An app targeting the UK’s electric vehicle drivers is set to benefit from a £1.8 million investment.
Green energy firm Good Energy Group has announced a strategic investment into Next Green Car, the parent company of Bristol-based app Zap-Map.
Good Energy will take an initial 12.9 per cent minority equity investment which will increase to 50.1 per cent, aligned with product and financial milestones, over the next two years.
The deal is for a total initial consideration of £1.08m, rising to a maximum of £1.8m.
Zap-Map is the go-to app for Britain’s 200,000 electric vehicle drivers – planning routes, identifying charge points, checking their availability and sharing power.
Its 70,000 monthly users can choose from over 11,000 charging devices located across service stations, car parks, retail sites and private driveways from its app.
“The way we view energy is changing,” said Juliet Davenport, founder and CEO of Good Energy.
“Environmental challenge and digital opportunity are converging; intelligent power sharing is replacing conventional power supply.
“Localised generation, localised storage and localised sharing too. EVs make power so much more tangible, and the rapid rise of incredibly useful apps like Zap-Map make the management of it so much simpler – at home, at work, or on the go.
“The deal will help fund and accelerate Zap-Map’s product development as it realises the full potential of its digital EV charging services.”
Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder of Zap-Map, said: “Good Energy and Juliet share the understanding that the growth of EVs requires an entirely new mindset: a localised point-by-point power network and the ability to easily share or pay for electricity on a charge-by-charge basis.
“As Good Energy leads in genuinely renewable energy supply, Zap-Map has the UK’s largest EV online community.
“Together we can lead in the emerging energy sharing economy in which homes, businesses and EV owners will trade and exchange power using the energy grids of the not too distant future.”
The UK Government has targeted 60 per cent of all new vehicles on British roads to be electric by 2030, with the UK EV market forecast to grow at an annual compound growth rate of over 25 per cent in that timeframe.
Government subsidies & exemptions for EV purchases, home & workplace charging, and annual road tax exemptions are encouraging rapid adoption of EVs, with over 30 new EV models expected to enter the market in the next 12 months alone, while £400m has been pledged to the Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund already.
Bristol-based Zap-Map licenses its live mapping service to Nissan for use on its customer portal and has a partnership with Go Ultra Low, the government and car industry backed campaign designed to encourage EV-adoption.
Following the successful launch of its Smart Route Planner, integration with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is planned.
This is in addition to the roll out of Zap-Pay, which simplifies smartphone payments for EV charging – one dedicated smartphone app usable across multiple networks.