Electric vehicle use boosted by £4m on-street charging deal in 'flat and flush' technology

Aberdeen-based green tech start-up, Trojan Energy, has secured £4.1m in seed funding to support the roll-out of its on-street flat and flush electric vehicle (EV) charging points.

The product aims to help solve the issue of charging for vehicle owners without access to off-street parking, currently a major barrier for electric vehicle uptake in urban areas.

On-street charging points

To date, councils have been reluctant to install on-street charging points due to their cumbersome size and space requirements on pavements, reports Trojan Energy.

However, the start-up’s charging points are flat and flush to the pavement, removing the need to sacrifice pedestrian space. Users carry a charging ‘lance’ in their vehicles and plug the lance into the connector point to start charging.

Trojan Energy estimates that some 10 million vehicles are parked on the street in the UK and 100 million across Europe. Switching to EV could potentially reduce European CO2 emissions by over 120 million tonnes per year.

Trojan Energy’s funding round comprises £1m investment led by business angel syndicate Equity Gap, profit with purpose investor SIS Ventures, Aberdeen-based investment syndicate Alba Equity and the Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise.

“Ever since we started this business, we have wanted to ensure that the benefits of the low carbon transition can be realised by everyone and not just those with a driveway”

SIS Ventures will also be helping the business to lock in its social mission of democratising the transition to low carbon energy. The equity funding unlocks a further £3.1m from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency.

“This is such an important milestone for Trojan Energy. Ever since we started this business, we have wanted to ensure that the benefits of the low carbon transition can be realised by everyone and not just those with a driveway,” said Ian Mackenzie, CEO, Trojan Energy.

“With this investment, our vision has moved a step closer. The rewards for our customers and our planet will be massive and prove the point that a big idea and great engineering can change the world.”

Advance testing

Trojan said the investment enables it to advance testing and certification of the product, with the aim of installing the first 200 units in London’s Brent and Camden Councils by early 2021. The company also plans to follow the roll-out of its on-street product with a similar driveway product for homeowners, eliminating the need for posts or wall boxes to charge at home.

While the UK remains its immediate focus, longer-term the business plans to export to Europe, India and China, aiming to capture a large part of the emerging global on-street charging market.

“It’s been suggested that over half of European car owners will be driving electric vehicles by the end of the decade, so developing an innovative, non-invasive and cost-effective solution to the problem posed by on-street charging is essential. By drawing on years of engineering and commercial experience, we believe the Trojan Energy team can achieve that,” added Kerry Sharp, director, Scottish Investment Bank.

“This is the latest example of a forward-looking Scottish company bringing its expertise to bear on one of the defining issues of our time. With our support, and that of our fellow investors, we believe Trojan Energy can help position Scotland at the forefront of the global transition to a low-carbon economy.”

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