Six years ago, Ragul Nishanth, a Coimbatore-based individual, was trying to finish his BTech in automotive engineering from the SRM Institute of Science and Technology. But he couldn't. According to him, the course curriculum wasn't allowing him to be creative in the automotive space. “What I was learning didn't suit me. I have always been a very innovative person, but the engineering degree was forcing me to not think out of the box. Attend your classes, submit your projects, ace your practicals, study for the exams—it was a typical engineering course. I decided to drop out and do something on my own,” Ragul Nishanth, founder of Mechlae Energy, tells Startup Pedia in an exclusive interview. In 2023, Ragul Nishanth founded Mechlae Energy, a Bengaluru-based startup that offers fast, reliable, and zero-downtime energy solutions for electric vehicles and robots. In just 18 months, Ragul and his team built the world's first portable battery-swapping technology that is easily deployable. HOW IT ALL BEGAN Mechlae Energy Founder Ragul Nishanth Hailing from Coimbatore, Ragul Nishanth joined the SRM Institute for his engineering degree in 2013. Just three to four years down the line, he realized that the engineering degree wasn't for him. According to him, it wasn't serving him in the way he imagined it would. “So I dropped out of college. But my family didn't understand my decision. They questioned the need to leave college without earning the degree. I began living in a local mechanic"s garage in Chennai for some time,” Ragul Nishanth shares. In the garage, Ragul would understand the intricacies of automobiles and how they are fixed. To sustain himself, he entered the field of freelancing. For numerous months, it was just Ragul and his laptop, quietly working away at the garage. He became a Computer-Aided Designer and offered services on platforms like Fiverr and Freelancer.com. During his freelancing journey, Ragul helped several clients by delivering services in the realms of website development, tech platform development, digital presentations, and even automobile engineering. “Many clients were on a retainer model, so I started doing pretty well for myself. I was finally able to move out of the garage. Some companies even offered me the opportunity to move to the USA, UAE, and Taiwan for careers in the automotive space,” Ragul Nishanth shares with Startup Pedia. But he didn't accept or act on these opportunities. Instead, he looked for a market gap to address in India. Also Read: Wayanad-Based Engineer Quits Decade-Long Career to Start Kerala"s First Indoor Saffron Farm; Builds a Lucrative Business THE MARKET GAP In Tier I cities, Ragul noticed, the B2B LEV charging infrastructure is very limited. In simple words, this means that the charging infrastructure for light electric vehicles (like scooters, autos, and e-rickshaws) isn't as accessible and readily available as it should be. “The result is that EV owners struggle with range anxiety. The typical process for them to begin from a location, stop at an EV charging station, and then reach their destination,” tech entrepreneur Ragul Nishanth explains. “But the issue is that these stations are far too few and scattered. This is because setting up traditional EV charging infrastructure is a capital-intensive task. So you'll find them even fewer in Tier II and III cities,” the startup founder adds. After studying this gap, Ragul also discovered that countries like Taiwan have successfully developed excellent battery swap technology. Battery swap technology is a system where EV owners and users can quickly exchange a depleted battery from their electric vehicles (like scooters, bikes, or three-wheelers) for a fully charged one at a battery swapping station. This enables them to save time by not having to wait for the battery to recharge. This technology is portable and easily deployable. “I wondered why this kind of tech doesn't exist in a portable way in India. And if it doesn't, I'll make it,” Ragul Nishanth tells Startup Pedia. The tech entrepreneur"s mission was simple—make energy accessible for people when and where they want it. Also Read: How Hyring"s AI interviewer agent is disrupting recruitment CHALLENGES AND JOURNEY In 2023, Ragul established Mechlae Energy. He hired a founding team and began working on building an advanced battery-tech startup. Initially, the startup didn't have funds or a consistent cash flow. But the team continued to navigate these challenges with just one thought in their head: to build a plug-and-play portable charging swap infrastructure. At Mechlae Energy, Ragul and his team also wanted to unlock growth opportunities for the B2B mobility and robotics sector. They envisioned a solution wherein companies didn't have to rely on the expansion of fixed, traditional charging stations. Instead, they could deploy battery swap networks according to the needs of their customers. “This directly helps B2B companies scale faster,” tech entrepreneur Ragul affirms. As Mechlae Energy began working on building an MVP, they applied for two small grants and bagged them. In addition to that, they secured a CCD funding of Rs 25 lakh from the Central Government. “We have never treated these funds as cash to recklessly experiment with and burn. Since Day 1, we started with next to nothing. So these funds hold a lot of value for us. We have been strategically building and testing marketing absorption without spending a lot of money. Everything that is needed on the development side of things is, thankfully, taken care of now,” Ragul says. After multiple trials and reiterations, Mechlae Energy claims to have built the world's first portable and compact battery swap station. Also Read: Swiggy shuts down hyperlocal delivery service 'Genie' across multiple cities MECHLAE ENERGY: MAKING ENERGY FAST AND CONVENIENT Battery Swap Ecosystem by Mechlae Energy The EV tech startup, Mechlae Energy, envisions a system that makes energy fast, reliable, and convenient. The Battery Swap Ecosystem built by the startup can be encapsulated in the following pointers: The startup provides portable and compact battery swap stations that do not require heavy permits, large land areas, or construction. It is portable and easily deployable at dealerships, malls, restaurants, franchise stores, warehouses, and delivery hubs. “Since our aim is to improve access to quick and zero-downtime charging infrastructure, our battery swap stations have been designed in a way that they can even be deployed at restaurants, offices, parking spaces, and residences,” EV tech startup founder Ragul Nishanth explains. “Customers can exchange the battery of their vehicles while doing their conventional activities like delivery pickup, purchase, etc…that's what we mean when we say zero downtime,” he adds. These compact charging stations promise zero downtime. A customer can simply come, swap their old battery for a fully-charged one, and continue their travel. “This saves the customers" time and relieves them of their range anxiety. Earlier, they had to always be on their toes as to where the next fixed charging station is. At Mechlae, we've made everything portable, so B2B mobility and robot companies can deploy our stations closer to their customers. This will directly help them scale as well,” Ragul says. The portable battery swap station comes with an immersive cooled battery pack and supports both robots and light EV fleets with CAN/RS485 compatibility. For instance, scooters, bikes, and three-wheelers like autos and e-rickshaws can easily avail the benefits of battery swap tech. This battery tech is capable of properly functioning in any temperature, be it somewhere like Africa or Europe. At Mechlae Energy, the team is committed to strictly adhering to ESG goals to ensure sustainable development and deliver a high-quality "Make-in-India" product to the global market. Mechlae Energy"s revenue is planned to come in from the leasing of the battery swap stations as well as the leasing of the additional battery packs. Also Read: “In India, there"s reluctance to pay for app”: Duolingo CEO says less than 1% of a million users would pay LOOKING AHEAD Mechlae Energy Portable Batteries While the first fully-functioning version of the products is ready, Ragul Nishanth and his team are planning to begin production as soon as they receive a due grant from the Government. The pilot deployment will start from the third quarter of 2025. This will be done for companies that have signed letters of intent with the startup. After the pilot, there will be end-to-end execution and rollout of the portable battery swap ecosystem. “In the next five years, we aim to deploy a minimum of 10,000 swap stations. We already have many EV companies looking to partner with us once our pilot phase ends. It's safe to say that we are eyeing at least 3% of the battery swap market share in India by 2030,” EV tech startup founder Ragul Nishanth concludes. FAQ Q. When was Mechlae Energy founded? A. Mechlae Energy is a Bengaluru-based startup founded in 2023. Q. Who is the founder of Mechlae Energy? A. Mechlae Energy is a Bengaluru-based startup that was founded by Ragul Nishanth, an engineering dropout. Q. What does Mechlae Energy do? A. Mechlae Energy is a Bengaluru-based startup offering fast, reliable, and zero-downtime energy solutions for electric vehicles and robots. It has built the “world's first portable battery-swapping technology. Q. What is the revenue of Mechlae Energy? A. Mechlae Energy is an early-stage startup at the moment. It plans its pilot deployment from the third quarter of 2025.