Daimler invests in ChargePoint as part of $82M round; seat on board
02 March 2017
Daimler AG is the lead investor in the first $82-million close of US-based charging solutions provider ChargePoint’s latest round of financing. Daimler will receive a seat on Chargepoint’s Board of Directors. The first close of Chargepoint’s round is the largest in the company’s history. The investment will support the expansion of the company’s charging network into Europe.
Existing investors BMW i Ventures, Linse Capital, Rho Capital Partners, and Braemar Energy Ventures also participated in this latest fundraising round. To date, ChargePoint has raised more than $255 million.
ChargePoint, the market leader in North America, is planning expansion into the European market.
More than 20 European countries already provide attractive incentives for purchasing EVs, which has helped make Europe the world’s second-largest EV market. As more EVs hit more European roads, the need for a comprehensive charging network becomes more important. Currently, there are dozens of providers of EV charging hardware, software and driver networks in a fragmented market. They all work differently and often require drivers to sign up for separate accounts, creating a confusing and cumbersome charging experience for EV drivers.
ChargePoint is committed to being the first company to introduce Europe’s most comprehensive and intelligent charging network.
With its strategic participation in ChargePoint, Daimler is making another significant step forward as part of its CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electric) corporate strategy (earlier post)—in particular with regard to its new product brand EQ, under which the company is planning to bundle its know-how in the field of intelligent electric mobility in future Mercedes-Benz products. The cooperation lays the groundwork for a comprehensive, customer-focused offer.
As part of the electric mobility offensive from Mercedes-Benz Cars, in the coming years the company will invest around €10 billion (US$10.5 billion) in the expansion of its product portfolio comprised under the EQ brand. Another key focus is on the expansion of the electric mobility ecosystem with products, services and innovations.
The range extends from intelligent charging services for the home as well as tailor-made services right through to home energy storage units, which work for example in conjunction with photovoltaics installed on house rooftops. Whether at home, at work or out on the road: intelligently networked charging solutions form an integral part, as customer acceptance in the area of electric mobility is closely associated with the availability of a comprehensive infrastructure.
Axel Harries, head of CASE at Daimler AG and as such head of the electric mobility think-tank, will take the seat on the Board of Directors at ChargePoint.
While pursuing the systematic expansion of our CASE ecosystem based on our new product brand EQ, we also remain open and ready for partnerships and cooperation at the highest level. ChargePoint is a company of experts in the field of electric mobility charging solutions with a great deal of know-how in both hardware and software. Together we will be able to significantly expand the product portfolio in the area of intelligent charging solutions and provide the customer with an all-embracing premium offer for electric mobility.
—Axel Harries
ChargePoint offers solutions from conventional AC charging through to ultra-fast DC charging at up to 400 kW. In Europe the company will rely on the standardized Combined Charging System (CCS), with which it provides maximum compatibility for future electric vehicle models of all brands. All of the products from ChargePoint are networked via software and can be deployed for various customers in a variety of locations.
In addition to charging stations, ChargePoint also provides tailor-made cloud-based solutions—starting with user-specific energy management systems and well-proven payment services, as well as through to mobile apps boasting innovative features previously unavailable in the European market.
This will be a major step into worldwide expansion of 400+ KW DC ultra quick charge facilities. These chargers, together with improved 2X to 4X batteries, will make the effective use of affordable extended range BEVs a reality by 2025 or so.
FCEVs + H2 stations will have to pick up pace to compete.
Posted by: HarveyD | 02 March 2017 at 10:32 AM
Chargepoint would not have developed their 400kw automotive charge unless they knew that vehicles are under development that can charge at that speed. 400kw is 50kwh in 7 min and 30 sec. or enough to go 180 miles in a normal sized BEV like the Bolt or the Model 3.
For the old automakers Chargepoint seems to be one of the fastest ways to get access to a large charging infrastructure for their own BEVs.
Driverless BEV taxis are the future for the automotive industry and most of those will use public superchargers to charge not private homes as they may be operated mostly as fleets owned by private people or corporations. An infrastructure of 400kw chargers will be less costly to build than one or 5kw chargers as you will need 80 times as many 5kw charges to do the work of one 400kw charger.
I expect Tesla’s next supercharger stations to be fully autonomous and at about 400kw for each charger.
Posted by: Account Deleted | 02 March 2017 at 11:46 AM
EV makers, charger companies, governments, industry...all can work together to deploy fast chargers. It accelerates adoption.
Posted by: SJC | 02 March 2017 at 11:48 AM