IIT Delhi-incubated Creatara Mobility plans to make "world's safest" electric scooter
An electric vehicle start-up incubated by the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi is doing deep research on making safer electric two-wheelers, which the company plans to roll out once their testing is complete.
"Anyone can glue together some plastics parts, call it EV and sell. But the real work is about making safer electric vehicles that can adapt to Indian driving conditions and be reliable," said Vikas Gupta, who co-founded Creatara Mobility Pvt Ltd with Ringlarei Pamei in 2018. Both are alumnus of IIT-Delhi.
Creatara Mobility is making next-generation electric vehicles, which are safer and reliable, the entrepreneur said. "Our goal is to make the world's safest electric two-wheeler," said Mr Gupta, who is using IIT-Delhi's facility called CART Lab to run tests on prototypes. The incubation facility, known as FITT, is also supported by the government's Department of Science and Technology.
Mr Gupta said Creatara Mobility provides multiple failsafe mechanisms, from cell to pack level. "Whatever cells we are using, we are testing them in-house. We have our own standards for grading parameters and sorting, which we developed in-house," he said.
His company won the Altair Start-up Challenge in April this year for their innovative work on structural components and major systems during early product design and development phases. Altair gave the award to Creatara Mobility in collaboration with ARAI, Confederation of Indian Industry, and the government's "Start-up India" programme for being one of the most innovative and promising EV start-ups.
The Creatara Mobility team. The startup is now backed by two angel investors, Soonicorn and NK Securities, for an undisclosed amount
Creatara has also been awarded a grant of Rs 64 lakh by automotive components and systems firm Sona Comstar under the SCIDIP, or Sona-Comstar-IIT Delhi Innovation Programme. The start-up is now backed by two angel investors, Soonicorn and NK Securities, for an undisclosed amount.
Expected to be launched at the next Auto Expo, Creatara Mobility's scooter is likely to enter the Automotive Research Association of India, or ARAI, certification stage soon. "We plan to launch and sell the scooter in Delhi and the National Capital Region initially," Mr Gupta said.
Calls for safer batteries for electric scooters have been rising following frequent incidents of EVs, or electric vehicles, catching fire across the country, with electric scooter makers of all kinds mushrooming suddenly.
Automotive safety experts have raised concerns over the kinds of batteries they are using as they churn out mini two-wheeler EVs at a fast rate. The government has also taken note of the incidents. In March, it had ordered an investigation after an Ola electric scooter caught fire in Pune.