Battery Subscription Facility

The Battery Subscription Facility is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) designed to lower the high upfront costs of electric buses in India by purchasing and owning the batteries and providing them to operators on a subscription basis. By separating the battery cost from the vehicle purchase, the Facility aims to reduce upfront costs for bus owners by 40-50% and ensure that total operating costs remain lower than those of diesel or CNG alternatives. For a pilot of 30 buses in New Delhi, the total cost of ownership is projected to be 13% cheaper than CNG buses. At an intermediate scale of 1,000 buses, the Facility expects to avoid 250,000 tons of carbon emissions over 10 years and reduce the total cost of ownership to 16% cheaper than diesel buses. The model relies on a tripartite agreement between the bus operator, the Facility, and a local finance institution to secure long-term debt capital.

• The Battery Subscription Facility reduces the initial financial burden for bus owners by owning the batteries and charging a subscription fee, which lowers the upfront cost of the bus by 40-50%.
• A pilot project involving 30 buses for a corporate client in New Delhi is expected to result in a total cost of ownership 13% lower than that of the CNG buses being replaced, representing savings of US$ 5.2 million.
• In its intermediate phase, the Facility targets the financing of approximately 1,000 buses for corporate clients, which would avoid 250,000 tons of carbon emissions over 10 years and be 16% cheaper in total cost of ownership than diesel buses.
• The Facility is structured as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that uses a tripartite agreement with bus operators and local finance institutions (LFI) because batteries alone are not viewed as income-generating assets by debt providers.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2018). Battery Subscription Facility. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Battery-Subscription-Facility_Instrument-Overview.pdf

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Battery Subscription Facility. 2018. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Battery-Subscription-Facility_Instrument-Overview.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Battery Subscription Facility |date=2018 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Battery-Subscription-Facility_Instrument-Overview.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2018battery, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Battery Subscription Facility}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2018}, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Battery-Subscription-Facility_Instrument-Overview.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }