Repos Energy aspires to reimagine and diversify global energy distribution: explore new options such as LPG, CNG, hydrogen fuel cell, electric, and so on. Furthermore, to ensure energy security for all individuals in India; farmers, industries, healthcare, and so on
By Melvyn Thomas
How about having your car refuelled without having to go to the gas station? In India, this has become a reality. Chetan Walunj and Aditi Bhosale Walunj, a Pune-based couple, have changed the game of diesel distribution in India by creating an ecosystem of not only Leak-off Test (LoT) but also manufacturing mobile petrol pumps.
Repos Energy, owned by the Walunjs, is India’s first door-to-door diesel delivery startup, backed by Ratan Tata. Starting with just two people in Pune, Repos Energy now employs over 400 people and has a presence in over 150 cities in the last four years. The founders, Chetan and Aditi, being petrol pump owners themselves, were quite aware of the inefficiencies that plagued the logistics model of the industry. They wanted to eliminate these efficiencies and consequently pass on the value generated to the end consumer. They have built technologically-advanced Repos Mobile Petrol Pumps (RMPP), a replica of stationary petrol pumps mounted on wheels.
Current RMPP went through multiple iterations to make it safe, efficient, and user-friendly, enabling transparent transactions, thereby eliminating inefficiencies (loss: dead mileage, spillage, pilferage, leakage, etc.)
Chetan Walunj, Co-founder, Repos Energy, is a mechanical engineer and has a decade-long experience managing different businesses. Walunj co-founded Repos in 2017, and that he is relentlessly providing a solution in the space of energy distribution.
Aditi Bhosale Walunj, co-founder, Repos Energy, is one of the very few women in the field of the Petroleum industry. As the co-founder at Repos Energy, Aditi believes there are no conventional and unconventional business forms. Blessed by her family for all the challenges she wanted to face in life, Aditi has always been curious about the world, tried different career paths, and is driven by purpose and dreams to change the world. Some significant milestones in the couple’s lives were getting mentorship from Ratan Tata and his investing in their startup, Repos.
“Every day, we consume 27 crore litres of diesel, and even that 5-10% of diesel we lose in dead mileage,” said Chetan Walunj, co-founder of Repos Energy. We see a lot of cars pulling up to petrol pumps to buy diesel in barrels (in large quantities). It is true that thousands of vehicles arriving at the pumps and driving to their destination emit a significant amount of carbon dioxide into the environment because these vehicles also run on diesel.
Repos Energy is trying to reduce carbon emissions by providing services in the B2B sectors. There would be a decrease in the number of vehicles coming to the petrol pumps. The demand for diesel is growing daily drastically. We are expecting to save 16,000,000 litres of diesel by 2023-24. This will prevent carbon emission by 31,474,563,200 kg.
Recently, Repos Energy launched India’s first double-dispenser mobile petrol pump – VO Alpha. The VO Alpha will be the first-of-its-kind mobile petrol pump that will allow two-side dispensing of high-speed diesel, thereby making the vehicle an advanced version of its predecessor. Besides the double-dispensing unit (DDU), VO Alpha features an IoT controller, an advanced brake interlock system for extra safety, geo-fencing, and fuel sensors.
The unveiling of the new vehicle was held at Repos’ IoT facility located in Chakan, Pune, on October 27, 2021, by Jalaj Gupta, Business Head, Commercial Vehicles, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. Sharing that the company has already registered three patents, which allows Repos exclusivity rights to the design on the DDU model, Aditi Walunj said, “VO Alpha is an innovation that will help and revolutionize the Indian Fuel distribution system. The machine uses the stability triangle to balance the liquid equilibrium and is a flame-proof model. Something that India needs and will be proud of for years to come.”
During the coronavirus infused lockdown last year, Repos Energy started delivering diesel to rural India in May’2020. The move came after the directives issued by the Pune Zilla Parishad Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ayush Prasad allowing door-to-door diesel delivery in the agriculture sector through diesel transport vehicles. Repos Energy also fueled hospitals, waste management depots and residential societies. In last year’s monsoon, heavy rains caused power breakdowns in many hospitals and that the lives of many on oxygen and ventilator support on high risk. The hospitals urgently required diesel for the power back. It is where Repos Energy came to the rescue of the hospitals through its door-to-door diesel delivery.
At present, Repos Energy has registered over 500 startups under its gamut and that they are meeting the door-to-door diesel delivery demand in their cities, areas and states.
