The EV charging companies who dominated Q1 VC smart grid financing

May 3, 2024 Editor

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In this edition of Smart Energy’s Power Playbook, Yusuf Latief looks into Q1 financing results within the smart grid sector, highlighting the top five deals made, all of which revolve around EV charging companies.

In the first quarter of 2024 smart grid venture capital funding reached a solid $686 million across 14 deals, a staggering 134% increase year-over-year.

This is according to Mercom Capital’s Q1 2024 Funding and M&A Report for Storage and Grid, which lists global deals that were made in the start of the financial year.

What stands out when we look at the results is that the top five deals all revolve around EV charging companies.

According to Mercom’s report, smart grid corporate funding came to $686 million in 14 deals in Q1 2024, compared to $1.1 billion in 18 deals in Q1 2023 and $314 million in 12 deals in Q4 2023.

In a QoQ comparison, funding in Q1 2024 was 197% higher compared to Q4 2023, when $221 million was raised in 10 deals.

The smart grid, of course, refers to any tech integrating into the power grid – a vast array of applications.

EV charging is but one of these applications, clearly drawing in a significant amount of corporate dollars to boost its innovations.

Which raises the questions, who are the top companies and what will the financing be used for?

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Electra’s €330 million

January 2024 saw Electra, a Parisian startup and fast-charging network for EVs, announce a fundraising round of a whopping €304 million ($330 million), entirely in equity – the largest fundraising in France and second largest in Europe in the charging sector.

The round, led by a new investor in the company and one of the largest asset managers in Europe -Dutch pension fund service provider PGGM – brings the company’s raised capital to nearly €600 million ($643.9 million) in three years.

Electra has ambitions to deploy 2,200 charging stations and 15,000 charging points across the continent by 2030. As of January this year, the company has approximately 1,000 charging points across France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Spain.

Electra says its ultimate goal is ‘making charging as simple as refuelling with gasoline but much more user-friendly.’ The company also cites is quick gain in popularity due to a simple to use station setup, recording nearly 100,000 charging sessions per month.

Additionally, the company invests heavily into R&D, touting its charge point reservation programme, allowing users to optimise their charging hours.

Powerdot’s $108 million

Following Electra in raised capital was Portuguese charge point operator Powerdot, who in February raised €108 million, led by existing investors Antin Infrastructure Partners and Arié Group.

The company calls 2023 a year of immense growth, marked by a 201% increase in operational charging points and a 218% rise in kWh consumption.

Presently, the company boasts over 5,000 active charging points across 1,300 locations, with plans to deploy nearly 10,000 charging points across 1,400 locations.

Specifically, in its home market of Portugal, Powerdot has over 1,300 operational charging points. Similarly, the company maintains a robust presence in France with over 3,700 operational charging points, experiencing a remarkable 500% year-on-year growth in kWh consumption. In Spain, Powerdot has activated over 300 charging points in 2023 alone, signalling significant progress in market penetration. Furthermore, the company is rapidly expanding its presence in Belgium and Poland with strategic partnerships and ambitious deployment plans.

The capital infusion will fuel the expansion of Powerdot’s charging infrastructure across Europe, expanding on an already robust presence across its home market of Portugal, as well as in France and Spain. The company says it is also planning rapid expansion across Belgium and Poland.

Monta’s $87 million

Also in January, Copenhagen-based Monta closed an €80 million ($87 million) Series B round, co-led by Energize Capital with GreenPoint Partners and Denmark’s state-backed Export and Investment Fund, as well as participation from returning investors.

Monta calls itself the de facto hub for simplifying and streamlining the deployment, use and management of EV charging infrastructure for businesses and operators, with over 600,000 charge points across Europe.

In 2023, Monta increased its annual recurring revenue by 600%, opened two new markets including new offices in Paris and Barcelona, and nearly doubled its employee headcount. This growth has been supported by the addition of several new strategic partners including Siemens, EGG, Rolec and Uno-X.

The company will use the funding to double its team size, continue to invest in product R&D and expand their partner network.

In terms of R&D, the company has also been trialling new applications for its tech, including a partnership with aggregator partner Grid Beyon to develop a grid services technology, PowerBank.

PowerBank detects imbalances in the electrical grid and briefly pauses current EV charging sessions to help prevent power blackouts in exchange. The tech has been successfully implemented in the Nordics with plans to support the UK and Irish markets.

Trojan Energy’s £26 million

In the same month, Trojan Energy, an on-street EV charging specialist, secured a £26 million ($33 million) investment from growth capital investor BGF and follow-on investment by the Scottish National Investment Bank.

Trojan Energy says their chargers are unique as they sit flat and flush with the pavement, leaving streetscapes ‘clutter free’ and offering charging speeds of up to 22kW. The business has also developed the ‘DEICER’ system to alert drivers when a charger and charging bay becomes available to ensure a seamless user experience.

The new investment from BGF and the Bank will support the company’s continued growth efforts and rollout of Trojan Energy chargers across the UK.

The company also recently partnered with Barnet Council to instal around 1,300 on-street charge points, and there is a strong pipeline of new opportunities across the UK, including in England as part of the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund.

BluSmart’s $25 million

The final of the five takes us across the pond to India, the third-largest startup market globally, where bp ventures made its first direct investment in India.

The company in January led a $25 million Series A round for BluSmart, adding to bp ventures’ almost $800 million investment portfolio across more than 60 companies in seven geographies.

BluSmart will use the capital to expand its fleet of EVs and charging stations from its home city of Delhi to five additional Indian cities in the next two years.

BluSmart calls the investment the ‘world’s largest Series A rounds in the mobility sector’, bringing in support from Mayfield India Fund, 9Unicorns and Survam Partners, alongside other existing investors.

BluSmart is India’s first and largest integrated EV ride-hailing and charging company, touting its status as the first service of its kind with no surge pricing or rides rejected by drivers.

Although smart grid tech is varied, Mercom’s report paints a picture of EV charging companies leading the way, signalling an immense maturing of the market.

Bring into the picture last year’s EU mandate for trans-European EV charging corridors by 2025, and it is no slight to say that these investments will only continue into the year as immense fiscal opportunities open for these companies.

And, comes 2030, when even maritime ports will be required to provide shore-side electricity, I wonder what the evolved market will look like. What do you predict?

Reach out and let me know.

Cheers,
Yusuf Latief
Content Producer
Smart Energy International