Brands
Charged on spirits, ThunderPlus unveils ethanol power
MUMBAI: Looks like India’s electric future just got a shot of “liquid courage.” In a move that’s set to energise the country’s green mobility drive, ThunderPlus and Trinity Cleantech have launched the world’s first ethanol-powered, mobile 150 kW DC fast charger, the ME energy rapid charger 150, in Hyderabad.
Forget heavy grid setups and endless approvals, this clean, portable powerhouse can be up and running in just 72 hours, and it runs entirely on ethanol, a bio-fuel made from plants. The result? Up to 80 per cent lower CO2 emissions and half the operational costs of diesel generators.
“This innovation is all about collapsing timelines, cutting diesel dependence, and giving India a cleaner, instantly deployable charging solution,” said ThunderPlus director and CEO Rajeev YSR. “We proudly call it liquid electricity.”
Unveiling the charger, Olectra Green Tech Ltd. managing director Mahesh Babu hailed it as a “game-changer” for India’s electric bus and fleet ecosystem. “It’s a breakthrough that slashes costs and wait times while boosting sustainability. Perfect for roadside assistance and depots as the grid catches up,” he said.
Trinity Cleantech executive director Raj Kumar added that the product is made under a patented licence from Germany’s ME Energy GmbH and is ready for rollout across India. “It offers a scalable, economical path for companies serious about decarbonising their operations,” he noted.
Inspired by Nitin Gadkari’s ethanol mission, the launch was attended by leaders from India’s clean mobility sector, including Chandramouli Vemula from SIDBI, who praised it as a perfect fit for the nation’s green-finance goals.
The rapid charger 150 isn’t just for EVs stranded on highways. It’s also ideal for remote depots, logistics hubs, mining zones, and even construction sites where grid access is tricky. Beyond transport, it could replace diesel gensets in residential and commercial spaces, offering both power and charging in one eco-friendly package.
With over 1,000 chargers across 60 cities, ThunderPlus has already become one of India’s fastest-growing EV charging companies, working with giants like Tata Motors, Olectra, and Mahindra. Trinity Cleantech, meanwhile, continues to push the boundaries of clean energy innovation.
Together, the two firms are proving that India’s future runs not just on electricity, but on ethanol-fuelled ingenuity. It’s not just a new charger on the block; it’s the start of a cleaner, cleverer India on the move.
Brands
E-commerce growth rises, but profits come under pressure
Shop Culture flags rising costs, weak systems and a $5.38 billion quick-commerce boom reshaping global retail
MUMBAI: E-commerce is booming, but profits are thinning. A new report by Shop Culture warns that brands clinging to outdated, growth-at-all-costs strategies are being outpaced in a costlier, more complex 2025 landscape.
Global online retail is expected to cross $6.86 trillion this year, with 2.77 billion shoppers making at least one purchase. Yet returns are under strain: average return on ad spend has slipped to 2.87:1, exposing cracks in how brands chase scale without building sustainable margins.
Three shifts are rewriting the rules. First, retail media is getting pricier, with Amazon’s average cost per click rising 15.5 per cent year-on-year to $1.12. Second, while 77 per cent of e-commerce professionals now use AI daily, many see limited gains as weak systems blunt its impact. Third, geography is no longer expansion, it is strategy. The share of Shop Culture clients operating across multiple markets has more than doubled, from 30 per cent in 2024 to 65 per cent in 2025.
Subarna Mukherjee, founder and ceo, Shop Culture, is blunt: “The e-commerce industry has a nostalgia problem. In 2022, the playbook was simple: list aggressively, spend on ads, and ride the wave of post-pandemic digital adoption. It worked. Revenue grew rapidly. But by 2025, the industry is seeing the consequences of those structural shortcuts. E-commerce itself is not slowing down, the challenge lies in how brands are operating within it.”
Nowhere is the shift sharper than in India’s quick-commerce boom. The segment is set to hit $5.38 billion in 2025, growing 17 per cent and emerging as the fastest-growing globally. What began as a convenience play is fast becoming a margin buffer. In one case, quick commerce drove 70 per cent of a packaged food brand’s online revenue, delivering 130 per cent year-on-year growth. A beauty brand, meanwhile, saw selling prices rise 25 per cent higher than on traditional marketplaces.
Expansion, too, is being rethought. The report argues that brands chasing the largest markets first often stumble. Better outcomes come from sequencing entries based on efficiency, regulatory readiness and competition, with markets such as the UK and Germany offering smarter entry points than the United States.
Compliance has turned from a checkbox into a revenue lever, especially in Europe. Brands with ready frameworks can go live in 8 to 12 weeks, while others risk delays of six months or more due to listing and documentation hurdles.
AI, for all the hype, is no silver bullet. Across more than 1,500 listings, it improved conversion rates by 10 to 15 per cent, cut TACOS by 7 to 10 per cent and reduced stockouts by 20 per cent, but only when layered on strong foundations. As Mukherjee puts it: “AI is not a growth strategy, it is an amplifier. It enhances strong systems and exposes weak ones.”
The message for 2026 is stark. Growth alone will not save brands. Margins, discipline and smarter strategy will. In a market still expanding at breakneck speed, the real race is no longer for scale, it is for survival.
