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Environmentalists have a bone to pick with electric mobility players: they say that while electric vehicles (EVs) are good for containing air pollution, they still draw power from non-sustainable energy sources.

Vamsi Gaddam, Founder of Atum and Atumobile, may have solved this piece of the puzzle with a solar-powered EV bike.

Talking about his solar EV scooter at TechSparks 2023, Gaddam, who started out with creating solar rooftops–and beating Tesla to the patent for it–said 95% of the bike, including the battery and motor, has been ‘Made in India’.

The first version of the bike, priced at Rs 50,000-Rs 60,000, sold 2,000 units. The latest version is priced at Rs 1.2 lakh.

“We kickstarted the project during the lockdown thinking we can create something interesting people have not seen in the EV space,” Gaddam quipped.

The team purchased an old Hero Splendor and a Bajaj Pulsar bike, pulled out the engine, and started building the battery and solar-powered motor.

“I truly believe that from roti, kapda, and makaan, the paradigm now is roti, kapda, makaan, power, and mobility,” Gaddam said during a fireside chat at TechSparks 2023, YourStory’s flagship startup event.

Gaddam and Atumobile already have five patents on the scooter.

A third-generation entrepreneur, Vamsi launched Atum, one of the world’s early integrated solar roofs, in 2018. The company generates electricity and is a completely integrated, seamless solar roof made with poly or mono-crystalline solar cells and cement boards.

Atumobile was launched in 2020, with the first electric bike, the Atum 1.0, which is a low-speed cafe racer-style electric bike.