The race to electrification has amped up all over the world. The International Energy Agency’s EV30@30 scenario expects electric vehicle (EV) sales to take 30% of all vehicle sales by 2030, with over 200 million new EVs hitting roads. Meanwhile, BloombergNEF predicts EVs will make up 57% of passenger car sales and 81% of municipal bus sales by 2040, with global numbers rising to over 500 million vehicles. (These predictions were before the latest worldwide events halted car manufacturing around the world.)
So what’s the biggest blocker to EV adoption in 2020? The world still doesn’t have enough places to plug in. That’s the problem that tech startup ChargeLab is looking to solve.
“Mass-market EVs have been available for a decade, but EVs remain a lot sexier than the idea of installing charging infrastructure,” says Zachary Lefevre, CEO of ChargeLab. The startup is looking to change that with their open software platform that gives building owners access to dozens of new smart EV charging options, dramatically decreasing the cost of deploying EV chargers in North America.
IEA’s forecast for EV adoption
“An EV charger is just a plug in the wall,” Zachary says. “ChargeLab provides the brains.”
ChargeLab builds a cloud-based software platform that connects EV chargers built by hardware manufacturers like ABB, Delta, EVBox, Lite-On, Phihong, and a dozen others. Once connected, ChargeLab’s platform helps property managers monetize EV chargers, balance energy usage, and generally ensure EV infrastructure is a profitable amenity and not cost prohibitive for building owners.
By supporting a range of open hardware options, ChargeLab is drastically reducing the costs of deploying EV chargers when compared with earlier proprietary EV charging networks. But cost reduction is not the startup’s only goal: ChargeLab’s mission is to simplify EV charging. “EV drivers are tired of juggling dozens of mobile apps and pulling up to EV chargers without knowing how well they will actually work,” says Shaun Abrahamson, managing partner at Urban Us and owner of two electric cars. “ChargeLab solves this with innovative new ways to start charging in under 10 seconds without needing to download an app or join a network.”
Some of the EV chargers supported by ChargeLab’s software.
In response to the rapidly growing need for smart EV charging solutions, ChargeLab’s headcount has grown rapidly to over 20 employees since 2019. The startup recently closed funding from Highline Beta, Notation Capital, and Urban Us yet they’re still hunting for more investment. Learn more about ChargeLab’s latest traction at the first remote URBAN-X Demo Day on April 21. To learn more about ChargeLab before Demo Day 07, visit chargelab.co.