production will offset around 190 tonnes of CO2 per year. The plant employs principles of circularity by using food waste from canteens and Napier grass as raw materials, providing energy for manufacturing processes at the Manesar facility. Additionally, the residual organic manure from the biogas production will be used in horticulture, creating a zero-discharge model. SUN MOBILITY & INDIAN OIL PARTNER TO IMPROVE EV BATTERY ACCESSIBILITYSUN Mobility announced a strategic collaboration and joint venture with Indian Oil on Wednesday to establish and deploy a battery-swapping infrastructure network by 2030. The joint venture aims to scale up to 10,000 battery swapping stations across more than 40 cities within the next three years, facilitating the adoption of electric mobility for two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and small four-wheelers through a 'Battery as a Service' (BaaS) mobility solution, according to the company's statement.This partnership leverages Indian Oil's extensive network of over 37,000 fuel stations nationwide, integrating it with SUN Mobility's advanced battery-swapping technology. The objective is to make battery swapping as accessible as conventional fuel stations, enhancing the electric vehicle (EV) experience for customers by offering BaaS. This solution addresses concerns related to battery cost, maintenance, replacement, and charging time, making EV adoption more seamless and convenient.SUN Mobility currently supports more than 25,000 electric vehicles across 20 cities in India, utilizing over 630 stations and 50,000+ smart batteries, which collectively clock over a million swaps per month. These services cater to a variety of two-wheeler and three-wheeler customers, according to the statement."We have created the world's leading open architecture platform for battery swapping that seamlessly supports various electric vehicle form factors across multiple OEMs and are deploying globally in partnership with the world's leading energy companies," said Chetan Maini, Co-Founder and Chairman of SUN Mobility.
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