4.3 million electric cars were sold in the first half of last year, up 62% over the same period the previous year, according to research company EV-Volumes.
However, a deeptech startup from India named Chara drew attention to the fact that the motor technologies used in modern EVs were developed about a century ago. As a result, the company saw an opportunity to create a vehicle that was simpler, smarter, more efficient, and easier to construct in the long run.
Chara has been developing hardware and software that manufacturers may utilise to create rare earth-free motor technology such as switching reluctance motors, and an electric motor type without magnets.
The plan would be helpful for residential appliances, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, in addition to EVs.
Chara has received US $4.75 million in a pre-series to further its technology. An investment round that Exfinity Ventures Partners lead. Local battery company Log9 Materials, Ciee.co, Kalaari Capital, and Big Capital, the venture arm of Vietnamese giant Bitexco, also took part in the round.
“2023 is going to be a year of realizing our electric dreams,” the firm’s founder and CEO Bhaktha Keshavachar said.
The company has so far created motors for light commercial vehicles with two, three, and four wheels in addition to additional use cases that are anticipated to enter production later this year.
In addition to employing drive control code as the motor controller’s brain, Chara’s devices also do without magnets, whose manufacturing is primarily reliant on components from China and other nations.
“We are attracted to Chara as it focuses on rare earth-free electric motors that are safer for the planet, more cost-efficient, and offers better efficiency compared to the legacy solutions,” said Big Capital’s chief financial officer, Preetinder Singh Panjrath.
With the help of Ravi Prasad Sharma, Mahalingam Koushik, and an Indian Institute of Science funding, Keshavachar created Chara. In 2021, Chara received $850,000 in startup investment from Ciee.co and Kalaari Capital.
