Anyone who's driven an EV in India knows the real headache isn't the car, it's finding a charger that actually fits it. Every network seems to run its own standard, its own app, its own quirks. RoadGrid has spent the last few years trying to build the one charger that skips all that, and the Indian government just decided to bet real money on it.
The Technology Development Board, working under the Department of Science and Technology, has approved Rs 13 crore in financial support for RoadGrid's Rs 27.5 crore plan to set up a dedicated manufacturing facility. The goal is straightforward on paper and hard in practice: build a plant that can turn out 2,000 Universal EV Chargers a year, with commercial production targeted to begin by March 2027 and over 100 direct jobs created along the way.
What makes the charger "universal" isn't marketing language. It's a patented design combining a 140 kW dual DC charging system that supports both CCS2 and Type 6 connectors, alongside AC charging on the same unit. In plain terms, one machine can serve multiple types of EVs instead of operators needing separate hardware for every vehicle segment, which is exactly the kind of fragmentation that's slowed down charging infrastructure rollout across the country.
The new facility won't just assemble parts either. It's set up to handle everything in-house, from power electronics and thermal management to embedded software, metering, enclosure fabrication, and final testing before a unit ever reaches the field.
RoadGrid, founded in 2020, isn't starting from zero. The company has already deployed over 100 chargers, manages more than 200 charging points, and works with names like VinFast, HPCL, and IOCL across cities including Indore, Mumbai, and Kolkata. It also picked up Rs 12 crore earlier this year from Venture Catalysts and a group of angel investors. With government-backed manufacturing now added to the mix, RoadGrid is quietly positioning itself as one of the companies actually building India's charging backbone, rather than just plugging into someone else's.
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Startup Unplugged
