Virtual Forest, Redler Technologies to develop Micro EV motor controllers for e-rickshaws

Electronics design company, Virtual Forest and Israel-based Redler Technologies, which specializes in design, development, manufacture, sale and marketing of electrical BLDC power & motion drivers and controllers have been awarded the prestigious Grant from GITA (Global Innovation & Technology Alliance) to develop ASIL-certified EV motor controllers for 3W light electric vehicles (e-rickshaws for the global market). The Grant is part of the India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F), a cooperation platform between the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, and the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA), Government of Israel. It has been set up with the aim to promote, facilitate and support joint industrial R&D projects between companies from India and Israel.
 

“We are both honored and thrilled to be selected after a comprehensive technical audit of our R&D credentials. We are one of very few Indian startups to have been approved by the DST, without affiliations to Academic institutions or large corporate bodies. Moreover, we have been awarded the maximum applicable Grant amount, which is a real testimonial of our technical and project capability. It is our endeavor to work towards Indian self-reliance in the EV domain by creating a local design and manufacturing base for critical subsystem components like EV motor controllers. This will strengthen the national participation in critical climate action priorities like decarbonization and the increased adoption of green technology,” said Omer Basith, CEO & Co-founder, Virtual Forest.
 

India is also making the best of the EV revolution with domestic EV sales hitting a record high. Policies such as Production Linked Incentives (PLIs), FAME-II and Battery Swapping are catalyzing the adoption of electric vehicles and the strengthening of the core EV infrastructure.
 

Guy Natanson, CEO, Redler Technologies said, “We are very excited to have been selected for the Grant. We are currently in the process of customer validation and soon will enter the mass manufacturing stage this year. The Grant will be helpful in supporting our plan to capitalize on the growth and innovation opportunities in India and South-East Asia.”
 

Virtual Forest plans to achieve a gross manufacturing value of $25 Mn in FY 24. The company is supplying energy efficient motor controllers to some of the big OEM manufacturers like IFB Appliances, Crompton and Luminous.