Oakter for ElectricPe

ElectricPe is a leading electric mobility platform in India, founded by former Ola executives. The company aims to revolutionize the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure by providing a seamless and user-friendly experience to EV owners. Oakter is an up-and-coming ODM credited with the supply of millions of point-of-sale devices enabling UPI transactions for the PayTM brand.?

Over 1.7 million electric two wheelers have been sold across India till date. However, the country has only 12,156 dedicated charging stations, a major factor contributing to range anxiety amongst EV owners.?

Fast charging stations are few and far in between. Waiting for your turn to charge is a source of frustration, especially in the hot Indian summer.??

And a potential loss of income for those using the EV to earn money in the gig economy.?

Slow charging is a game changer in EV space. It lets owners charge overnight by connecting the EV to a 15A socket if a wire can be drawn from the power meter. ElectricPe spotted an opportunity to use this game-changing technology to massively increase the charging options with minimum costs.

And tasked Oakter to develop a device that would fit the bill. The device would have to be mass manufactured, outdoor safe and IP65 compliant, yet remain affordable, the brief which Oakter in turn passed on to us.??

Oakter knew they needed a partner that could work like an inhouse team, rolling with the changes that could come in the program at any stage. A partner who had developed outdoor devices before and knew how to engineer products for manufacturing at scale.?

Project Insights:?

While the device is meant to charge EVs using a 15A cable, it should also?

1. Withstand harsh conditions of the Indian summer, Monsoon and winter seasons.?
2. Allow only authorized users to charge via the app.?
3. And be economical to allow small businesses to purchase and deploy on their premises.?

• Withstand the SUN:?

The device will be mounted on empty wall space outside mom-and-pop stores which exist in every nook and cranny of Indian cities and towns. As such it should be made of UV resistant plastics which make it outdoor safe yet affordable.?

• Weatherproof It:?

EV owners can charge their EV by plugging their power cables into the 15A socket. Given this high level of current, it was important to ensure that the power socket is protected from dust and rain to avoid electrical hazards. We built details that protect the high current electrical from dust and rain making it IP65 compliant.

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• Make it Affordable:??

We value engineered the product to minimize the number of operations and consumables required per unit to drive the costs down. Sandwiching electrical between plastics is just one of the ways we drove the costs down to make the product affordable.?

• No fuss mounting:?

The product can be wall mounted by any workman. The user drills holes into the wall and fastens the guide rail against it. The device is then slid sideways on the rail and is held in place with a single fastener.?

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• Rolling with the Requirements:?

We engineered the product moving rapidly from the ID concept through DVT, PVT stages to enable Oakter to start supply under aggressive timelines. Oakter’s EV charger now occupies pride of place on ElectricPe’s online shop for chargers.?

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• Key Tasks Accomplished?
• Mechanical Engineering?

• IP65 compliance?

• Prototype Design?

• Materials Selection?

• Design for Manufacturing?

• Prototype Liaison?