Planet Electric wants to reduce logistics costs with lightweight cargo carriers
Founded by two ex-ISRO scientists, Planet Electric is set to roll out its line of cargo carriers that weigh 60% less than traditional ones to reduce the cost of last-mile delivery.
Last-mile delivery trucks are essential to the logistics supply chain for delivering ecommerce orders and other parcels. And just like any other vehicle, their weight directly impacts their fuel efficiency, in turn, adding to the delivery charges consumers pay. A significant part of the weight comes from the load carrier attached to these vehicles, often made from stainless steel or aluminium.
Planet Electric wants to reduce this weight, and thereby, the cost of logistics. The Gurugram-based startup is working on manufacturing cargo carriers that weigh 60% less.
Former aerospace engineers Gagan Agrawal and Prakhar Agarwal founded Planet Electric in 2021 as an EV fleet manufacturer to cut down battery usage and increase battery cycle by designing vehicles to weigh 70% less than their counterparts.
However, they observed that the unregulated cargo carrier industry offered a unique opportunity to enter the booming logistics market—projected to grow to $159.54 billion by FY28 at a CAGR of 8-9%, according to Motilal Oswal—and make load carriers lightweight. They pivoted the business model in 2024.
Rocket science
Gagan and Prakhar met while studying at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram. “The first project we collaborated on was a student rocket project, which was in collaboration with ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation),” Gagan, CEO at Planet Electric, recalls, adding that the rocket travelled 16 kilometres up in the atmosphere.
The duo went on to work at ISRO where Gagan was part of the Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator project, which helped him experiment with a range of lightweight materials with tensile strength—an experience that came in handy when conceptualising Planet Electric’s fleets, the company’s initial product line.
“Aerospace really teaches you to push the boundaries of building a particular structure, and engineering that material for the structure,” he remarks.
Meanwhile, Prakhar gained engineering experience, working on configuration, product simulation, product fabrication, and testing.
These experiences helped both founders to identify the right materials for manufacturing EV fleets.
The pivot
Initially, Planet Electric was planning to assemble lightweight electric fleets. It cut down the weight of vehicles by removing steel and replacing it with composite materials. These materials are often used in space launch vehicles.
“There are two major elements that make any composite material. One is fibre—carbon fibre, glass fibre. It could also be a metal within a metal matrix. And the other matrix part that binds all of this together is a resin; it could be a petrochemical resin or a bioresin,” Gagan explains.
After finalising the fibre and resin, the founders mixed and matched these elements to create a raw material with all six properties they were looking for—strength to carry logistics load, durability, engineered for crash safety, and feasible to be manufactured cost-effectively. The material also needed to be repairable, and most importantly, recyclable.
“If you have all these six properties in the raw material, you can go about engineering a new structure—the chassis, the body, the load body—and put together a vehicle that is structurally about 70% lightweight,” he adds.
Planet Electric is now applying the same concept to make load carriers for two-wheelers and three-wheelers.
“The price will obviously be on the higher side than your typical steel box, but it has absolutely no corrosion and a very high life, which means you don't have to change multiple boxes. And it will increase your payload on a one-ton vehicle by almost 180 kg, which is huge,” Gagan says.
The company’s cargo fleet will be designed to carry a cargo volume of up to 250 cubic feet. Its medium-haul fleets are designed to carry up to 550 cubic feet. It currently only focuses on two-wheelers and three-wheelers.
In July this year, the startup demonstrated its first electric fleet prototype and bagged 2,600 orders. It currently has about 2,000 orders in the pipeline with several other logistics and third-party logistics companies.
Planet Electric will deliver a part of this fleet order by October 2025 and a majority of it in 2026.
The startup is currently in talks to find a strategic partner to help manufacture cargo load carriers while it focuses on the technology and design aspects of these products.
The founders still haven’t given up on their original idea. “This will serve as a stepping stone to our ultimate vehicle development. So it's not a hard pivot, it's more as a soft alternate revenue stream that we are now supercharged,” Gagan adds.
The path forward
Planet Electric was looking to raise $1 million in a pre-seed round but has paused the process after raising about half the money as it navigates the new line of products. It has received investments from Appreciate Capital and the Allen family office, among others, while existing investor Spectrum Impact also participated in the round.
Additionally, Planet Electric is also eyeing expanding its electric fleet product offerings to overseas markets after introducing it in Indian markets.
“The Middle East is an excellent market for us. Indonesia is an excellent market for us. And then ultimately, the US is a very, very big market,” Gagan notes.
However, the company might adopt a different go-to-market strategy such as the dealer-led model, he says. “But the first goal obviously is India production, and then we'll see what comes next.”
Planet Electric was part of the 2024 Tech30 list of India’s most promising startups compiled by YourStory.
Edited by Kanishk Singh