ChargeZone®, India’s largest electric vehicle (EV) charging network with over 13,500 charging points, has announced the launch of Project E-DHARA (Electrifying and Decarbonizing Highways through Accelerated Renewable Adoption). This groundbreaking initiative aims to transition ChargeZone’s nationwide EV charging infrastructure to 100% renewable energy.
The project will begin in 2025 with the commissioning of India’s first renewable-powered charging hub in Dahej, Gujarat. It marks a significant step in ChargeZone’s mission to decarbonize India’s mobility infrastructure and create a sustainable highway ecosystem powered entirely by clean energy.
The need for Project E-DHARA arises from one of the most pressing issues in the electric mobility sector: India’s reliance on fossil-fuel-based electricity. While EV adoption is growing rapidly, about 75% of India’s power generation still comes from coal and other nonrenewable sources, which limits the full environmental benefits of electric vehicles. Project E-DHARA addresses this challenge by integrating solar energy generation, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and cutting-edge high-speed charging hubs to ensure that both the vehicles and the energy powering them are completely sustainable.
The first hub under Project E-DHARA will be located in Dahej, where ChargeZone will deploy a 1-megawatt (MW) solar plant along with a 5-megawatt-hour (MWh) battery storage system. Designed to operate primarily off-grid, the hub will rely on the conventional power grid only when necessary to ensure energy security. This site will serve as the model for ChargeZone’s national rollout plan, which aims to establish 100 renewable-powered charging hubs along key highways by next year.
Kartikey Hariyani, founder and CEO of ChargeZone, emphasized the significance of this initiative, stating, “Project E-DHARA represents a pivotal moment in India’s clean energy journey. Electric vehicles have already transformed mobility by eliminating tailpipe emissions, but true decarbonization can only be achieved when the energy that powers them is entirely renewable. Through this initiative, ChargeZone is creating an integrated ecosystem that brings together solar generation, advanced battery storage, and high-speed charging infrastructure to enable a 100% clean-energy highway network. This is more than a technological shift; it’s a national energy transition positioning India at the forefront of sustainable mobility. We remain committed to building infrastructure that is future-ready, resilient, and aligned with the country’s long-term net-zero vision.”
Project E-DHARA combines solar power, battery storage, and high-speed charging infrastructure into a unified renewable ecosystem that supports both passenger electric vehicles and electric freight trucks. With plans to operationalize 100 renewable-powered charging hubs by next year, most of which will be off-grid, ChargeZone is setting a new benchmark for sustainable highway infrastructure and reinforcing its commitment to a fully decarbonized EV ecosystem across India.
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