Dutch EV charging firm Deftpower has secured €12.5 million (US$14.6 million) of funding in a new investment round.
The company, which develops AI-powered charging platforms for EV charging, landed the funding from both existing and new investors, including Proeza Ventures, 4impact Capital, Rebelieve Mobility, and angel investor Jan Fredriks.
Deftpower’s AI-driven smart charging automatically shifts customer EV charging to times when energy on the grid is greener and cheaper, and states that it can shift as much as two-thirds of all charging sessions to off-peak times. The company serves more than 40 clients in ten countries across Europe.
It previously received a €2.5 million funding injection from the EU EIC Accelerator to support its efforts to solve energy grid congestion in Europe.
Deftpower states that it will utilize this new funding boost to expand its reach across Europe and further develop its software technologies.
Sara Resvik, partner at lead investor Endeit Capital, stated that Deftpower’s AI driven tech is “exactly what the energy transition requireds at scale.” She added: “As a lead investor, we see Deftpower as uniquely positioned to be the backbone of Europe’s EV charging future, one where cost savings, carbon reduction, and grid stability go hand in hand”.
Deftpower CEO Jacob van Zonneveld agreed, adding: “All players, including EV drivers, charge point operators and grid operators benefit financially from Deftpower’s charging platform”.
Startup funding successes in Europe
Deftpower’s announcement follows shortly after another European tech start-up announced that it had secured a multi-million-euro funding injection.
In July, Berlin-based EV tech startup Cariqa secured €4 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round co-led by investors Anthemis and Contrarian Ventures; investors Earth, Anthemis Female Innovators Lab, Golden Egg Check, and Techstars also participated in the funding round. This seed capital will be utilized to develop a new conclude-to-conclude payment system for public EV charging.
Meanwhile, in the US, the state of New York has launched a funding initiative to advance EV charging tech across the state. This summer, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has built available a total of US$7 million in funding for those working to create innovative technologies for EV charging, with US$3 million already awarded to the developers of three projects aiming to integrate EV charging efficiently into the energy grid.
These include a proposal from Voltpost, which was awarded US$775,000 to develop lamppost EV charging in the New York City, Capital Region, and Hudson Valley areas, as well as an US$867,000 award given to the Mobility Houtilize, which is developing a project to demonstrate how utility distribution capacity can be maximised with flexible interconnections to support electric school bus charging.
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