EV Startup RACEnergy Raises Funds For Its Battery Swapping Tech

Deeptech battery swap startup RACEnergy has raised $3 Mn in a Pre Series A, debt and equity round led by growX ventures. The round also saw participation from Micelio Mobility, Huddle, and angel investors. 

With the fresh capital, RACEnergy wants to focus on developing its battery-swapping technology and building new facilities to support its growing operations.

Moreover, this capital will enable the startup’s expansion to new markets and further develop its swapping technology for two-and-three wheelers, Arun Sreyas, cofounder of RACEnergy, said. The funding will also help scale its operations with a new facility in the pipeline, he added.

Founded in 2019 by BITS Pilani alumni Arun Sreyas and Gautham Maheswaran, RACEnergy offers battery-swapping technology for electric two and three-wheelers. The EV solutions provider is expanding its network of battery-swapping stations in the country through its strategic national and state-level partnerships, including HPCL and Hala Mobility.

RACEnergy raised a seed round of $1.3 Mn led by Micelio Fund and growX ventures along with investments from Huddle, Prophetic Ventures among others in 2021. The startup has raised $6 Mn funding so far.

RACEnergy aims to address electric mobility challenges such as the high cost of vehicles, long-charging times, and range anxiety. It claims to have completed 3 Mn green kilometres, enabling 500 swaps on its network daily.

Battery swapping is gradually receiving more demand in the EV sector, particularly in the logistics and last-mile delivery use cases. In this segment, RACEnergy competes with the likes of Esmito and Chargeup among others. 

Earlier this year, Rapido reportedly joined hands with battery swapping and tech startup RACEnergy to deploy e-autos with battery-swapping technology in Hyderabad. These will be in service by the end of the calendar year 2023.

RACEnergy recently announced that it cleared the Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 156 Phase 2 certification for its swappable batteries. The tests were completed at the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).

The funding comes at a time when the Indian government’s draft battery swapping policy for EVs, which was introduced last year, is being redrafted, as the industry has raised concerns over the proposed mandates for the interoperability of batteries.