C J Darcl & NHEV Partner for Electric Freight & EV Charging

Mumbai, Jul 1 (PTI) B2B logistics operator CJ Darcl Logistics has signed an initial pact with the National Highways for Electric Vehicles (NHEV) to jointly develop 3G charging infra and own a fleet of heavy electric trucks (HEVs) besides operating freight services across the latter's ZET e-highways.

The collaboration has identified the Bengaluru-Chennai corridor as the priority route, serving as a pilot for scalable heavy electric freight operations across the country, it said.

Aimed at supporting India's transition towards low-carbon and future-ready logistics, the collaboration evaluates the commercial viability of deploying HEV freight operations on NHEV's upcoming E-highways, it said.

A Union Commerce Ministry initiative, the pilot programme is designed to upgrade major highways into EV-friendly corridors while zero-emission trucks (ZET) are battery-electric or hydrogen-powered trucks for moving heavy freight.

The memorandum of understanding combines CJ Darcl's multimodal logistics expertise with NHEV's integrated 3G Energy stations, enabling access to captive EV charging, battery swapping infrastructure, solar power integration, dedicated warehousing and strategically located logistics hubs, the company said.

Together, these capabilities are expected to improve fleet utilisation, enhance operational efficiency and reduce freight emissions across key logistics corridors, it added.


"By collaborating with NHEV, we are not just adopting electric freight solutions, we are co-creating a scalable, commercially viable model that demonstrates how India's logistics industry can lead the global energy transition. The Bangalore-Chennai corridor is an ideal test bed for this transformation, and we are confident this will set the blueprint for national expansion," said Nikhil Agarwal, President, CJ Darcl Logistics.

As part of the partnership, CJ Darcl will work with professional logistics service providers for fleet management, driver training and end-user development, enabling operations to scale efficiently from the outset, the company said.

The MoU also envisages an NCR trailer-exchange model that would enable seamless diesel-to-electric freight transitions at Delhi's borders, ensuring supply continuity while accelerating the adoption of electric freight mobility across India, said Agarwal.

"A pay-per-use vehicle interchange model lowers barriers to EV adoption, improves operational efficiency, and provides a scalable blueprint for cleaner urban logistics," he stated.

Both partners will develop utilisation-assured operating models for heavy electric freight, advance heavy electric freight mobility by identifying OEM partners, establishing operational standards, and advocating policy and infrastructure reforms, CJ Darcl said.

"CJ Darcl's scale and operational expertise make them an ideal anchor partner for NHEV - allowing to examine, evaluate, and assess HEV deployment, that would be aligned with the infrastructure rollout. This MoU demonstrates how strategic collaboration between government-backed PPP initiatives to decarbonize mobility engaged with industry leaders to unlock the potential of green highways," said Abhijeet Sinha, Program Director, Ease of Doing Business and National Highways for EV.