Outside Chatrapur Municipal Office in Odisha is a shed that houses ten brand new e-bikes waiting to be inaugurated. The e-bike is called Infinity Rider, a product of Odisha-based start-up Estinno Energy who partnered with the district administration. This mean machine can run for 30 to 40 km on a single charge and is lightweight too. To ride it doesn't require a license or registration and serves all age groups. The project will be inaugurated when the lockdown lifts and things settle, but there is no denying the fact that though it is a small step for Estinno Energy, it is a giant leap for e-bikes. As part of the Adarsha Chatrapur project, the municipality of Chatrapur is attempting to beautify the place and enable it technology-wise. Under this, the pilot project was implemented.
Founder of Estinno Energy, Mrityunjay Sharma, has been working with the Government of Odisha with regards to street lights for a long time now. Because of voltage fluctuation in rural areas, which can go as low as 80 to 90 volts, there are no chances of electrical appliances working functioning properly. However, Estinno's solar street lights can operate even on low voltage, though understandably, the brightness might take a hit. Then, there is the problem of the lights getting stolen, which they immediately combated with an in-built CCTV camera. "Per month, we provide about 4,000 street lights to the government alone and recently, they dispatched a batch to the Northeast as well," says Mrityunjay. On one occasion, the entrepreneur approached the office of Siddharth Shankar Swain, Project Director at the District Rural Development Agency, to discuss street lights. But, "Then we got talking about e-bikes and he saw some pictures of a model on my laptop and asked me to give him a plan in a few days," narrates Mrityunjay. In December 2019, he submitted the plan which was accepted, but soon after, the Coronavirus ordeal began and the inauguration was pushed to a later date.
Talking about the e-bikes, the 25-year-old NIT Rourkela alumnus says, "Because e-bikes are still a novel concept, people don't want to buy it immediately and these kinds of pilot projects help them experiment with one." They also have a rent-mode and a GPS-enabled tracking system that they've built into the e-bikes. "Basically, it can act as a Zoom Car for e-bikes, if you wish," he simplifies. And how has the response been to the Infinity Rider, which they first exhibited in Noida at the Renewable Energy India Expo 2019 We are told that a lot of people stopped by to check out the smart bike and many made inquiries and asked for his number. The collector Vijay Amruta Kulange has also used it on more than one occasion.
Getting to know the Infinity Rider
- It will only add about Rs 80 to your electricity bill
- It costs Rs 21,000 (EXW Price)
- It takes 3 hours to charge in normal mode and one hour in fast mode
- It comes in four matte colours and five model variations
For more on them, check out estinnoenergy.com
