GreenCell Mobility, an electric bus operator, on Thursday, said it has forged a green project finance loan agreement with Standard Chartered Bank for its ₹125-crore e-mobility project in Surat, Gujarat.

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

“GreenCell has availed green loan by Standard Chartered Bank, in a significant move to step up our efforts towards transforming India’s electric transportation landscape,” said Devndra Chawla, CEO & MD of GreenCell Mobility.

The company, promoted by Eversource Capital, claimed that this is Standard Chartered Bank’s first green loan project finance facility for an e-mobility project in India and globally.

“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 $300 billion of green and transition finance by 2030,” said Alper Kilic Global Head, Project & Export Finance of Standard Chartered Bank.

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 (GCC) basis. 

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

GreenCell Mobility has so far deployed more than 850 e-buses under its contracts in states like Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

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