It’s been a busy week for electric vehicles (EVs) including international expansions and chargepoint digitalisation as the UK’s EV charging networks continues to grow.
Current± summarises this week’s top stories below.
Updates to Fuuse’s EV charging platform generate a 246% revenue increase in pilot programme
The pilot of Fuuse’s updated EV charging platform, organised by Charge My Street, saw the Lancashire based chargepoint operator experience a 246% revenue increase between September and December 2022.
The updates for the EV chargepoint management platform allow companies to aggregate their charger details through a point of interest provided service across a “continually increasing” number of EV chargepoint mapping systems and navigators. This includes major chargepoint maps such as Zapmap, Google Maps, Shell Recharge and ChargeTrip.
Another new feature offered by the platform is accessibility to different charge card drivers. This allows all customers using Paua, Allstar and Octopus Electroverse to pay at these chargepoints.
The pilot programme produced significant results for Charge My Street, said the EV chargepoint management company, including an 85% increase in charging sessions from the beginning of the trial.
“Enabling our clients to push their chargers publicly across the most popular navigation systems and charge card networks aims to dispel concerns over available charging facilities, whilst benefitting charge point operators,” said Dan Lucy-Lloyd, chief projects officer at Fuuse.
Earlier this month, Fuuse also announced it plans to accelerate its expansion into Ireland, appointing Alex Baker as country manager for Ireland.
AMPECO raises £13 million for US expansion
EV charging management platform AMPECO, has raised £10 million ($13 million) in its Series A funding round, led by BMW I Ventures, bringing its total venture capital investment to £13 million ($16 million), which will be used to accelerate the company’s expansion into the US.
AMPECO’s Series A funding round also included Launchub Ventures, Cavalry Ventures alongside a number of angel investors.
AMPECO’s EV platform allows public, business and fleet customers to manage chargers at scale under their own brand. Charging operators also maintain complete control over partnerships, payment flows and customer relations, said the company.
“There is an incredible opportunity for EV charging providers to build and scale a profitable business using innovative technologies. This is exactly what AMPECO offers – we give them the flexibility to use our software platform by integrating it closely with their existing systems and providing them with complete control of their business, from customer relationships to payment flows,” said CEO at AMPECO, Orlin Radev.
“We are thrilled to have BMW i Ventures on board in this round to now expand our reach even further. This investment will help make AMPECO the backbone of charging network operators – enabling them to monetise their networks will, in turn, help them move faster to deploy their infrastructure, ultimately making EV viable for more drivers everywhere.”
In November last year AMPECO won the 2022 Global Electric Vehicle Charging Software Product Leadership Award at Frost & Sullivan’s Best Practices Awards.
Fastned opens first ultra-rapid EV charging station in the North-East
Electric services company Fastned has opened its first ultra-rapid EV charging station in the North-East, located off the A183 junction on Parsons Road between Gateshead and Washington.
The EV station offers eight charging bays of up to 300kW and will cater for commuters travelling to and from Sunderland and South Tyneside.
It will also feature a solar canopy and will be supplied by 100% renewable energy, said the company.
“Our new Washington site, based just down the road from Nissan’s EV powerhouse, adds to the fantastic network of charging stations we have established in the area,” said UK country manager at Fastned, Tom Hurst.
“We look forward to welcoming drivers from Washington and beyond to our award-winning, unique electric vehicle charging experience that puts drivers at the centre”.
In December 2022, Fastned took the top spot – in joint first place with MFG EV Power – in Zap-Map’s survey of EV driver satisfaction.
Zap-Map’s most recent data shows that 1,507 new public EV chargers were added in November 2022, which brought UK’s total to 36,572. However, disparity between public and private charging across the UK still provides a disincentive for potential EV drivers.
