FreeWire Technologies, a manufacturer of battery-integrated EV charging stations and power solutions in the U.S., has raised $125 million in a Series D funding round from the asset manager BlackRock institutional and strategic investors, including bp ventures, Riverstone Holdings, Octave Ventures, Gly Capital Management, Blue Bear Capital, and Daishin Private Equity.
According to the company, the new funds will support its growth plans, accelerate commercial deployments of its battery-integrated ultrafast EV charging technology, and help increase manufacturing capacity to meet the growing customer demands for global markets, including the UK, Japan, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
The company said that the proceeds would also be used to expand the talent pool and invest in R&D to drive the continued innovation of its product roadmap and energy management platform.
Recently, the company started the construction of a new 66,000 square-foot R&D facility in Newark, California, to develop and manufacture new charging and energy storage product offerings. The facility’s construction is underway and will be fully operational by Summer 2022.
“The most significant barrier to mass EV adoption is the electric grid, which simply can’t meet the power demand required for ultrafast charging to sustainably and cost-effectively electrify our transportation system,” said Arcady Sosinov, Founder and CEO of FreeWire Technologies.
“FreeWire’s fully integrated Boost Charger breaks down this barrier by combining battery technology, power conversion technology, and software to enable utilities, retailers, fleets, and site-owners across the U.S. to scale up ultrafast EV charging quickly without requiring expensive and time-consuming utility upgrades. In addition to lowering total operating costs, FreeWire’s integrated battery enables distributed energy services that would otherwise not have existed,” he added.
The company has installed nearly 5 MWh of energy storage capacity through battery-integrated charging to date, with over 30 MWh booked, and aims to deploy over 5,000 ultrafast battery-integrated chargers by 2025.
Including the latest funding round, FreeWire Technologies has raised over $200 million to date. In Q1 2021, FreeWire Technologies raised $50 million in a Series C funding round from Riverstone Holdings, bp ventures, Energy Innovation Capital, TRIREC, and Alumni Ventures Group. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the international market expansion of its flagship product, Boost Charger, and expand its production capacity.
According to Mercom’s Q1 2022 Funding and M&A Report for Storage, Grid & Efficiency, VC funding for Smart Grid companies increased 9% in Q1 2022 with $312 million in 12 deals compared to $287 million in 10 deals in Q1 2021.
