LUMS Spin-off, Neubolt Energy Services & Euro Oil Collaborate for ‘Battery-Swapping Station’ for Rikshaws
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As climate change continues to affect the global community, sustainable and eco-friendly practices are becoming increasingly important. Neubolt Energy Services, a LUMS spin-off and Euro Oil, an oil marketing company in Pakistan, signed an MoU to collaborate on a ‘Battery-Swapping Station’ for 3-wheeler rickshaws. The battery-swapping station will provide electric rickshaws with a convenient and efficient way to quickly swap their depleted batteries for fully charged ones, eliminating the long wait time.
The world is moving towards electrified forms of transportation, and this swapping technology will facilitate the growth of the EV industry, particularly public transportation. To convert 25% of the 1 million registered three-wheelers in Pakistan by 2030, Neubolt plans to reduce the country’s carbon emissions to 80% of the current counterpart in Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles and reduce the import of petroleum products. A typical fuel-based vehicle releases 121g CO2/km whereas, an electric vehicle generates 19g CO2/km into the atmosphere. Furthermore, the running cost of an electric 3-wheeler is 1/3 of an ICE-based vehicle.
The MoU signing ceremony was attended by Dr. Naveed Arshad, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer, NueBolt; Nauman Ahmad Zaffar, member of the management team of NeuBolt and Director, National Incubation Centre Lahore, LUMS and representatives from Euro Oil including Sheikh Ata Ur Rehman, SGM and Sohail Ahmed, COO.
“Electric Vehicles are inherently efficient and with this advantage, we are offering a business model of mobility as a service for lower income groups,” noted Dr. Naveed Arshad who is also Associate Professor and Director of the National Center in Big Data and Cloud Computing (NCBC) at LUMS. He is the founder of Energy Informatics Group (EIG) and Co-Director of the LUMS Energy Institute.
NeuBolt Energy Services is a technology-driven electric mobility platform that has developed a network of battery-swapping stations to revolutionise urban mobility in Pakistan. It was founded by Dr. Arshad in 2019 and officially launched in October 2020. It is headquartered in Lahore and is currently in its Pilot Phase with over 50 vehicles currently operational across Lahore and 3 swap station kiosks fully functional. During the first three years, NeuBolt plans to roll out 6000, 12000, and 24000 swappable battery-based 3-wheelers respectively. NeuBolt’s aim is to incentivise EV adoption to accelerate the decarbonisation of the transportation sector in Pakistan. With over 200,000 jobs converted into green jobs and thousands of new green jobs created, NeuBolt plans to reduce the carbon footprint by 80% of the current counterpart in ICE vehicles.
This development marks an exciting milestone for Pakistan; the transportation and energy sectors, as Euro Oil and Neubolt, team up to create a greener future. The joint initiative sets a positive precedent for sustainable practices and encourages other companies to prioritise green energy.
