Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) owners in Sri Lanka can now heave a sigh of relief with the launch of the EBL Hybrid Hub, a purpose- built facility for the testing, conditioning and rebuilding of batteries for HEVs - the only such facility in Sri Lanka.

This state-of-the-art facility of the Edirisinghe Brothers (Pvt.) Ltd, (EBL) is situated at Keththarama Temple Road in Colombo 10.

At the launch on Thursday, Co-Chief Operating Officer of the Hub, Sanka Edirisinghe said the infrastructure required to provide specialized maintenance services for the HEVs market, which is expanding, hasn’t grown quite as rapidly in the country.

“Although a number of organizations have ventured into the service market for HEVs, there is a severe lack of technical authority, specialized diagnostic tools and understanding of safety procedures necessary to ensure the long-term health of the vehicle,” he said.

The Edirisinghe Brothers had sought to address these vital areas by securing World-Class hybrid diagnostic technology, training and support from Automotive Research and Design (AR&D), USA, via their Master Franchisor for Asia Pacific – Growth Dynamics (Singapore).  In addition, Optima Werkz (Singapore) will provide automotive technical support to Hybrid Hub.

The proprietary technology at the heart of Hybrid Hub’s battery testing, conditioning and rebuilding was developed by Dr. Mark Quarto and his team at AR&D.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Quarto said there was a notion that the traditional workshop or mechanic would be able to pinpoint and diagnose a malfunctioning HEV.

“That is simply not true if the workshop is not trained and lacks the proper equipment for hybrid specific diagnostics and maintenance,’ he said.

Hybrid Hub’s current service capacity accommodates HEVs, but is expected to cater to EVs in the coming months.