GreenCell, SCB ink green financing deal for Surat E-Mobility project

Electric mobility player GreenCell Mobility on Thursday said it has signed a green financing deal with Standard Chartered Bank for its Rs 125-crore Surat E-Mobility project.

Surat E-Mobility project consists of 150 electric buses in Gujarat and aims to reduce 1 lakh tonne of CO2 emissions over the project lifetime, the company said in a statement.

"GreenCell has availed green loan by the leading global bank, Standard Chartered Bank, in a significant move to step up our efforts towards transforming India's electric transportation landscape.

"The green financing secured for our project will not only boost our operations but also reaffirm our leadership in the e-mobility sector in India," GreenCell Mobility CEO and Managing Director Devndra Chawla said.

The company claimed that this is the first green loan project finance facility for an e-mobility project in India and globally by the Standard Chartered Bank.

"We are delighted to support GreenCell Mobility on this landmark financing, the first of its kind by any global bank in the e-mobility sector in India reinforcing SCB's commitment to mobilise USD 300 billion of green and transition finance by 2030," Standard Chartered Bank Global Head, Project & Export Finance, Alper Kilic said.

The project finance facility will provide finance for the acquisition, operation, and maintenance of 9-metre-long fully-built pure AC electric buses on a gross cost contract basis as per the FAME II Scheme.

Under a 10-year concession deal with the Surat Municipal Corporation, these buses will run within Surat, with a fixed per-kilometre fee structure that mitigates traffic risk, the statement said.