ev.energy closes $8.8m Series A fundraise to accelerate global roll-out of smart charging services

LONDON, UK – ev.energy, a software platform that delivers optimised electric vehicle charging services to drivers in Europe, the US, Australia and Asia, today announced it has completed an $8.8m million Series A funding round. The round was led by Energy Impact Partners, a global investment platform leading the transition to a sustainable energy future, supported by Future Energy Ventures, the venture capital investment and collaboration platform of E.ON, and Cyan Finance, a sustainable merchant bank focused on supporting the growth of the green economy fund. The round is also supported by a range of angel investors with clean energy and cleantech experience including Dunelm Energy, led by former SSE CEO Ian Marchant and Duncan Grierson of Clim8 invest.

Nick Woolley and Chris Darby founded ev.energy because they wanted to help decarbonise transport by making electric vehicle charging simple, green and low-cost for drivers.

Having recognised that charging is one of the most challenging elements of owning an electric vehicle and preventing mass EV adoption, ev.energy was designed to simplify the charging experience and automatically deliver low-cost, green energy into electric vehicles. Core to the ev.energy platform is its proprietary smart-charging algorithm, which dynamically aligns charging with intermittent low-carbon electricity, helping drivers avoid charging their cars with coal and gas generation, and reducing carbon emissions from grid electricity by up to 70% (depending on the location). Drivers with home solar can even push their carbon emissions down to zero by using ev.energy’s solar-matching algorithm.

The platform provides broad coverage through APIs that connect directly to a range of vehicles and chargers, including Tesla and VW vehicles as well as Siemens and Rolec chargers in the US and Europe. This has enabled ev.energy to aggregate electric vehicles into the world’s leading virtual power plant that can be used by energy utilities to optimise wholesale costs, reduce grid congestion, and integrate more renewable energy. The platform also tracks the carbon emissions of every charge a driver does, which helps fleets measure the environmental benefits of transitioning to electric vehicles.

The investment will be used to enable ev.energy to aggressively scale its reach across energy utility partners, car manufacturers, charger partners and drivers in the US, Europe and Australasia. The platform, the largest of its kind focused on residential charging, is used by over 20,000 drivers worldwide, multiple energy companies and vehicle manufacturers including E.ON in the UK, Volkswagen in Germany, ESB in Ireland, Silicon Valley Clean Energy in the US, and global charging hardware providers like Siemens and Schneider Electric.

Matthias Dill, Managing Partner, Europe at Energy Impact Partners, will join ev.energy’s Board of Directors. He said: “Electric vehicles are at an inflection point in most developed markets. The rise of electric vehicles is a significant opportunity for energy utilities, through new and innovative services, that support their customers to go electric. We are very proud to back the team around Nick and Chris as they have already proven that they can scale internationally by appealing to drivers, utilities and car manufactures at the same time.”

“The transition to electric vehicle is a once in a century transformation of the energy sector”, said Nick Woolley, CEO and co-founder of ev.energy. “At scale, smart charging will deliver fantastic benefits for the grid, reducing the cost of upgrades, and helping us to integrate more renewable energy, further accelerating decarbonisation. Drivers are delighted with the results too – very low-cost and zero-carbon charging is something we are delivering today – and we can deliver at scale for the whole of society. We are very proud to have won EIP as an investor: as they are the central player in the energy transition, they have already helped us to find new business opportunities in their global coalition of forward-thinking energy firms.”

Patrick Elftmann, Partner at Future Energy Ventures, commented: “ev.energy’s smart, cloud-based platform allows customers to use cheaper, greener energy on a decongested grid where renewables are abundant. We are pleased to support ev.energy in this funding round and look forward to our continued collaboration as we move toward widespread adoption of smart charging in our transition to a decarbonised, digitally-interconnected system.”

About ev.energy

ev.energy’s mission is simple: to make EV ownership easier, greener and cheaper. Our software manages vehicle charging, automatically optimising for greener and cheaper hours. Operating in Europe, the US, Australia, and Asia, ev.energy offers a free-to-download app that integrates with a growing list of popular home chargers and vehicles.

About Energy Impact Partners

Energy Impact Partners (EIP) is a global investment platform leading the transition to a sustainable energy future. EIP brings together entrepreneurs and the world’s most forward-looking energy and industrial companies to advance innovation. With over $2.0 billion in assets under management, EIP invests globally across venture, growth, credit and infrastructure – and has a team of more than 50 professionals based in its offices in New York, Palm Beach, London, Cologne, and soon Oslo. For more information on EIP, please visit www.energyimpactpartners.com.

About Future Energy Ventures

Future Energy Ventures is the venture capital investment and collaboration platform of E.ON, with €250 million invested capital in its portfolio. It invests in digital and digitally enabled technologies and business models that have the potential to redefine the future energy landscape. Typically focusing on digital, scalable and asset-light companies seeking Series A and beyond funding, Future Energy Ventures seeks to capitalise on the investment opportunities presented by the transition to this new energy future and maximise scaling opportunities for its portfolio. For more information visit www.fev.vc.

About Cyan Finance

Cyan Finance is an award-winning sustainable merchant bank focused on supporting the growth of the green economy. Cyan provide both funding and advisory services to green and sustainable businesses that are working to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable future.

Cyan specialises in:

• Providing flexible financing and capital markets solutions to underserved green and sustainable SMEs
• Administering CBILS loans, Cyan are the first specialist financier for green, sustainable businesses to be accredited as a lender under the UK Government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme
• Taking a relationship-based approach, as a long-term finance partner, Cyan supports companies along every stage of their journey
• Working with businesses across all sectors in the sustainability ecosystem

Website: www.cyanfinance.com