The Charge-X founders have raised fresh money from investors.
(Photo: Charge X)
Berlin The Munich start-up Charge X wants to make it easier for companies to switch to electromobility and is now receiving fresh money for this. The charging infrastructure company has collected a total of 11.5 million euros for the expansion into new markets and the expansion of services.
The capital comes mainly from venture capitalist UVC Partners, also from Munich. “There is huge demand in the market,” says UVC partner Johannes von Borries, explaining his commitment. So far, the company, which was founded in 2018, had raised 4.5 million euros from investors.
According to a study by the National Control Center for Charging Infrastructure commissioned by the Ministry of Transport, up to 14.8 million electric cars and plug-in hybrids could be registered in Germany by 2030. Accordingly, significantly more publicly accessible charging points are required. Charge-X boss Tobias Wagner also relies on this: “We now have more than 500 corporate customers.”
That should quickly become more. Charge X also wants to expand abroad. So far, the company is active in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where a total of 3500 charging modules have been installed so far.
Charge X’s customers include Volkswagen and SAP, but also the private housing industry. The focus of the offer is on multiple sockets, which, among other things, should relieve electricians. “Currently, the electrician has an enormous amount of work for each charging station to lay the corresponding supply lines and integrate them into a load management system,” says Wagner.
Charge X relies on short supply chains
Because of the lack of electricians, individuals and companies sometimes have to wait months for the installation of charging modules. With Charge X, however, additional modules could simply be connected to existing charging points with a plug-in system, says Wagner. Specialists are then no longer necessary for the expansion.
The products used all come from Germany. “Our longest supply chain is 120 kilometers long,” said co-founder Michael Masnitza.
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The fact that many vehicles can be charged with just one mains connection has also convinced UVC investor Borries, who is now pushing for the product to be made better known through sales efforts. The existing investors, the Swiss energy supplier Energie 360 and Bonventure from Munich, were also on board.
Start-up is not alone in the market
In view of the electric car boom and the lack of charging options, other start-ups are now also trying to occupy the market. The start-up Service4charger from Berlin recently received ten million euros from investors as part of a financing round. The biggest stake came from the venture capital arm of oil company BP.
With specially trained electrical engineers, the start-up focuses on the installation and maintenance of charging stations. The company is currently on the road throughout Germany with more than 80 employees. According to company boss Lucas Althammer, other markets will soon be available.
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At the beginning of the year, more than one million electric cars were registered in Germany. In May, fully electric vehicles accounted for 17.3 percent of all new passenger car registrations. When expanding abroad, Charge-X boss Wagner is now looking specifically at Scandinavia and France. “We’ll stay in Europe for now. The CO2 limits for the car fleets are stricter and we are convinced that the electric standard will prevail in Europe,” he said.
With Charge X, customers pay for the hardware with integrated charging management. This is to ensure that all vehicles achieve the required range at different times. On the other hand, there is a fee-based app for charging current distribution and billing.
“It all boils down to charging the car in the form of small snacks. Be it at home, at work or in the supermarket,” said Wagner. But that would require many more charging stations.
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